Dr. Nicholas Santangelo

Department of Biological Sciences
Moore 235
521 Lancaster Avenue
Eastern Kentucky University
Richmond, KY, 40475

Office: (859) 622-8198
Cell: (607) 351-7565

Nicholas.Santangelo@eku.edu

Education

Ph.D. Biology Department of Biological Sciences
1997-2003 Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA

Thesis title: Mate searching and courtship: Differences between the sexes and the influence of direct intrasexual aggression on the mate search process in the monogamous convict cichlid, Archocentrus nigrofasciatus.

BS Biology (with concentration in ecology and evolutionary biology)
1992-1996 Loyola College, Baltimore, MD

Positions Held

Assistant Professor Eastern Kentucky University
2006-present

Post-Doctorate Fellow Department of Neurobiology and Behavior
2003-2006 Cornell University

Teaching Assistant Department of Biological Sciences
1997-1998 & 2001-2003 Lehigh University

Research Assistant Department of Biological Sciences,
1998-2001 Lehigh University

Project: Parental Ability, Need, and Conflict: An Experimental Study on
Biparental Care.

Molecular Lab Technician Center of Marine Biotechnology
1994-1996 University of Maryland

Teaching Experience

Courses
Eastern Kentucky University

Introduction to Biology
Introduction to Biology Laboratory
Human Physiology

Teaching Assistant Courses
Lehigh University

Introductory to Cell and Molecular Biology Laboratory
Designed and Taught Histology Laboratory

Additional Teaching Lectures
Lehigh University

Behavioral Ecology – Mate Choice Theory
Behavioral Endocrinology – Hormones and Parental Behavior
Histology – Adrenal Gland; Hearing, Touch, and Taste Senses

Pigeon Key Foundation

Coral Reef Fish – Damselfish Reproductive Behavior

Grants and Awards

NIH NRSA Post Doctoral Fellowship Grant
Title: Neuropeptide modulation of social behaviors
2003 – 2006

Department of Neurobiology and Behavior Training Grant
Cornell Univeristy 2003 (declined)

Memberships and Affiliations

The Animal Behaviour Society 1997-present

The International Society for Behavioral Ecology 1998-present

The Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology 2001-present

New York Academy of Science 2003-present

Public Outreach

Pigeon Key Foundation

Gave high school students and summer interns a hands-on approach to field research; gave lectures to high school students enrolled in the Pigeon Key Foundation Education Programs

Field Work

Discovery Bay, Jamaica
Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory
Summer 1998

Study Species: beaugregory damselfish

Costa Rica Study
December 1999

Study Species: convict cichlid

Pigeon Key, Florida
Pigeon Key Foundation
August; November 2003
March; July 2004
March; May; July-August 2005

Study Species: beaugregory damselfish

Invited Addresses

Department of Neurobiology and Behavior Seminar Series

“Mate searching and the influence of competition in a monogamous biparental fish, the convict cichlid, Archocentrus nigrofasciatum”

Department of Animal Science, Reproduction and Endocrinology Seminar Series

“New insights into the neuropeptide modulation of aggressive behavior: Field studies in a territorial tropical damselfish.”

Spring 2006 Long Island University, C.W. Post Campus
Biology Department Seminar Series

“New insights into the modulation of behavior: Field studies in a territorial tropical damselfish.”

“ From Behavioral Ecology to Physiology: An integrative approach to the evolution of aggression and social dynamics.”

Spring 2006, Eastern Kentucky University
Department of Biological Sciences Seminar Series

“From Behavioral Ecology to Physiology: An integrative approach to the evolution of aggression and social dynamics.”

Spring 2006, McMaster University
Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behavior

“When Tempers Flare: Field studies on the n europeptide modulation of social dynamics in a territorial damselfish.”

Leadership roles

Organized Neuroethology Journal Club for the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at Cornell University

Organized weekly research meetings for Dr. Andrew Bass and our lab group

Trained undergraduates for independent research projects while at Lehigh University and Cornell University

Served on Ryan Wong’s honors thesis committee at Cornell University

Presentations at National Meetings

Talks:

Santangelo, N. & M. Itzkowitz. 2002. Courtship Differences Among Rejected and Selected Convict Cichlid Males. The Animal Behavior Society.

Santangelo, N. & M. Itzkowitz. 2001. How Does Mate Variation Influence Mate Searching in Female Convict Cichlid Fish? The Animal Behavior Society.

Santangelo, N. & M. Itzkowitz. 2000. Mechanisms Behind Mate Choice of Male Convict Cichlids. The Animal Behavior Society.

Santangelo, N. & M. Itzkowitz. 1999. The Male Beaugregory’s Decision to Court or Defend. The Animal Behaviour Society.

Santangleo, N. & M. Itzkowitz. 1999. Mechanisms Behind Mate Choice of Female Convict Cichlids. The Animal Behaviour Society.

Posters:

Santangelo, N. & A.H. Bass. 2005. AVT Facilitation of Aggression in a Territorial Damselfish. The Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinolgy.

Santangelo, N. & A.H. Bass. 2006. Neuropeptide Modulation of Aggression: Field Studies in a Territorial Tropical Damselfish Reveal Inverted U-Shaped Dose Function for Arginine Vasotocin (AVT). The Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology.

Publications

Gagliardi-Seeley, J., J. Leese, N. Santangelo, M.Itzkowitz. In press . Mate choice in female convict cichlids (Amatitlania nigrofasciata) and the relationship between male size and dominance. Journal of Ethology

Santangelo, N. & A.H. Bass. 2006. New insights into neuropeptide modulation of aggression: Field studies in a territorial tropical damselfish. Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series B: Biological Sciences. 273: 3085-3092. [PDF]

Santangelo, N. & M. Itzkowitz. 2006. How does competition influence mate choice decisions for males and females in the monogamous convict cichlid fish, Archocentrus nigrofasciatus?Behaviour 143: 619-642. [PDF]

Richter, M, N. Santangelo, & Itzkowitz, M. 2005.  Biparental division of roles in the convict cichlid fish: Influence of intruders numbers and locations. Ethology, Ecology & Evolution 17:1-15. [PDF]

Santangelo, N. 2005. Courtship as communication; What are individuals saying to rejected and selected mates? Animal Behaviour 69: 143-149. [PDF]

Itzkowitz, M., N. Santangelo, A. Cleveland, A. Bockelman, & M. Richter. 2005. Is the selection of sex-typical parental roles based on an assessment process? A test in the monogamous convict cichlid fish. Animal Behaviour 69: 95-105. [PDF]

Santangelo, N & M. Itzkowitz. 2004. Sex differences in the mate selection process of the monogamous, biparental convict cichlid, Archocentrus nigrofasciatum. Behaviour 141: 1041-1059. [PDF]

Itzkowitz, M., N. Santangelo, & M. Richter. 2003. How does a parent respond when its mate emphasizes the wrong role? A test using a monogamous fish. Animal Behaviour 66(5):863-869. [PDF]

Santangelo, N., M. Itzkowitz, M. Richter, & M.P. Haley. 2002. Resource attractiveness of the male Beaugregory damselfish and his decision to court or defend. Behavioral Ecology 13: 676-681. [PDF]

Itzkowitz, M, N. Santangelo, & M. Richter. 2001. How similar is the coordination of parental roles among different pairs? An examination of a monogamous fish. Ethology 108 (8): 727-738. [PDF]

Itzkowitz, M, N.Santangelo, & M. Richter. 2001. Parental division of labor in a monogamous fish: The shift from minimal to maximal role specialization. Animal Behaviour. 61(6): 1237-1245. [PDF]

Diruggiero, J, N. Santangelo, Z. Nackerdien, J. Ravel, F. T. Robb. 1997. Repair of extensive ionizing-radiation DNA damage at 95 degrees C in the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus. Journal of Bacteriology, 179 (14): 4643-4645. [PDF]

 
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