PhD, University of Georgia
MSc, Acadia University (Canada)
BSc, Acadia University (Canada)

Research Interests

• Physiological ecology of vertebrates
• Conservation physiology
• Morphological indicators of animal fitness
• Migration biology of birds and insects
• Improving methods of animal measurement

Research Projects

Multiple projects with various vertebrate and invertebrate organisms, including: investigating relationships between stress and white blood cells in vertebrates, effects of parasites (mostly blood parasites) on their hosts, elucidating the significance of intraspecific variation in color and morphology in organisms, studies of long-term trends in monarch butterfly populations in North America, and studying the nature of stopover ecology in migrating monarchs.

Fratto, M., V.O. Ezenwa and A.K. Davis*. 2014. Infection with Mycoplasma gallisepticum buffers the effects of acute stress on innate immunity in house finches. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 87(2): 257-264.

Davis, A.K. 2014. Lifting capacity of horned passalus beetles during passive and stressed states. Journal of Insect Behavior. Online Early – DOI:10.1007/s10905-014-9444-6.

Davis, A.K.* and E. Cornelius. 2013. Do infections lead to higher feather mite loads in birds? A test with mycoplasmal conjunctivitis in house finches. The Auk 130(4): 708-714.

Davis, A.K.*, W. Hood and G. Hill. 2013. Blood parasites in house finches from eastern and western North America: are eastern birds resistant to infection? EcoHealth 10: 290-297.

Johnson, H., M.J. Solensky, D. Satterfield and A.K. Davis.* 2014. Does skipping a meal matter to a butterfly’s appearance? Effects of larval food stress on wing morphology and color in monarch butterflies. PLoS One 9(4): DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0093492.

Davis, A.K.*, N. Woodall, J. Moskowitz, N. Castleberry and B.J. Freeman. 2013. Temporal change in fur color in museum specimens of mammals: reddish-brown species get redder with storage time. International Journal of Zoology. vol. 2013, Article ID 876347, 6 pages, 2013. doi:10.1155/2013/876347.

Davis, A.K.*, J. Chi, C. Bradley, and S. Altizer. 2012. The redder the better: wing color predicts flight performance in monarch butterflies. PLoS One 7(7): e41323. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0041323.

Davis, A.K. and J.C. Maerz. 2011. Assessing stress levels of captive-reared amphibians with hematological data: implications for conservation initiatives. Journal of Herpetology 45(1): 40-44.

Altizer, S. and A.K. Davis. 2010. Populations of monarch butterflies with different migratory behaviors show divergence in wing morphology. Evolution 64(4): 1018-1028.

Davis, A.K. and E. Rendon-Salinas. 2010. Are female monarch butterflies declining in eastern North America? Evidence of a 30-year change in sex ratios at Mexican overwintering sites. Biology Letters 6: 45-47.

Davis, A.K., M.K. Keel, A. Ferreira and J.C. Maerz. 2010. Effects of chytridiomycosis on circulating white blood cell distributions of bullfrog larvae (Rana catesbeiana). Comparative Clinical Pathology 19(1): 49-55.

Davis, A.K. and S.B. Castleberry. 2010. Pelage color of red bats (Lasiurus borealis) varies with body size: an image analysis of museum specimens. Current Zoology 56(4): 401-405.

Davis, A.K., J.L. DeVore, J.R. Milanovich, K. Cecala, J.C. Maerz and M. Yabsley. 2009. New findings from an old pathogen: intraerythrocytic bacteria (Family Anaplasmatacea) in red-backed salamanders Plethodon cinereus. EcoHealth 6(2): 219-228.

Davis, A.K. and J.C. Maerz. 2009. Effects of larval density on hematological stress indices in salamanders. Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological Genetics and Physiology 311A: 697-704.

Davis, A.K., D.L. Maney, and J.C. Maerz. 2008. The use of leukocyte profiles to measure stress in vertebrates: a review for ecologists. Functional Ecology 22: 760-772.

Hartup, B.K, A. Oberc, B. Stott-Messick, A.K. Davis, and E.C.H. Swarthout. 2008. Blood parasites of house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) from Georgia and New York. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 44(2): 469-474.

Davis, A.K., N. Cope, A. Smith and M.J. Solensky. 2007. Wing color predicts future mating success in male monarch butterflies. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 100(2): 339-344.

Todd, B.D. and A.K. Davis. 2007. Sexual dichromatism in the marbled salamander, Ambystoma opacum. Canadian Journal of Zoology 85: 1008-1013.

Davis, A.K., M. Yabsley, K. Keel, and J.C. Maerz. 2007. Discovery of a novel alveolate pathogen affecting southern leopard frogs in Georgia: description of the disease and host effects. Ecohealth 4(3): 310-317.

Lindstrom, K.M., D. Hawley, A.K. Davis, and M. Wikelsky. 2005. Seasonal variation in corticosterone and mycoplasma infection dynamics in wintering house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus). General and Comparative Endocrinology 143(3): 231-239.