David Ernst, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Email: daernst@uark.edu
University of Arkansas
Department of Biological Sciences
Ferritor Hall, Room 221
Fayetteville, AR 72701
Education
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. PhD in Biology (Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology). 2018.
Thesis: Magnetoreception and its neural basis in spiny lobsters
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. BS in Animal Sciences (Science, Biotechnology, and Pre-Veterinary Medicine concentration) and Minor in Chemistry. 2009.
Publications
Fitak, R. R., Schweikert, L., Wheeler, B. R., Ernst, D. A., Lohmann, K. J., and Johnsen, S. (2018). Near absence of differential gene expression in the retina of rainbow trout after exposure to a magnetic pulse: implications for magnetoreception. Biology Letters14, 20180209.
Ernst, D. A.and Lohmann, K. J. (2018). Size-dependent avoidance of a strong magnetic anomaly in Caribbean spiny lobsters. Journal of Experimental Biology221, jeb172205.
Fitak, R. R., Wheeler, B. R., Ernst, D. A., Lohmann, K. J., and Johnsen, S. (2017). Candidate genes mediating magnetoreception in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Biology Letters13, 20170142.
Ernst, D. A.and Lohmann, K. J. (2016). Effect of magnetic pulses on Caribbean spiny lobsters: implications for magnetoreception. Journal of Experimental Biology219, 1827-1832.
Endres, C. S., Putman, N. F., Ernst, D. A., Kurth, J. A., Lohmann, C. M. F., and Lohmann, K. J. (2016). Multi-modal homing in sea turtles: modeling dual use of geomagnetic and chemical cues in island-finding. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience10, 19.
Lohmann, K. J. and Ernst, D. A.(2014). The Geomagnetic Sense of Crustaceans and Its Use in Orientation and Navigation. In: The Natural History of the Crustacea: Nervous Systems & Control of Behavior Vol. 3.(eds: C. D. Derby and M. Thiel), pp. 321-336. Oxford University Press: New York, New York.
Funding Awards
Henry Van Peters Wilson Memorial Fund for Marine Biology, University of North Carolina (2012-2014)
Paul Kanciruk Student Travel Award, International Conference and Workshop on Lobster Biology and Management (2014)
Lerner-Gray Fund for Marine Research, American Museum of Natural History (2013)
PADI Foundation Grant (2011)
Scientific Outreach
Reptile and Amphibian Day, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences: Set up educational stations and interacted with the public to share current research. 2017.
SPIRE Distinguished Scholar Seminar Laboratory Tours, University of North Carolina: Led laboratory tours, marine animal interactions, and discussion with North Carolinian undergraduate students from under-represented groups interested in graduate school. 2011.
Morehead Summer Science Camps, University of North Carolina: Led laboratory tours and marine animal interactions with local 4th and 5th grade students. 2011.
Professional Affiliations
Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB)