Kurt Schwenk, Professor (Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley)

Contact Information:
 

Dr. Kurt Schwenk

Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

University of Connecticut

75 N. Eagleville Road

Storrs, CT 06269-3043

Tel: (860) 486-0351

Fax: (860) 486-6364

E-Mail: kurt.schwenk@uconn.edu

Link to the Schwenk lab

Current Areas of Research:

Functional and evolutionary morphology of vertebrates, especially squamate reptiles; Functional and evolutionary morphology of feeding and chemosensory systems in lizards and snakes; Comparative morphology and evolution of the tetrapod tongue; Phenotypic evolution; Evolutionary constraint

 Courses Taught: Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy, Vertebrate Biology, Mammalogy

 Graduate Students: Nirvana I. Filoramo, Charles Smith, Susan Buraceski 

 Selected Publications:
 

Bemis, W., K. Schwenk and M. H. Wake (1983) Morphology and function of the feeding apparatus in Dermophis mexicanus (Amphibia: Gymnophiona). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 77:75-96.

Schwenk, K. (1985) Occurrence, distribution and functional significance of taste buds in lizards. Copeia 1985:91-101.

Schwenk, K. (1986) Morphology of the tongue in the tuatara, Sphenodon punctatus (Reptilia: Lepidosauria), with comments on function and phylogeny. Journal of Morphology 188:129-156.

Schwenk, K. and G. S. Throckmorton (1989) Functional and evolutionary morphology of lingual feeding in squamate reptiles: phylogenetics and kinematics. Journal of Zoology, London 219:153-175.

Schwenk, K. and D. B. Wake (1993) Prey processing in Leurognathus marmoratus and the evolution of form and function in desmognathine salamanders (Plethodontidae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 49:141-162

Schwenk, K. (1993) The evolution of chemoreception in squamate reptiles: a phylogenetic approach. Brain, Behavior and Evolution 41:124-137.

Schwenk, K. (1993) Are geckos olfactory specialists? Journal of Zoology, London 229:289-302.

Schwenk, K. (1994) Systematics and subjectivity: the phylogeny and classification of iguanian lizards reconsidered. Herpetological Review 25:53-57.

Schwenk, K. (1994) Why snakes have forked tongues. Science 263:1573-1577.

Schwenk, K. (1994) Craniology: getting a head. REVIEW OF: The Skull, 3 vols. J. Hanken & B. K. Hall (eds.). Science 263:1779-1780.

Schwenk, K. (1994) Comparative biology and the importance of cladistic classification: a case study from the sensory biology of squamate reptiles. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 52:69-82.

Schwenk, K. (1995) The serpent's tongue. Natural History 104:48-55 (April).

Schwenk, K. and H. W. Greene (1995) No electrostatic sense in snakes. Nature 373:26.

Schwenk, K. (1995) Of tongues and noses: chemoreception in lizards and snakes. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 10:7-12.

Schwenk, K. (1995) A utilitarian approach to evolutionary constraint. Zoology 98:251-262.

Dial, B. E. and K. Schwenk (1996) Olfaction and predator detection in Coleonyx brevis (Squamata: Eublepharidae), with comments on the functional significance of buccal pulsing in geckos. Journal of Experimental Zoology 276:415-424.

Wagner, G. P. and K. Schwenk (2000) Evolutionarily Stable Configurations: functional integration and the evolution of phenotypic stability. Evolutionary Biology 31:155-217.

Schwenk, K. (editor) (2000) Feeding: Form, Function and Evolutiion in Tetrapod Vertebrates. Academic Press, San Diego.

Schwenk, K. (2000) Tetrapod feeding in the context of vertebrate morphology. Pp. 3-20. In: Feeding: Form, Function and Evolution in Tetrapod Vertebrates. K. Schwenk (ed.). Academic Press, San Diego.

Schwenk, K. (2000) An introduction to tetrapod feeding. Pp. 21-61. In: Feeding: Form, Function and Evolution in Tetrapod Vertebrates. K. Schwenk (ed.). Academic Press, San Diego.

Schwenk, K. (2000) Feeding in lepidosaurs. Pp. 175-291. In: Feeding: Form, Function and Evolution in Tetrapod Vertebrates. K. Schwenk (ed.). Academic Press, San Diego.

Schwenk, K. (2000) The apian way: from beehives to burrows, animal building sheds new light on biology. REVIEW OF: The Extended Organism. The Physiology of Animal-Built Structures, by J. Scott Turner. The New York Times Book Review, 10 Dec., p. 37 [http://partners.nytimes.com/books/00/12/10/reviews/001210.10schwent.html]

Schwenk, K. and G. P. Wagner (2001) Function and the evolution of phenotypc stability: connecting pattern to process. Amer. Zool. 41:552-563.

Nishikawa, K. C. and K. Schwenk (2001) Feeding in amphibians and reptiles. In: Encyclopedia of Life Sciences. Macmillan References, London [http://www.els.net]

Schwenk, K. (2001) Functional units and their evolution. Pp. 165-198. In: The Character Concept in Evolutionary Biology. G. P. Wagner (ed.). Academic Press, San Diego

Schwenk, K. (2001) Extrinsic vs. intrinsic lingual muscles:  a false dichotomy?  Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool.  (Harvard Univ.) 156:219-235.

Schwenk, K. (2002) Aristotle’s ghost. Creative Nonfiction No. 19 (March).

Schwenk, K. (2002) Constraint. In: Encyclopedia of Evolution, M. Pagel (ed.). Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford.

Schwenk, K. and G. P. Wagner. (2002/03) Constraint. In: Keywords and Concepts in Evolutionary Developmental Biology. B. K. Hall & W. M. Olson (eds.). Harvard University Press, Cambridge.