Brenton Fetting, M.S. student. Major advisor: Loren Smith. Amphibian ecology, wetland ecosystems, amphibian parasitology.   B.S. 2011, Saginaw Valley State University. Email: brenton.fetting@okstate.edu

Specific Interests

I have broad interests in ecology, primarily focusing on two groups of animals: amphibians and parasites. My current research is determining amphibian community composition in southeast Oklahoma, and I'm working with the US Forest Service to assess the impact that man-made ponds have on amphibian communities in the Ouachita Mountains region. I am also exploring the roles of a number of habitat characteristics to better understand what environmental factors may be influencing amphibian use of man-made ponds or natural wetlands that are part of the surrounding landscape.

I am also interested in parasite communities, primarily those parasites which utilize amphibians as hosts during their life cycle. I am specifically interested in how parasites, and their hosts, are effected by anthropogenic stressors such as pollutants. Previous research experience in endocrine disruption has fostered an interest in examining how parasites and their amphibian hosts are effected by thyroid-mimicking biocides, focusing on how potential alterations in host immunity or parasite virulence impact these communities.