Dr. Chris Salice, Assistant Professor, Ecology and Ecotoxicology. Dr. Salice’s research interests are focused on understanding the ecological and evolutionary consequences of anthropogenic and natural stressors. This can be further defined by three main avenues of research. The first is in using empirical approaches to understand how individuals and populations of animals respond to environmental stressors such as toxicants, density dependence and/or climate change. Secondly, quantitative approaches such as probabilistic and population modeling are used to place observed effects into an ecologically meaningful context. Third, results and methods developed in the first two areas are used to improve environmental management, typically by informing or refining quantitative approaches used to conduct ecological risk assessments. Examples of current research projnects include studies to better understand: adaptation to environmental stressors in snails and amphibians, effects of genetic diversity on fitness in novel environments and the community-level impacts of resource manipulation. Dr. Salice seeks collaborators interested in exploring the continuum of responses across different levels of biological organization. While many effects of stressors can be evaluated at the cellular or individual level, their ecological significance manifests at the populations and community level. To adequately address questions related to multiple levels of biological organization requires strong collaborative efforts. Overall, these research interests span the range of theoretical to applied ecology and provide for a number of individual and collaborative research opportunities. Dr. Salice received his B.S. in Environmental Science with and emphasis in ecology from Drexel University in 1993 and his Ph.D. in environmental toxicology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore in 2002. He conducted his doctoral research at the University of Maryland’s Chesapeake Biological Laboratory. In 2000, Dr. Salice joined the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine where he conducted laboratory studies and helped develop tools for ecological risk assessment. In 2004, he joined the US Environmental Protection Agency as an ecological risk assessor. He joined the faculty of Texas Tech in the Fall of 2008.

Salice, C.J., T.J. Miller, and G. Roesijadi.  2008.  Demographic responses to multigeneration cadmium exposure in two strains of the freshwater gastropod, Biomphalaria glabrata.  Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology

Suski, J.G., C.J. Salice, M. Bazar, and L.G. Talent.  2008.  Dose-related effects following oral exposure of 2,4-dinitrotoluene on the Western Fence Lizard, Sceloporus occidentalis.  Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 27(2):pp 352-359.

Paulus, B.F., M.A. Bazar, C.J. Salice, D.R. Mattie and M.A. Major. 2006.  Perchlorate inhibition of iodide uptake in normal and iodine-deficient rats.  Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health 70(13): 1142-1149.

Johnson, M.J., M.W. Michie, M.A. Bazar, R.M. Gogal and C.J. Salice.  2005.  Responses to oral 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) exposure in the common pigeon (Columba livia): a phylogenic and methodological comparison.  Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 24(4): 221-229.

Johnson, M.J., H.I. Paulus, C.J. Salice, R.T. Checkai and M. Simini.  2004.  Toxicological and histopathological response of the terrestrial salamander Plethodon cinereus to soil exposures of 1,3,5-trinitrohexahydro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX).  Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 47(4): 496-501.

Salice, C.J. and T.J. Miller.  2003.  Population-level responses to long-term cadmium exposure in two strains of the freshwater gastropod Biomphalaria glabrata: Results from a life-table response experiment (LTRE).  Environmental Toxicol. Chem. Vol. 22 (3): 678-688.

Gogal, R.M., M.S. Johnson, C.T. Larsen, M.R. Prater, R.B. Duncan, D.L. Ward, R.B. Lee, C.J. Salice, B. Jortner, and S.D. Holladay. 2003. Dietary oral exposure to 1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine in the Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus). Environmental Toxicol. Chem. Vol. 22 (2): 381-387.

Salice, C.J. and G. Roesijadi.  2002.  Resistance to cadmium and parasite infection are inversely related in two strains of a freshwater gastropod.  Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 21(7): 1398-1403.

Salice, C.J., J.S. Rokous, A.S. Kane and R. Reimsschussesl.  2001  New Nephron development in goldfish (Carassius auratus) kidneys following repeated gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicosis.  Comparative Medicine 50(1): 56-59.