Dr. Lauretta Bushar
Associate Professor and Chair of Biology
bushar@arcadia.edu
The research interests of Dr. Bushar focus on the genetic variation of populations of threatened and endangered snake species. Utilizing techniques of DNA analysis, her work deals with the genetic variation of widely distributed populations of the timber rattlesnake Crotalus horridus in Pennsylvania and New Jersey; and the neotropical rattlesnake Crotalus unicolor on the island of Aruba in the Dutch West Indies.
Representative Publications
Reinert, H.K., L.M. Bushar, G. Rocco, and R.A. Odum. In press. "The Ecology of the Aruba Island Rattlesnake, Crotalus unicolor," in The Biology of Rattlesnakes. W.K. Hayes, K.R. Beaman, M.D. Cardwell, and S.P. Bush, eds. Loma Linda University Press, Loma Linda, Calif. Indies. Caribbean Journal of Science 38:126-128. (in press)
Bushar, L.M., & Reinert, H.K. (2007). "The Conservation Genetics of the Timber Rattlesnake, Crotalus horridus, in Central and Eastern Pennsylvania." Report to the Wild Resource Conservation Fund and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. 18Pp.
Reinert, H.K., Bushar, L.M., Rocco, G., & Odum, R.A. (2007). The ecology of the Aruba Island Rattlesnake, Crotalus unicolor. In Hayes, W. K., Beaman, K.R., Cardwell, M.D., & Bush, S.P., (Eds.), The Biology of Rattlesnakes, Loma Linda University Press, Loma Linda, CA.
Reinert, H.K., Bushar, L.M., Rocco, G.L., Goode, M., & Odum, R.A. (2002). Distribution of the Aruba Island Rattlesnake, Crotalus unicolor, on Aruba, Dutch West Indies. Caribbean Journal of Science, 38:126-128.
Bushar, L.M., Maliga, M., & Reinert, H.K. (2001). Cross-species amplification of Crotalus horridus microsatellites and their application in phylogenetic analysis. Journal of Herpetology, 35:532-537.
Bushar, L.M., Reinert, H.K., Gelbert, L. 1998, Genetic Variation and Gene Flow Within and Between Local Populations of the Timber Rattlesnake, Crotalus horridus, Copeia 2: 411-422)
Bricker, J., Bushar, L.M., Reinert, H.K., & Gelbert, L. (1996). Purification of high quality DNA from shed skin. Herp. Review 27(3):133-134.
Villarreal, X., Bricker, J., Reinert, H.K., Gelbert, L., Bushar, L.M. 1996. Isolation and Characterization of Microsattelite Loci for Use in Population Genetic Analysis in the Timber Rattlesnake, Crotalus Horridus. J. Heredity 87(2):152-155.
Recent Support
Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission; Pennsylvania Department of Conservation; Natural Resources Wild Resource Conservation Fund.
