• Behavioral and sensory ecology
• Biological rhythms
• Molecular ecology and genomics
• Neuroethology
• Organismal response to environmental change

Publications:

Webster, C.F., Smotherman, M., Pippel, M., Brown, T., Winklet, S., Pieri, M., Mai, M., Myers, E.W., Teeling, E.C., Vernes, S.C. The genome sequence of Tadarida brasiliensis I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1824 [Molossidae; Tadarida]. Wellcome Open Res. 2024 Feb 29;9:98. doi: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.20603.1. PMID: 38800517; PMCID: PMC11128047.

Presentations:

Webster, C.F., and Smotherman, M., Seasonal and circadian variations in gene expression in auditory cortex of Tadarida brasiliensis, the Mexican free-tailed bat. Student/Postdoc Research Conference (SPRC) with the Department of Biology, Texas A&M University. College Station, TX. Talk. January 25, 2025.

Webster, C., and Smotherman, M., Seasonal and circadian variations in sensory gene expression in Tadarida brasiliensis. ISN Satellite Symposium: Batellite – Bats in Navigation and Communication. Berlin, Germany. Talk. July 28, 2024.

Meyers, R., Webster, C., and Smotherman, M., A behavioral assay for probing the neural mechanisms of magnetic sensing in mammals. Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience Student Symposium, Texas A&M University. College Station, TX. Poster presentation. May 1, 2024.

Webster, C., and Smotherman, M., Seasonal species distribution modeling and migratory estimates in Tadarida brasiliensis. Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA. Poster presentation. January 3, 2024.