Philip D. Sudman, Ph.D., Associate Professor

Phone: 254-968-9154
FAX:  254-968-9157
Office: Science Building Rm 408
email: sudman@tarleton.edu


Spring 2008 Classes•Research Interests•Current Graduate Students•Publications

Image of a pronghorn antelope

Education:  Ph.D. Zoology, Texas A&M University, 1989; M.S. Biology, Fort Hays State University, 1985; B.A. Biology, Central University of Iowa, 1983.

Spring 2008 Classes:

Interests:

Dr. Sudman's primary interests are in the general areas of vertebrate evolution, systematics, and conservation biology. His major training is in the area of mammalogy but he has recently begun work on avian species.  Current research projects include using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence data to reconstruct the phylogenetic histories of various groups of mammals in the order Rodentia, as well as assessing the genetic health of endangered or threatened birds through the use of microsatellite analyses. Favorite research organisms include members of the squirrel family Sciuridae and pocket gophers, fossorial rodents in the family Geomyidae, and various birds including the Attwater's Prairie Chicken and Guam Rail. General research techniques include isolation of DNA, amplification of specific regions of the mtDNA via polymerase chain reaction (PCR), nucleotide sequencing, and analyses of genetic variation of microsatellite DNA. Finally, he uses the information derived from analysis of the sequence data to reconstruct the historical biogeography of the group under study.

Image of an Attwater's Prairie ChickenDr. Sudman is currently involved as a member of the Attwater's Prairie Chicken Recovery Team. Through an agreement with Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose, TX, students working under Dr. Sudman's direction are testing Attwater's Prairie Chickens for the presence of a potentially lethal virus, the reticuloendotheliosis virus.  Prairie chicken chicks from the captive propagation program are tested for the presence of this virus prior to being released on the Attwater's Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge near Eagle Lake, TX, or the Texas City Prairie Preserve, a Nature Conservancy property near Texas City, TX.   This is an important component in assuring the future health of this endangered population.  Tests are run on blood samples utilizing PCR techniques for the detection of viral DNA.  Additional work includes determining the sex of chicks produced through the captive propagation program.  This technique also utilizes PCR of DNA obtained from blood samples.  A final component of the prairie chicken work involved a study of the genetic diversity within the breeding stock.  We are using ten microsatellite loci to examine allelic diversity to compare current levels of polymorphism and heterozygosity with past genetic levels as determined from museum study skins prepared during the 1930s and 1940s.  Dr. Sudman's lab has recently begun conducting sex determination PCR reactions related to the reintroduction of the Guam Rail, another species of endangered bird, and additional research with this bird are on the horizon.


Dr. Sudman's research also entails a large amount of field work to collect research specimens. Recent collection expeditions have included trips to the desert southwest, the mountains of Wyoming and Utah, and various localities within Texas. Additional research involves comparative karyology, mophometric analyses, and other genetic techniques such as RFLP analyses.
  • Current Graduate Students:

    • Recent Publications:
     
    1. Sudman,  P.D., J.K Wickliffe, P. Horner, M.J. Smolen, J.W. Bickham, and R.D. Bradley.  2006.  Molecular systematics of pocket gophers of the genus Geomys.  Journal of Mammalogy, 87:668-676.
    2. Goetze, J.R., W.C. Stasey, A.D. Nelson, and P.D. Sudman.  Texas kangaroo rat (Dipodomys elator) burrow ecology and development of a population estimation technique for this species.  Submitted, Texas Journal of Science.
    3. McAliley, L.R. and P.D. Sudman.  2005.  Genetic diversity within the Llano pocket gopher, Geomys texensis.  Southwestern Naturalist. 50:342-349.
    4. Goetze, J. R., A. D. Nelson, and P. D. Sudman. 2004.   Noteworthy records of mammals from Erath County, Texas.  Occassional Papers the Museum, Texas Tech University, 234:1-6.
    5. Goetze, J. R., A. D. Nelson, and P. D. Sudman.  2003.  Noteworthy records of bats from Central and South Texas.  Texas Journal of Science 55:365-367.
    6. Elrod, D.A., E.G. Zimmerman, P.D. Sudman and G.A. Heidt.  2000.  A new subspecies of pocket gopher (Genus Geomys) from the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas with comments on its historical biogeography.  The Journal of Mammalogy, 81:852-864.
    7. King, C.B.,  G. M. Wilson and P.D. Sudman.  1999.  Recent records of the pygmy shrew (Sorex hoyi) in South Dakota.  The Prairie Naturalist, 31:115-117.
    8. Hafner, M.S, J.W. Demastes, D.J. Hafner, T.A. Spradling, P.D. Sudman, and S.A. Nadler.  1998.  Age and movement of a hybrid zone: implications for dispersal distance in pocket gophers and their chewing lice.  Evolution, 52:278-282.
    9. Xia, X., M.S. Hafner, and P.D. Sudman. 1996. On transition bias in mitochondrial genes of pocket gophers. Journal of Molecular Evolution, 43:32-40.
    10. Hafner, M.S., P.D. Sudman, F.X. Villablanca, T.A. Spradling, J.W. Demastes, and S.A. Nadler. 1994. Disparate rates of molecular evolution in cospeciating hosts and parasites. Science, 265:1087-1090.
    11. Sudman, P.D., L.J. Barkley, and M.S. Hafner. 1994. Familial affinity of Tomopeas ravus (Chiroptera) based on protein electrophoretic and cytochrome b sequence data. Journal of Mammalogy, 75:365-377.
    12. Kingswood, S.C., A.T. Kumamota, P.D. Sudman, K.C. Fletcher, and I.F. Greenbaum. 1994. Meiosis in chromosomally heteromorphic goitered gazelle, Gazella subgutturosa (Artiodactyla, Bovidae). Chromosome Research, 2:37-46.
    13. DeWalt, T.S., P.D. Sudman, M.S. Hafner, and S.K. Davis. 1993. Mitochondrial DNA phylogeny of pocket gophers (Pappogeomys and Cratogeomys) based on cytochrome b sequence. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 2:193-204.
    14. Sudman, P.D. and M.S. Hafner. 1992. Phylogenetic relationships among Middle American pocket gophers (genus Orthogeomys) based on mitochondrial DNA sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 1:17-25

     

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