Research is funded by NIH.Served as a member of the U.S. National Committee for Crystallography 1992-1994. Has expertise in genetic engineering in bacteria. Expert on the dispersal, mating systems, social behavior and population structure of mammals. Uses DNA fingerprinting to determine the rates and consequences of inbreeding in the field and to measure genetic variation in small populations. Also studies social interactions such as dominance hierarchies, territoriality, mating systems and submissive behavior.
Current studies focus on the bannertailed kangaroo rat in Arizona.
Other current projects include investigations of diving behavior in Arctic ringed seals, the causes of population decline in kangaroo rats, the role of vocalizations as reproductive isolating mechanisms in African forest monkeys. Students also are currently investigating dispersal and its relationship to behavior and population structure in Yellowstone red foxes and white-footed mice.