Directory

Profile

Professor Hantak's research program is centered on the ecological and evolutionary processes that maintain genetic and phenotypic variation within and among populations. Using salamanders as her primary study organism, the research largely focuses on the evolution and maintenance of the striped/unstriped color pattern polymorphism in the genus Plethodon (woodland salamanders). Much of the research is also centered around global drivers of phenotypic trait change in a variety of vertebrates. To study this broad-scale topic, her lab integrates local fieldwork, bioinformatic approaches and community science data.

Research interests

• Global Change Biology
• Evolutionary Ecology
• Herpetology

Courses taught

• BIO 310: Ecology
• BIO 420 Biology Capstone Seminar

Selected publications

Hantak, M. M., R. P. Guralnick, A. C. Cameron, A. H. Griffing, S. M. Harrington, J. L. Weinell and D. J. Paluh. 2022. Color scales with climate in North American ratsnakes: a test of the thermal melanism hypothesis using community science images. Biology Letters 18:20220403.

Balk, M. A., J. Deck, K. F. Emery, R. L. Walls, D. Reuter, R. La France, J. Arroyo-Cabrales, P. Barrett, J. Blois, A. Boileau, L. Brenskelle, N. R. Cannarozzi, A. Cruz, L. M. Davalos, N. U. de la Sancha, P. Gyawali, M. M. Hantak, S. Hopkins, B. Kholi, J. King, M. Koo, M. Lawing, H. Machado, S. S. McCrane, B. McLean, K. Meshida, M. E. Morgan, S. Pilaar Birch, D. Reed, E. J.  Reitz, N. Sewnath, N. S. Upham, A. Villaseñor, L. Yohe, E. B. Davis and R. P. Guralnick. 2022. A solution to the challenges of interdisciplinary aggregation and use of specimen-level trait data. iScience 25:105101. 

Hantak, M. M., R. P. Guralnick, A. Zare and B. J. Stucky. 2022. Computer vision for assessing species color pattern variation from web-based community science images. iScience 25:104784. 

Kuchta, S. R., M. M. Hantak, B. P. Waldron, C. M. Hickerson, R. M. Lehtinen and C. D. Anthony. 2022. Hybridization between the woodland salamanders Plethodon cinereus and P. electromorphus is not widespread. Ichthyology & Herpetology 110:430–438.

Hantak, M. M., N. A. Federico^, D. C. Blackburn and R. P. Guralnick. 2021. Rapid phenotypic change in a polymorphic salamander over 43 years. Scientific Reports 11:22681.