Dr. Russell L. Burke: Associate Professor: Department of Biology: Hofstra University

Russell Burke earned his M.S. in Wildlife Ecology from University of Florida and his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan in the Department of Biology. He spent two years as a post-doc at UM’s School of Natural Resources and the Environment. He joined Hofstra as an assistant professor in 1996 and was promoted to associate professor in 2002.

Dr. Burke is interested in the ecology, evolution, and conservation biology of turtles and lizards. Most of the species he has studied have either been introduced species or rare species, thus population control is a focal issue.

The other predominant topic of his research in turtles is that of sex determination, both environmental and genotypic. Currently, his major research projects involve diamondback terrapins at Jamaica Bay, wood turtles in Northern New Jersey, and wall lizards on Long Island.

His courses at Hofstra include Ecology, Evolution, Behavior, Conservation Biology, and Human Biology.

He is a member of the Ecological Society of America, American Society for Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, the Herpetologist League, Association of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, The Wildlife Society, and the Chelonian Research Foundation.