PhD, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Northwestern University<br>MS, Zoology, University of Oklahoma<br>BA, Zoology, University of California, Berkeley
Population dynamics of the federally threatened Madison Cave Isopod, Antrolana lira, in phtreatic groundwater of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and West Virginia.
Population structure of the stygobiotic amphipod, Stygobromus tenuis potamacus, and of the isopod, Caecidotea kenki, from hypotelminorheic habitats along the Potomac River.
Genetics of eye and pigment loss in subterranean arthropods.
Variation in life-history parameters among spring-dwelling populations of hte amphipod Gammarus minus and its effects on invertebrate community structure in karst springs.
Selected Publications
Blilandzija, H., Laslo, M., Porter, M.L., Fong, D.W. 2017. Melanization in response to wounding is ancestral in arthropods and conserved in albino cave species. Scientific Reports 7: 17148. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-17471-2
Carlini, D.B., Fong, D.W. 2017. The transcriptomes of cave and surface populations of Gammarus minus (Crustacea: Amphipoda) provide evidence for positive selection on cave downregulated transcripts. PLoS ONE 12(10): e0186173. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0186173
Niemiller, M.L., Porter, M.L., Keany, J., Gilbert, H., Fong, D.W., Culver, D.C., Hobson, C., Kendall, K.D., Davis, M.A., Taylor, S.J. 2017. Evalution of eDNA for groundwater invertebrate detection and monitoring: a case study with endangered Stygobromus (Amphipoda: Crangonyctidae). Conservation Genetics Resources (2017). doi: 10.1007/s12686-017-0785-2
Culver, D.C., Fong, D.W. 2018. Terrestrial Fauna of the Greenbrier Karst. In: W.B. White (ed.), pp. 371-383, Chapter 17, Caves and Karst of the Greenbrier Valley, West Virginia. Cave and Karst Ecosystems of the World. Springer International Publishing. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-65801-8
Fong, D.W., Culver, D.C. 2018. The Subterranean Aquatic Fauna of the Greenbrier Karst. In: W.B. White (ed.), pp. 385-397, Chapter 18, Caves and Karst of the Greenbrier Valley, West Virginia. Cave and Karst Ecosystems of the World. Springer International Publishing. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-65801-8
Research Interests
Ecology and evoluton of groundwater crustacean fauna.
Biodiversity and conservation of subterranean fauna.
Determinants of community structure in karst spring habitats.
Honors, Awards, and Fellowships
Fellow, National Speleological Society
Chair, Grants and Awards Committee, Cave Conservanacy of the Virginias
