Education
Ph.D. 2005 Ecology and Evolution, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
B.A. 1999 Biology, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA
Research Appointments Research page
2007-present Postdoctoral Researcher, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
Natural selection, sexual selection, and sexual conflict in lizards
Advisor: Ryan Calsbeek
2005-2007 Postdoctoral Researcher, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Physiological ecology of water balance in birds
Advisor: Joe Williams
1999-2005 Graduate Student Research Assistant, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
Evolution and endocrinology of sexual size dimorphism in lizards
Advisor: Henry John-Alder
1999-2005 Undergraduate Senior Research, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA
Mating behavior and sex-ratio bias in northern red-spotted newts
Advisor: Bill Healy
Teaching Appointments Teaching page
2007-present Guest Lecturer, Animal Behavior (BIO 27), Dartmouth College
2006 Lecturer, Evolution (EEOB 400), Ohio State University
2000-2002 Head Teaching Assistant, General Biology (BIO 102), Rutgers University
1999-2000 Head Teaching Assistant, General Biology (BIO 101 & 102), Rutgers University
1998-1999 Undergraduate Lab Assistant, General Biology, College of the Holy Cross
Grants & Awards
2008 Co-writer of National Science Foundation grant awarded to PI Ryan Calsbeek
DEB-0816862 - Adaptive mate choice driven by sexual conflict in the brown anole
2005 Best Student Paper Award, Division of Ecology and Evolution
A test of the reproductive cost hypothesis for sexual size dimorphism in Yarrow’s spiny lizard
Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA
2005 Harold and Anne Aines Endowed Fellowship in Animal Science, Rutgers University
2003 Southwestern Research Station Student Support Grant, American Museum of Natural History
2003 Grant-In-Aid of Research, Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology
2003 Pre-Dissertation Travel Award, Graduate School-New Brunswick, Rutgers University
2001 Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Grant, American Museum of Natural History
Selected Publications Publications page
Cox, R.M., and R. Calsbeek. 2009. Sexually antagonistic selection, sexual dimorphism, and the resolution of intralocus sexual conflict. American Naturalist 173: 176-187.
Cox, R.M., D.S. Stenquist*, and R. Calsbeek. 2009. Testosterone, growth, and the evolution of sexual size dimorphism. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 22 1586-1598. Cover photo
Cox, R.M. and H.B. John-Alder. 2007. Increased mite parasitism as a cost of testosterone in male striped plateau lizards, Sceloporus virgatus. Functional Ecology 21: 327-334.
Cox, R.M. 2006. A test of the reproductive cost hypothesis for sexual size dimorphism in Yarrow's spiny lizard, Sceloporus jarrovii. Journal of Animal Ecology 75: 1361-1369.
Cox, R.M., S.L. Skelly, and H.B. John-Alder. 2003. A comparative test of adaptive hypotheses for sexual size dimorphism in lizards. Evolution 57: 1653-1669.
Recent and Upcoming Presentations
1/7/09 Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology Annual Meeting, Boston, MA
Testosterone stimulates growth in a lizard with extreme male-biased sexual size dimorphism
4/9/09 State University of New York, Plattsburgh, NY
Invited by students in the Biology Club
Sexual dimorphism, sexual conflict, and the cost of reproduction
4/16/09 University of California, Riverside, CA
Invited by students in the Graduate Program in Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology
Sexual dimorphism, sexual conflict, and the cost of reproduction
8/26/09 European Society for Evolutionary Biology 12th Congress, Turin, Italy
Symposium: Intralocus Sexual Conflict
Sexual antagonism, sexual dimorphism, and the resolution of intralocus sexual conflict
10/19/09 American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY
Invited by students in the Richard Gilder Graduate School
The evolution of sexual dimorphism: endocrine experiments in a phylogenetic context
1/?/10 Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA
The ecology of life-history trade-offs: manipulations of predation regime in an island lizard
Professional Societies
SSE Society for the Study of Evolution
SICB Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology
SSAR Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles
ASIH American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
Robert M. Cox, Ph.D.
Last updated
22 September, 2009
Antillean nighthawks are common throughout The Bahamas. This individual was photographed on Eleuthera.