Stephen J. Ressel
Professor of Biology
Director, George B. Dorr Museum of Natural History

Steve Ressel received a B.S. in Secondary Education with a major in biology from Millersville University in 1976, a M.S. in Zoology from the University of Vermont in 1987, and a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Connecticut in 1993. As a graduate student, Steve received numerous awards in recognition of his research and an award for outstanding teaching at UCONN. Prior to graduate school, Steve taught junior high biology in Pennsylvania. Steve joined the faculty and administration at COA in 1993, where he directs the colleges natural history museum and teaches courses in the areas of vertebrate biology, physiological ecology, herpetology, winter ecology, and biological photography. As museum director, Steve works extensively with students interested in museum exhibit design, museum collection care, and informal education. Student projects under Steves direction include: ecological research on anuran, snake, and turtle populations in Acadia National Park and surrounding areas; photographic exhibitions; curriculum design for informal and formal education units in the biological sciences.

Steves research has focused on sexual selection in relation to parasite load in lizards, the role of secondary compounds in diet selection of an herbivorous lizard, and the interrelationships between calling effort, temperature, and muscle physiology in male frogs. Steve has traveled extensively throughout the U.S., the Caribbean, and Central America for his research, and has published in Oecologia, Copeia, The Journal of Experimental Biology, Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, and Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. Steves photographs have appeared in Maine Amphibians and Reptile, the first comprehensive field guide to the herps of Maine. He serves as a grant reviewer for the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and is an active member of the New England Museum Association and the American Association of Museums.

Steve enjoys winter hiking and camping, ice hockey, catching frogs with his kids, and The Beatles.