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Maggie M. Hantak
Assistant professor Department of Biology University of Dayton Office: Science Center 235B Lab: Science Center 326 Email: [email protected] Hantak-cv-2024.pdf Google Scholar ResearchGate GitHub |
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Graduate Students
Brendan Enochs
(PhD Student, Fall 2023 - Present) Website: brendanenochs.weebly.com Brendan earned a BS in Biology and Honors BS in Environmental Science from Binghamton University. He then completed his MS in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Connecticut investigating the role of microhabitat variation in maintenance of the color polymorphism in the Eastern Red-backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus). Brendan started in the lab Fall 2023 and is interested in the eco-evolutionary dynamics of color polymorphism in Plethodon salamanders. He is currently investigating patterns of climatic niche evolution in Plethodon salamanders and their color morphs. He also plans to study behavioral and physiological responses of color polymorphic Plethodon species to climate warming. 
Madeline Mann
(PhD Student, Fall 2025 - Present) Madeline earned her BS in Biology at Hanover College, IN, where she worked in the Gall lab and studied animal behavior in a variety of taxa including crayfish, salamanders, spiders, fish, and frogs, and learned of her love for herpetology and predator-prey interactions. She received her MS in Biology at Eastern Kentucky University, KY, in the Mott lab where she explored carryover effects of predation risk on aposematic coloration in spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum). She started the lab in Fall 2025 with interests in varying effects on salamander coloration, and potential evolutionary outcomes of such effects. |
Darcy Beazley
(MS Student, Fall 2024 - Present) Darcy is a MS research assistant funded through the UD Hanley Sustainability Institute. Her work is currently focused on the resilience and conservation of Blanchard's Cricket Frog in the Dayton Metropolitan area. Darcy earned a BS in Wildlife Science from the College of Environmental Science and Forestry in New York. She has experience doing ecological research on a variety of wildlife, including black bears, snakes, lizards, and frogs. Her interests include conservation science, herpetology, and stream/wetland ecosystems. |
Undergraduate Students
Elliot Chinnock
Elliot is a senior Environmental Biology major at UD and joined the lab in the fall of 2023. She was awarded a UD Hanley Sustainability Institute Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship in the summer of 2024 to work on how water quality impacts the traits of Blanchard's Cricket Frogs. Elliot is continuing to work on Cricket Frogs and is also participating in a lab project on salamander coloration. |
Caroline Lamermayer
Caroline is a senior Environmental Biology major who joined the lab in the fall of 2023. She worked with mark-recapture software to identify recaptures of the Eastern Red-backed Salamander. She is currently helping with the salamander coloration project. She plans to continue her studies in the biology field in graduate school. |
Adelyn Hughes
Adelyn is a senior Biology major at UD and joined the lab in the summer of 2024. She was accepted into the Berry Summer Thesis Institute program in the summer of 2024 to study how a color polymorphism in the Blanchard's Cricket Frog affects predation through use of clay model study. Adelyn will continue to work on this project throughout her remaining time at UD and is also participating in a lab project on salamander coloration. In the future, she hopes to work in wildlife management. |
Emerson Amy
Emme is a senior Environmental Biology major at UD who joined the lab in the fall of 2023 and now works as a research assistant. She participated in the Deans Summer Fellowship in the summer of 2023 to study the effects of predation on fish courtship behaviors and completed an REU research project in the summer of 2024 to study competitive interactions and diet overlap between invasive and native fish in Lake Erie. She is currently working on salamander husbandry and the salamander coloration project. |
Cara Brensike
Cara is a junior Environmental Biology major at UD and joined the lab in the fall of 2023 where she assisted on a project about salamander behavior in relation to urbanization. She was awarded a Dean's Summer Fellowship in the summer of 2024 and worked on a project to determine whether two color morphs of Eastern Red-backed Salamanders had different temperature preferences while also assisting on projects with Blanchard's Cricket Frogs. Cara enjoys field work and continues to work in the lab doing salamander husbandry and participating in a lab project on salamander coloration. |
Kaitlyn Kemer
Kaitlyn is a senior Environmental Biology major at UD and recently joined the lab in the fall of 2024. She is helping with a lab project on salamander phenotypic coloration and hopes to pursue a career in aquatic and marine rehabilitation and animal care. |
Past Members
Nicolina Valore (undergraduate, honors student)
Amy Friemoth (undergraduate, honors student)
Megan Tierney (undergraduate student)
Evelyn Thomson (undergraduate student)
Amy Friemoth (undergraduate, honors student)
Megan Tierney (undergraduate student)
Evelyn Thomson (undergraduate student)
