Manuel Leal
Associate Professor of Biological Sciences
209 Tucker Hall
University of Missouri
Columbia, MO 65211
LealM@missouri.edu
(573) 882-1360
Graduate Students
Ellee Cook
I am interested in mechanisms that mediate intraspecific variation in behaviors associated with female-female competition. Currently, my research with Anolis lizards aims to elucidate how asymmetry in aspects of physiology, morphology, and behavior contribute to territorial interactions among females.
e-mail: egcrg7@mail.missouri.edu
Eddie Ramirez 
I am investigating potential mechanisms behind the maintenance of mitochondrial hybrid populations of Anolis lizards as well as seeking to understand their interactions with purebred populations.
e-mail: ear359@mail.missouri.edu
Levi Storks
I am interested in the role that cognition might play in evolutionary processes, especially in niche expansion and responses to novel conditions. I will carry out a series of behavioral and neurobiological studies to explore these cognitive processes at the proximate and ultimate level.
e-mail: storksle@gmail.com
Arianne Messerman
I seek to identify and understand factors that influence survival rates in the lesser-studied terrestrial life stages of pond-breeding salamanders. In doing so, I aim to inform current and future amphibian conservation efforts.
e-mail: messermana@gmail.com
Undergraduate Students
Joshua A. Jones
Current project: Spatial memory in jumping spiders
Han Hoekzema
Current project: Problem solving in lizards
High School Students
Claire Cheek, Hickman High School
Current project: Problem solving in lizards
Former Graduate Students
- Alex Gunderson
- Dave Steinberg
- Brian Powell
Former Undergraduate Students at Mizzou
- Fabio Squicimari: Honors Thesis, Associative Learning in Jumping Spiders
- Emma N. Smith: Interspecific variation in Anolis dewlap