Joshua J. Schwartz

 

Professor of Biology

 

Contact Information:

Department of Biology
Pace University
Pleasantville, NY 10570

Email:
JSCHWARTZ2@PACE.EDU

Office Phone: 
(914) 773-3507
Fax: (914) 773-3634

 

Education 

 Research Interests  

    My main interests are vertebrate behavior and sensory ecology with a focus on animal communication.  The objective of my research program is to increase our understanding of how both proximate and ultimate factors, including adaptations facilitating the detection and assessment of biologically relevant sensory information, can shape the communication systems of animals.  I work with tropical and temperate zone frogs, which are ideal organisms with which to pursue this goal. Aspects of frog communication biology I have studied include species isolating mechanisms, intraspecific and interspecific territoriality and agonistic behavior, mate choice, call transmission in the environment, calling energetics, communication networks and chorusing dynamics. The Smithsonian Institution, The National Institutes of Health, The Society for the Study of Evolution and The National Science Foundation have funded this research.

 

Recent Publications (Full List of Publications)


Schwartz, J. J., Huth, K., Jones, S. H., Brown, R., Marks, J. and Yang, X. 2010. Tests for call restorationduring signal overlap in the Gray Treefrog, Hyla versicolor. Bioacoustics 20: 59-86. (pdf)

Kuczynski, M. V., Vélez, A.,  Schwartz, J. J. and M. A. Bee. 2010. Sound transmission and the recognition oftemporally degraded sexual advertisement signals in Cope's gray treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis). J. Exp Biol., 213, 2840-2850. (pdf)

Schwartz, J. J., Huth K., Hunce, R. and Lentine, B. 2010. Effect of anomalous pulse timing on call discrimination by females of the gray treefrog:  behavioral correlates of neurobiology. J. Exp. Biol. 213:2066-2072. (pdf)

Seeba, F, Schwartz, J. J. and M. A. Bee. 2010. Testing an auditory illusion in frogs: Perceptual restoration or sensory bias? Anim. Behav. 79: 1317-1328. (pdf)

Bee, M. A. and J. J. Schwartz. 2009.  Perception by frogs in the presence of chorus-shaped noise: I.Behavioral measures of signal recognition thresholds. J. Acoust. Soc. Amer.126:2788-2801. (pdf)

Schwartz, J. J., Brown, R., Turner, S., Dushaj, K. and M. Castano.  2008. Interference risk and the function of dynamic shifts in calling in the gray treefrog. J. Comp. Psych.122: 283-288. (pdf)

Schwartz, J. J. and T. M. Freeberg. 2008. Acoustic Interaction in Animal Groups: Signaling in Noisy and Social Contexts. J. Comp. Psych. 122: 231-234. (pdf)

Gerhardt, H. C., Martínez, C. C, Schwartz, J. J., Marshall, V. T. and C. G. Murphy. 2007. Preferences based on spectral differences in acoustic signals in four species of treefrog (Anura: Hylidae). J. Exp. Biol. 210: 2990-2998. (pdf)

Wells, K. D. and J. J. Schwartz. 2007. The behavioral ecology of anuran communication. Pp. 44-86, In: Narins, P.M., Feng, A.S., Fay, R.R., and Popper, A.N. (eds) Hearing and Sound Communication in Amphibians. Springer Handbook of Auditory Research (Vol. 28). New York: Springer-Verlag. (pdf)

Schwartz, J. J. and V. T. Marshall. 2006. Forms of Call Overlap and Their Impact on Advertisement Call Attractiveness to Females of the Gray Treefrog, Hyla versicolor. Bioacoustics 16:39-56.(pdf)

Schwartz, J. J and K. M. Rahmeyer. 2006. Calling behavior and the capacity for sustained locomotory exercise in the gray treefrog (Hyla versicolor). J. Herp. 40:164-171. (pdf)

Marshall, V. T., J. J. Schwartz and H. C. Gerhardt. 2006. Effects of heterospecific call overlap on the phonotactic behaviour of grey treefrogs. Anim. Behav. 72: 449-459. (pdf)

Schwartz, J. J., Huth, K. and T. Hutchin. 2004. How long do females really listen? Assessment time for female mate choice in the gray treefrog, Hyla versicolor. Anim. Behav., Anim. Behav. 68:533-540. (pdf)

Schwartz, J. J., Buchanan, B. and H. C. Gerhardt. 2002. Acoustic interactions among male gray treefrogs (Hyla versicolor) in chorus setting. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 53:9-19. (pdf)

Schwartz, J. J., Buchanan, B. and H. C. Gerhardt. 2001. Female mate choice in the gray treefrog (Hyla versicolor) in three experimental environments. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 49:443-455. (pdf) 


Courses Taught at Pace University 

 Practicum in Research Methods (Bio 490)
 General Biology (Bio 101, 102: Lecture and Laboratory)

 Animal Behavior (Bio 322: Lecture and Laboratory)

 Undergraduate Ecology (Lecture and Laboratory)
 Undergraduate Environmental Science (Bio 205)
 Biology and Contemporary Society Lab (Bio 123)

 Graduate Environmental Science (ENS 611)

 Graduate Ecology (ENS 696D)

 Graduate Integrative Seminar (ENS 790)

Courses Previously Taught Elsewhere 

University of Missouri:

 Basic Environmental Studies, Herpetology, Graduate Neuroethology, Community Biology, Behavioral Biology

University of Connecticut: 

Environment and Man, Ecology, Vertebrate Biology  

Brown University: 

Animal Communication, Animal Behavior

                       

Click Here for Full CV


Photos from the Lab and Field