Dr. William Rogers, Professor
Interests
Evolution, Behavioral Ecology, Coloration, especially UV Reflectance Patterns, Vertebrates (and selected
invertebrates); [+Baseball; Gardening; Wine; Origami; and Music.] As you can see, my interests cover a wide
range of topics; consequently, my graduate students have also addressed a broad array of questions. As a
group, they have worked with every vertebrate class. I prefer to have my students propose questions of interest
to them rather than to rely on me to suggest a project. Having a high level of intellectual and, especially,
emotional investment in a project tends to ensure greater likelihood of success in completing the research and
writing a thesis.
Most Recent Research Projects
I have been concerned with several projects over the last five years. Two of these have taken place at Kings
Mountain National Military Park (KIMO), a site located about 30 miles from the Winthrop campus. Initial work
there involved my assessing the ichthyofaunal and the avifaunal resources of the park. Using these baseline
data I hope students will undertake further research on distributions, interspecific interactions and other
behavioral ecology investigations. One graduate student is already using data from the park to assess the
influence of KIMO’s fire management techniques on bird species and population numbers.
The third project has taken me to the Tahuayo River, a tributary of the upper Amazon, in northeastern Peru. I’m
using the site to investigate the behavior of two freshwater dolphins, the pink (Inia geoffrensis) and the gray
(Sotalia fluviatilis). Thus far I’ve worked with two graduate students (Holly Cadmus Walsh and AJ Fedoruk) to
catalogue numbers, behavioral repertoires, sounds and distributions of these animals. There is much more to
do, especially with regard to vocalizations and their uses by the two species.
Most Recent Graduate Students, Currently Writing Their Research
AJ Fedoruk: Mother-calf Interactions Among Amazon Rover Dolphins (Inia geoffrensis) in the Tahuayo River,
Peru
Rachel Greene: Effects of Prescribed Burning on the Birds of Kings Mountain National Military Park
Angel Rudert: An Analysis of the Herpetofauna of the Central Piedmont Region of South Carolina
Holly Walsh: Identification and Analysis of Amazon River Dolphin (Inia geoffrensis) Vocalizations in the
Tahuayo River, Peru.
Graduate Students, (Date MS Awarded), and Their Research Projects
Cassandra Marshburn Bell (2003): Estimating Past and Present Sex ratios of Loggerhead Sea Turtle
(Caretta caretta) Hatchlings on Edisto Island, South Carolina
Jason Ryan Johnson (2001): The Potential for Host Range Expansion in Helicoverpa zea by Means of a
“Hybrid Bridge”
Antonina Cannuscio (2001): Correlations Between Reproductive Behavior and Hormone Levels in the Toco
Toucan (Ramphastos toco) and the Keel-Billed Toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus)
Amanda Gilleland (1999): Possible Functions of Spread-Wing Behavior of Black Vultures (Coragyps atratus),
and Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura)
Jason Moretz (1997): Quantification of the Breeding Behavior of the Fantail Darter (Etheostoma flabellare)
Robin Carol Ashley Johnston (1997): Ontogeny and Coloration in Two Species of Poison Dart Frogs
Steven Eugene Fields (1997): A Survey of the Mammals of York County
Worth B. Thomasson (1996): Protein Assays of Venom From Four Species of Sebastes (S. chrysomelas, S.
flavidus, S. melanops and S. carnatus) Using Reverse Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography