Joshua Lonthair

Education: 
B.S.M.A.S., University of Miami, 2013
Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin, 2019

Postdoctoral: 
University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2019-2022
NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center, 2019-2022

Research Interests: 

Conservation Physiology of Fishes

I am fascinated by how an animal’s physiology can be modulated to allow adapt to a changing and possibly hostile environment, especially in the context of global climate change. Over the last decade, my research interests have focused on understanding how marine and freshwater fish develop, regulate, and mold their physiological processes in response to key environmental conditions, like oxygen, salinity, pH, and temperature. I am particularly interested in understanding how individuals to populations exhibit differences in plasticity and resilience to external changes in the environment, specifically why do some "win" while others "lose". To pursue these interests, I have developed a suite of whole animal and cell biology techniques, including respirometry, confocal microscopy, electrophysiology, and quantitive PCR.

Teaching Statement: 

As an educator and a scientist, I am privileged to convey my passion about the natural world and share this knowledge with others. My primary goal is to impart the importance of understanding ideas and concepts to my students and have them use their reasoning skills to identify and solve novel problems. Thus, I implore my students to take an active role in their own education by creating a community in the classroom, which fosters curiosity, inquiry, and critical thinking. To create the best learning environment for my students, I draw upon observation, educational literature, personal experience, and feedback. My teaching philosophy encompasses the fundamental ideas of Teaching-Scholar Model, Active Learning, Experiential Learning, and Diversity, and by doing so my goal is to support my students both academically and socio-emotionally.

Representative Publications: 

Lonthair, J.K., Wegner, N.C., Cheng, B.S., Fangue, N.A., O'Donnell, M.J., Regish, A.M., Swenson, J.D., Argueta, E., McCormick, S.D., Letcher, B.H. and Komoroske, L.M., 2024. Smaller body size under warming is not due to gill-oxygen limitation in a cold-water salmonid. Journal of Experimental Biology. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.246477

Skelton, Z.R., McCormick, L.R., Kwan, G.T., Lonthair, J.K., Neira, C., Clements, S.M., Martz, T.R., Bresnahan, P.J., Send, U., Giddings, S.N. and Sevadjian, J.C., 2024. Organismal responses to deteriorating water quality during the historic 2020 red tide off Southern California. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene. https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2023.00067

Lonthair, J.K., A.M. Dichiera, A.J. Esbaugh. 2020. Mechanisms of Acid-Base Regulation Following Respiratory Alkalosis in Red Drum (Sciaenops ocellatus). Comparative Biochemistry Physiology - Part A: Molecular and Integrative Physiology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpa.2020.110779(link is external)

Lonthair, J.K., P.P. Hwang, A.J. Esbaugh. 2020. Impacts of hypercapnia on the early life stages of the orange spotted grouper, Epinephelus coioides. ICES Journal of Marine Science. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsaa023(link is external)

Cartolano, M.C., H.N. Gancel, J.K. Lonthair, C.M. Wood, M.D. McDonald. 2019. Pulsatile urea excretion in Gulf toadfish: the role of circulation serotonin and additional 5-HT receptors. Journal of Comparative Physiology - Part B. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00360-019-01223-x(link is external)

Lonthair, J.K., R. Ern, A.J. Esbaugh. 2017. The early life stages of an estuarine fish, the red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), are tolerant to high pCO2. ICES Journal of Marine Science. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsw225