Jesse Grismer is a southern California native who has been a herpetology enthusiast since he was four years old. Fieldwork forms the backbone of many of Jesse’s research ideas. He is passionate about conducting herpetological field work in areas of the world that have not been thoroughly surveyed for reptile and amphibians and looking for new herpetological species, while simultaneously trying to ask deeper questions about the evolution of these species and their natural histories. Jesse is particularly interested in how adaptation to a particular type of habitat or microhabitat influences the diversification of eco-morphologies within lizards. This interest formed the basis for his dissertation research at the University of Kansas.
At the La Kretz Center, Jesse is collaborating on our U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service grant to use genomic tools to help determine if the Southern Californian Rubber Boa and the Lesser Slender Salamander require listing as endangered species. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Kansas in 2016, and was a postdoctoral researcher at Auburn University and UCLA. Jesse is now an Assistant Professor at La Sierra University.
For more information, download Jesse’s cv
