The annual round trip migration of the Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea) from pole to
pole is over 44,000 miles.
During the course of my field research I have been bitten by many species of animals.
These include: over ten species of snakes (none venomous), four lizard species, three
turtle species, three bird species, a couple of squirrels, a possum, several shrews,
and one frightened beagle.
My research interests lie in the field of vertebrate ecology. At ASU I, with at lot
of help from my students!, have researched heavy metal presence in freshwater turtles
and the home-range and habitat use of freshwater turtles. I also have an ongoing monitoring
project investigating the nesting success of red-headed woodpeckers in fire-adapted
ecosystems. I have also researched bat ecology and behavior by recording their vocalizations
and have ongoing projects using trail cameras to monitory wildlife populations.
Currently, I am mentoring two undergraduate research projects. One project is evaluating mercury uptake in freshwater turtles. We are collecting blood samples, claw clippings, and carapace (shell) scraping from local turtle species, principally the yellow-bellied slider (Trachemys scripta). Additionally, we are evaluating the possibility of mercury transfer from mother to egg. By inducing egg deposition in gravid females, we have been able to acquire non-viable eggs that will be analyzed for mercury concentration.
Students involved in this research include:
My second project involves in use of PVC pipe as traps for tree frogs. Foot-long segments of PVC, capped at one end, have been attached to trees at local wetlands. The PVC serves as artificial habitat for such frogs as the green tree frog (Hyla cinerea) and the squirrel tree frog (Hyla squirella). The PVC segments are checked weekly for tree frogs. The goal of this project is to evaluate tree frog diversity at distinct wetlands.
Students involved in this research include:
Cromer, R.B. 2007. Associations between two bottomland hardwood forest shrew species and hurricane-generated
woody debris. Southeastern Naturalist 6(2): 235-246.
Cromer, R.B. In revision. Role of hurricane-generated debris as habitat for herpetofauna.
Cromer, R.B., J.D. Lanham, and H.G. Hanlin. 2002. Herpetofaunal Response to Gap and Skidder-Rut
Wetland Creation in a Southern Bottomland Hardwood Forest. In: S. Destefano and R.G.
Haight (eds): Forest Wildlife-Habitat Relationships: Population and Community Responses
to Forest Management. Society of American Foresters, Bethesda, Maryland. pp. 288.
Cromer, R.B., J.D. Lanham, and H.G. Hanlin. 2002. Herpetofaunal Response to Gap and Skidder-Rut
Wetland Creation in a Southern Bottomland Hardwood Forest. Forest Science 48 (2):
407-416.
