Bio

Dr. Janecka returns to her hometown, El Paso, to join UTEP after completing a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt). Her research background centers on the effects of human habitat alteration on host-parasite co-evolution in river ecosystems, parasite biodiversity, and evolution, and integrating applied conservation and endangered species management with empirical research.

• Ph D in Biology, Texas A&M University (2019)
• MS in Biology , University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (2010)
• BS in Environmental Biology , Emporia State University (2006)

Publications

• Parasite gene flow in riverine habitats: ascertaining the roles of stream drift, river bifurcations and host dispersal. BioRxiv (2022), Mary J. Janecka.
• Expert range maps of global mammal distributions harmonised to three taxonomic authorities. Journal of Biogeography (2022), Charles Marsh, Mary J. Janecka.
• How does host social behavior drive parasite non-selective evolution from the within-host to the landscape-scale? Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology (2021), Mary J. Janecka.
• Post-delisting genetic monitoring reveals population subdivision along river and reservoir localities of the endemic Concho water snake (Nerodia harteri paucimaculata). Conservation Genetics (2021), Mary J. Janecka.
• Field Safety Manual University Field Safety Manual (2021), Sara Kuebbing , Mary J. Janecka.

Presentations

• The landscape genetics of host-parasite biodiversity in rivers (2023), Volume University of Texas at El Paso, Mary J. Janecka.
• Adaptive Evolution and Host-Parasite Biodiversity (2023), Volume Kingsville Texas, Mary J. Janecka.
• Social Hosts, Virgin Birth and Waterfalls (2022), Volume College Station, TX, Mary J. Janecka.
• Unidirectional stream drift, dendritic ecological networks, and host dispersal: parasite geneflow in riverine habitats (2021), Volume Online , Mary J. Janecka.

• Subaward: NSF OSIB: Dynamic interactions between host social behavior and parasite virulence.
• Enhanced blood-seeking behaviors in ticks carrying infectious diseases: illuminating the ecology, epidemiology, and evolutionary consequences of transmitting pathogens.
• Host-parasite coevolution against the current: How do river architecture, unidirectional drift and host behavior shape parasite coevolutionary potential?