Larry Buckley Headshot

Larry Buckley

Senior Associate Dean

Dean’s Office
College of Science

585-475-7507
Office Location

Larry Buckley

Senior Associate Dean

Dean’s Office
College of Science

Education

BA, University of Missouri at St. Louis; MS, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville; Ph.D., Southern Illinois University at Carbondale

Bio

Dr. Buckley served as the Associate Head of Biology from 2007-2009, and has served as Head of the Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences (GSOLS) from 2013-2017. He has served on numerous Institute, College of Science, and Life Science committees including curriculum, teaching, faculty search, program assessment, program conversion and revision. He developed courses in Evolutionary Biology, Comparative Anatomy, Population Genetics, and Biogeography and he has taught both the General Biology and Introductory Biology first year sequences. Dr. Buckley is the recipient of the 2001 Richard and Virginia Eisenhart Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.

His research focus is on phylogenetics and vertebrate systematics especially reptiles and amphibians, with an emphasis on systematics and population genetics of iguanid lizards. As a scientist, he also explores herpetology, mammology, evolutionary theory, vertebrate evolution, biogeography, molecular systematics, comparative anatomy, and population genetics. Among his past publications is a description of a new species of iguana from the forests of Honduras in Central America where he and his collaborators have worked for many years. He and his colleagues recently resurrected a genus of iguanas as part of a comprehensive examination of the evolutionary history of the group.  His efforts are directed toward increasing our understanding biological evolution in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean region. He also works to save remaining populations of endangered species in this region of the Neotropics. He is a member of the Society for the Study of Evolution, the International Biogeography Society, the Geological Society of America, the Society of Systematic Biologists, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Dr. Buckley joined RIT in 1998 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences following a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., where he worked in the Department of Vertebrate Zoology. Dr. Buckley earned his Ph.D in zoology from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, his MS in Biology from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, and his BS in Biology at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. 

585-475-7507

Select Scholarship

Journal Paper
Malone, Catherine L., Victor Hugo Reynoso, and Larry Buckley. "Never Judge an Iguana by Its Spines: Systematics of the Yucatan Spiny Tailed Iguana, Ctenosaura Defensor (Cope, 1866)." Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 115. (2017): 27-39. Print.
Ali, Bazla, et al. "To Be or Not To Be T4: Evidence of a Complex Evolutionary Pathway of Head Structure and Assembly in Giant Salmonella Virus SPN3US." Frontiers in Microbiology 8. (2017): 1-21. Print.
Gan, Han Ming, et al. "Whole-Genome Sequence of Enterobacter sp. Strain SST3, an Endophyte Isolated from Jamaican Sugarcane (Saccharum sp.) Stalk Tissue." Journal of Bacteriology 194. 21 (2012): 5981. Print.
Invited Keynote/Presentation
Santonocito, Melissa and Larry Buckley. "Comparison of Molecular and Morphological Analyses of Iguanid Evolution." Annual Meeting of the Rochester Academy of Science. State University of New York at Brockport. Brockport, New York. 15 Nov. 2014. Conference Presentation.
Weatherell, Michelle Lynne and Larry J. Buckley. "Mitochondrial Haplotype Variation in Lake Sturgeon, Acipenser Fulvescens (Rafinesque, 1817), of the Great Lakes Basin." Rochester Academy of Science. St. John Fisher College. Rochester, NY. 10 Nov. 2012. Conference Presentation.
Cooper, Alexandra and Larry J. Buckley. "Mitochondrial DNA Analysis of H. Sapiens." Rochester Academy of Science. St. John Fisher College. Rochester, NY. 10 Nov. 2012. Conference Presentation.
Dedrick, Sandra and Larry Buckley. "Phylogeographic Analysis of the Mexican Black Iguana - Ctenosaura pectinata." Evolution 2011. Society for the Study of Evolution/Society of Systematic Biologists. University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK. 19 Jun. 2011. Conference Presentation.
Bell, Kayla and Larry Buckley. "Phylogenetic Relationships within the Order Isopoda." Evolution 2011. Society for the Study of Evolution & Society of Systematic Biologists. University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK. 19 Jun. 2011. Conference Presentation.
Invited Article/Publication
Buckley, Larry, et al. "A Checklist of The Iguanas of The World (Iguanidae; Iguaninae)." IUCN Iguana Specialist Group (ISG). (2014). Web.

Currently Teaching

BIOL-295
1 - 4 Credits
This course is a faculty-directed student project or research involving laboratory work, computer modeling, or theoretical calculations that could be considered of an original nature. The level of study is appropriate for students in their first three years of study.
BIOL-298
1 - 4 Credits
This course is a faculty-directed tutorial of appropriate topics that are not part of the formal curriculum. The level of study is appropriate for student in their first three years of study.
BIOL-301
1 - 4 Credits
This course allows students to assist in a class or laboratory for which they have previously earned credit. The student will assist the instructor in the operation of the course. Assistance by the student may include fielding questions, helping in workshops, and assisting in review sessions. In the case of labs, students may also be asked to help with supervising safety practices, waste manifestation, and instrumentation.
BIOL-495
1 - 4 Credits
This course is a faculty-directed student project or research involving laboratory or field work, computer modeling, or theoretical calculations that could be considered of an original nature. The level of study is appropriate for students in their final two years of study.
BIOL-498
1 - 4 Credits
This course is a faculty-directed tutorial of appropriate topics that are not part of the formal curriculum. The level of study is appropriate for student in their final two years of study.
BIOL-798
1 - 4 Credits
This course is a faculty-directed, graduate level tutorial of appropriate topics that are not part of the formal curriculum.
ENVS-790
1 - 4 Credits
The thesis option will be available to environmental science graduate students only with prior written approval of program faculty. Students will submit a proposal to a faculty member who agrees to serve as the student's thesis committee chair. The proposal will describe the basic research question to be investigated and the experimental protocols to be employed. Proposals will be reviewed by the program faculty who will give permission to register for thesis credit. This course may be taken several times over the course of a student's graduate program, for variable credits. A written thesis and oral defense are required at the completion of the thesis research.
ENVS-791
0 Credits
Continuation of Thesis
ENVS-795
1 - 4 Credits
This course is a graduate level, faculty-directed, student project or research involving laboratory or field work, computer modeling, or theoretical calculations that could be considered of an original nature. The level of study is appropriate for students in Environmental Science graduate program.
ENVS-798
1 - 4 Credits
This course is a faculty-directed tutorial of appropriate topics that are not part of the formal curriculum. The level of study is appropriate for student in the Environmental Science graduate program.