For information on Dr. Beck's new book, click here

Daniel D. Beck, Professor

Science Building, Room 236G
400 E. University Way
Ellensburg, WA 98926-7537
(509) 963-2886
email: beckd@cwu.edu

Visit Dr. Beck's Homepage
Curriculum Vitae
Ph. D. University of Arizona (Ecology & Evolutionary Biology), 1991.

Teaching

Introductory Biology, Desert Ecology, General Ecology, Field Biology. Working to strengthen field biology program and catalyze interdisciplinary field/natural history experiences in the natural sciences.

Research

Habitat selection, physiological ecology, foraging behavior, rattlesnake ecology, biology of helodermatid lizards.

Selected Publications

• Beck, D. D. 2005. The Biology of Gila monsters and Beaded lizards (Book). University of California Press, Berkeley. Published July 2005
• Beck, D. D. 2004. Venomous Lizards of the Desert. Natural History 113(6): 32-37
• Beck, D. D. 2004. Overview of the family Helodermatidae (for varanophiles) and species accounts for Heloderma horridum and Heloderma suspectum. In: E. R. Pianka and D. King: Varanoid Lizards of the World. Indiana University Press.
• Beck, D.D. and R.D. Jennings. 2003. Habitat use by Gila monsters: the importance of shelters. Herpetological Monographs 17:112-130.
• Gienger, C.M., D.D. Beck, N.C. Sabari and D.L. Stumbaugh. 2002. Dry season habitat use by lizards in a tropical deciduous forest of western Mexico. Journal of Herpetology 36(3):487-490.
• Beck, DD. 2001. Historia natural de Heloderma horridum en la region de Chamela. In Historia Natural de Chamela. Bullock, S., F. Noguera & A. Garcia-Aldrete. Instituto De Biologia-UNAM. Mexico City, Mexico.
• Beck, DD. 1996. Effect of feeding on thermoregulation by rattlesnakes: a field experiment. Physiological Zoology 69(6): 1442-1455.
• Beck, DD. 1995. Ecology and energetics of three sympatric rattlesnake species in the Sonoran desert. Journal of Herpetology 29:211-223.
• Beck, DD, MR Dohm, T Garland, Jr., A Ramirez-Bautista, and CH Lowe. 1995. Locomotor performance and activity energetics of helodermatid lizards. Copeia 1995 (3):577-585.
• Beck, D.D. and C.H. Lowe. 1994. Metabolism of helodermatid lizards: allometric and ecological relationships. Journal of Comparative Physiology B. 164:124-129.
• Beck, D.D. and A. Ramirez-Bautista. 1991. Combat behavior of the beaded lizard, Heloderma h. horridum, in Jalisco, Mexico. Journal of Herpetology 25(4):481-484.
• Beck, D.D. and C.H. Lowe. 1991. Ecology of the beaded lizard, Heloderma horridum in a tropical dry forest in Jalisco, Mexico. Journal of Herpetology 25(4):395-406.
• Beck, D.D. 1990. Ecology and behavior of the Gila monster in southwestern Utah. Journal of Herpetology 24(1):54-68.