Dr. Reinsel is a marine ecologist. She teaches courses in Invertebrate Biology, Marine Ecology, and Introductory Biology. Several of her courses will include field trips to the Duke University Marine Laboratory, where students will conduct ecological experiments and collect marine organisms from a variety of marine habitats. Her research interests include ecology of marine benthic communities, chemically mediated behavior, and the effects of human-produced environmental contaminants in aquatic systems. Current research includes foraging ecology of fiddler crabs, reproductive biology of grass shrimp, and the effects of toxins on grass shrimp development.
Dr. Reinsel received her B.A. in Biology from Hood College in 1986, and her Ph.D. in Zoology from Duke University in 1995. She conducted her dissertation research on fiddler crab feeding ecology at the Duke University Marine Laboratory, in Beaufort, NC. After her Ph.D., she spent a year and a half as an instructor at the Duke Marine Lab, assisting with courses in Marine Ecology, Invertebrate Zoology, and advising several students in independent research projects. Dr. Reinsel was a National Research Council Associate at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s laboratory in Gulf Breeze, Florida, from 1997-1999. As an associate, she began investigations on the effects of environmental contaminants on the reproductive biology of grass shrimp. She joined the Wittenberg Biology faculty in 1999.