Thomas W. LaPoint

Professor

Director, Institute of Applied Sciences

940-369-7776

lapoint@unt.edu

www.ias.unt.edu

BS, 1971; University of Wyoming, Laramie; Zoology

MS, 1975; University of Houston, Houston; Population Biology

PhD, 1980; Idaho State University, Pocatello; Aquatic Biology

Research Interests

My primary research and teaching interests are in contaminant effects on freshwater aquatic communities. Specifically, I am interested in understanding linkages among fisheries and benthic population dynamics and how these are influenced by anthropogenic perturbations.  As an applied ecotoxicologist, I am interested in learning how chemical pollutants are distributed through biological communities and how they affect community structure and function.  But more than this, by carefully designing linked laboratory and field experiments, I am convinced we may use pollutants as Aprobes@ with which to shed light on fundamental population dynamics (e.g., mortality, fecundity, survivorship) and population behavior (predation, competition, etc.). My goals are to develop a sense of curiosity and excitement in graduate students about the form and function of nature and insight into its dynamics.

Professional Experience

Professor, Department of Biological Sciences and Leader, Aquatic Toxicology Section, The   Institute of Environmental & Human Health, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX.  September 1997 to Dec 1998.

Professor, Department of Environmental Toxicology and Leader, Aquatic Toxicology Section, The Institute of Wildlife and Environmental Toxicology, Clemson University, Clemson, SC.  May 1997 to August 31, 1997.

Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Toxicology and Leader, Aquatic Toxicology Section,  Institute of Wildlife and Environmental Toxicology, Clemson University, Clemson, SC. September 1991 to April, 1997

Assistant Chief Biologist, National Fisheries Contaminant Research Center (NFCRC), Columbia, MO. May 1988 to August 1991.

Representative Publications

Hemming JM, Turner PK, Brooks BW, Waller WT, and La Point TW.  2002. Assessment of toxicity reduction in wastewater effluent flowing through a wetland using Pimephales promelas, Ceriodaphnia dubia, and Vibrio fischeri.  Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 42:9-16.

Kennedy JH, La Point TW, Balci P, Stanley J, and Johnson ZB. 2002. Model Aquatic Ecosystems in Ecotoxicological Research: Considerations of Design, Implementation, and Analysis.  Chapter 3 in D. Hoffman, Rattner, Burton and Cairns (eds.), Handbook of Ecotoxicology, 2nd edition. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL.

Peng H, Brooks BW, Chan R, Chyan O and La Point TW. 2002. Response of Ceriodaphnia dubia to ionic silver: Discrepancies among model predictions, measured concentrations and mortality. Chemosphere 46:

Ownby, DR, TW La Point and GP Cobb. 2001. Silver size fractionation in aqueous toxicity test solutions. Toxicological and Environ. Chemistry 81:29-41.

La Point TW  and Waller WT. 2000.  Field assessments in conjunction with wet testing. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 19:14-24.