Publications
Simonitis, L. E., & Marshall, C. D. (2022). Microstructure of the Bonnethead Shark (Sphyrna tiburo) Olfactory Rosette. Integrative Organismal Biology, 4(1), obac027.
https://doi.org/10.1093/iob/obac027
Simonitis, L. E., Andrew, M., Brewer-Tinsley, T., Jones, A., Thomas, P., Van Eyck, S., & Webber-Schultz, A. (2022) Fields of elasmobranch anatomy and physiology. In Minorities in Shark Sciences (pp. 71-116). CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003260370
Shero, M. R., Reiser, P. J., Simonitis, L., Burns, J. M. (2019). Links between muscle phenotype and life history: Differentiation of myosin heavy chain composition and muscle biochemistry in precocial and altricial pinniped pups. Journal of Comparative Physiology B 189.6 (2019): 717-734. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00360-019-01240-w
Faulkner, P. C., Burleson, M. L., Simonitis, L., Marshall, C., Hala, D., & Petersen, L. H. (2018). Effects of chronic exposure to 12% saltwater on the endocrine physiology of juvenile American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). Journal of Experimental Biology 221.14 (2018): jeb181172. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.181172
I am interested in how differently shaped cartilaginous fish noses sample the aquatic environment. Through a combination of histology, scanning electron microscopy, CT scanning, and computational fluid dynamics I investigated how nose morphology effects sensory structure distribution and water flow
Underside of a spotted ratfish (Hydrolagus colliei) showing the Ammpullae of Lorenzini, nostrils, and mouth
Schematic of a bonnethead shark olfactory lamellae. EC- excurrent canal, EN- excurrent naris, IC- incurrent canal, IN- incurrent naris, OB- olfactory bulb, OL- olfactory lamellae, ONL- olfactory nerve layer, R- raphe.
CT scan of a Pacific spiny dogfish (Squalus suckleyi)