Christopher Higgins
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Phone: 602-543-1066
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4701 W Thunderbid Rd Glendale, AZ 85306
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Mail code: 2352Campus: West
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I was born in Amarillo, Texas, where I spent most of my childhood before moving to the Dallas–Fort Worth area during high school. Growing up, I split my time between playing outside, water skiing when I had the chance, and the early days of video games, starting with Atari (Warlords, anyone?). As I got older, football became a big part of my life and shaped much of my high school experience. As a first-generation college student, my path into higher education was not always straightforward, but it ultimately shaped my perspective as both a scientist and educator. I initially enrolled at the University of Texas at Arlington as an engineering major, commuting two hours each day — a challenge that led me to transfer to Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas. After changing majors a couple of times, I ultimately found my direction in Biology.
Although I had found an interest in biology, I was not yet a strong student. I worked two jobs to help pay for school and maintain a social life, and academics often took a back seat. I graduated with a 2.5 GPA and narrowly gained admission to graduate school. It wasn’t until I became involved in an undergraduate research project (Home range of the nine-banded armadillo, Dasypus novemcinctus, in the Concho Valley of Texas) that my direction changed. For the first time, something truly clicked. I realized I wanted to pursue research, and that experience set me on a new path academically and professionally. Throughout my masters and doctorate I earned a 4.0 GPA and graduated summa cum laude. I was even inducted into the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. For my MS, I published work that used traditional multivariate statistics and artificia neural networks to discriminate and classify different search paths produced by different search strategies. My PhD focused on understanding the spatial and temporal structure of stream fish assemblages across Texas river systems. This work demonstrated that fish communities are strongly structured by both local environmental conditions and broader spatial processes, with distinct assemblage patterns emerging along physicochemical gradients.
After graduation, I joined Tarleton State University as an Assistant Professor and spent 14 years there, ultimately becoming a tenured Full Professor. During my time at Tarleton, I was Founding DIrector of Timberlake Biological Field Station and served as Principal Investigator for the university’s first NSF-funded REU program, Restoring Cattle Ranches for Sustainable Land and Water Resources. My research focused on large-scale patterns of biodiversity and metacommunity structure across multiple taxa, including arthropods in Senegal, bats in Mexico and Paraguay, gastropods in Puerto Rico, and stream fishes in Hungary and Texas. I integrated field data with quantitative and computational approaches to examine how environmental gradients, spatial processes, and disturbance shape species distributions. This work contributed to developing a more predictive, multi-scale framework for understanding how ecological communities are organized across landscapes.
In 2020, I joined Arizona State University, where I focus on teaching non-major students—those who will go on to become informed citizens and decision-makers. I teach courses such as The Living World (BIO 100) and Environmental Sustainability (ENV 194), where I integrate immersive and adaptive learning technologies to enhance student engagement and success. In BIO 100, I incorporate Dreamscape Learn (DSL), an innovative, narrative-driven immersive learning platform developed in partnership with ASU that combines virtual reality and cinematic storytelling to place students inside interactive ecosystems. Within this environment, students actively solve problems, explore biological systems, and apply scientific concepts in ways that mirror real-world inquiry. Across both courses, I use an integrated online learning platform that provides access to course materials, assignments, and study tools in one place along with interactive activities and assessments designed to reinforce key concepts. Features such as note-taking, highlighting, and progress tracking help students manage their learning, while structured activities support the study cycle and promote deeper understanding. Together, these tools create a learning environment that blends immersive experience with evidence-based instruction, helping students build confidence, critical thinking skills, and lasting scientific literacy.
Dr. Higgins is an ecologist whose research advances the understanding of biodiversity patterns through the integration of metacommunity theory, biogeography, and community ecology. His work investigates how environmental gradients, spatial processes, and disturbance regimes interact to structure species assemblages across multiple spatial and temporal scales. Using a combination of quantitative frameworks and empirical analyses across diverse taxa—including fishes, bats, mammals, and invertebrates—he has contributed to the development and application of metacommunity structure theory, particularly in evaluating coherence, turnover, and boundary dynamics in ecological communities. His research emphasizes the hierarchical influence of climate and habitat heterogeneity, as well as the restructuring effects of disturbance, providing a mechanistic and predictive framework for understanding biodiversity in a changing environment.
De la Sancha, N.U., R. Maestri, R.S. Bovendorp, and C.L. Higgins. 2020. Disentangling drivers of small mammal diversity in a highly fragmented forest system. Biotropica 52:182-185.
Presley, S.J., L.M. Cisneros, C.L. Higgins, B.T. Klingbeil, S.M. Scheiner, and M.R. Willig. 2018. Phylogenetic and functional underdispersion in Neotropical phyllostomid bat communities. Biotropica 50:135-145.
Grimshaw, J.R. and C.L. Higgins. 2017. Environmental correlates of phylogenetic structure in Mexican bat communities. Journal of Mammalogy 98:1657-1666.
Lingbeek, B.J., C.L. Higgins, J.P. Muir, D.H. Kattes, and T.W. Schwertner. 2017. Arthropod diversity and assemblage structure response to deforestation and desertification in the Sahel of western Senegal. Global Ecology and Conservation 11:165-176.
Ruehle, B.P., K.K. Herrmann, and C.L. Higgins. 2017. Helminth parasite assemblages in two cyprinids with different life-history strategies. Aquatic Ecology 51:247-256.
Medina Torres, K.M. and C.L. Higgins. 2016. Taxonomic and functional organization in metacommunity structure of stream-fish assemblages among and within river basins in Texas. Aquatic Ecology 50:247-259.
Price, C.J., C.L. Higgins, K.K. Herrmann, and D.H. Kattes. 2015. Spatiotemporal variation in the distribution of spinose ear ticks (Otobius megnini) within animal shelters at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center. The Southwestern Naturalist 60:224-230.
Higgins, C.L., A.R. Love-Snyder, W.W. Wiegreffe, and R.S. Pfau. 2015. Lack of hybridization between red and blacktail shiner (Cyprinella lutrensis and C. venusta) in two Texas rivers, but evidence of introgression among three lineages of the C. lutrensis species group. Copeia 103:272-280.
Lopez-Gonzalez, C., S.J. Presley, A. Lozano, R.D. Stevens, and C.L. Higgins. 2014. Ecological biogeography of Mexican bats: the relative contribution of habitat heterogeneity, beta diversity, and environmental gradients to species richness patterns. Ecography 38:261-272.
De la Sancha, N.U., C.L. Higgins, S.J. Presley, and R.E. Strauss. 2014. Understanding the relative contribution of historical biogeography and human-induced deforestation on metacommunity structure of Atlantic Forest small mammals. Diversity and Distributions 20:1058-1070.
Lange, J.R., R.M. Harp, J.M. Cadle, R.S. Tarpley, C.L. Higgins, and B.D. Lambert. 2014. Lunar influence on post-castration performance of baby piglets. The Texas Journal of Agriculture and Natural Resources 27:1-12.
Erős, T., P. Takács, P. Sály, C.L. Higgins, P. Bíró, and D. Schmera. 2014. Quantifying temporal variability in the metacommunity structure of stream fishes: the influence of non-native species and environmental drivers. Hydrobiologia 722:31-43.
Munz, J.T. and C.L. Higgins. 2013. The influence of discharge, photoperiod, and temperature on the reproductive ecology of cyprinids in the Paluxy River, Texas. Aquatic Ecology 47:67-74.
Lopez-Gonzalez, C., S.J. Presley, A. Lozano, R.D. Stevens, and C.L. Higgins. 2012. Metacommunity structure of Mexican bats: a test of metacommunity paradigms in an area of high geographic and environmental complexity. Journal of Biogeography 39: 177-192.
Willig, M.R., S.J. Presley, C.P. Bloch, I. Castro-Arellano, L. Cisneros, C.L. Higgins, and B.T. Klingbeil. 2011. Tropical metacommunities and elevational gradients: disentangling effects of forest type from other elevational factors. Oikos 120: 1497-1508.
Presley, S.J., M.R. Willig, C.P. Bloch, I. Castro-Arellano, C.L. Higgins, and B.T. Klingbeil. 2011. A complex metacommunity structure for gastropods along an elevational gradient: axes of specialization and environmental variation. Biotropica 43:480-488.
Presley, S.J., C.L. Higgins, and M.R. Willig. 2010. Toward a comprehensive framework for the evaluation of metacommunity structure. Oikos 119: 908-917.
Higgins, C.L. 2010. Patterns of functional and taxonomic organization of stream fishes: inferences based on α, β, and γ diversities. Ecography 33:678-687.
Higgins, C.L. 2009. Spatiotemporal variation in functional and taxonomic organization of stream-fish assemblages in central Texas. Aquatic Ecology 43: 1133-1141.
Presley, S.J., C.L. Higgins, C. Lopez-Gonzalez, and R.D. Stevens. 2009. Elements of metacommunity structure of Paraguayan bats: multiple gradients require analysis of multiple axes. Oecologia 160: 781-793.
Higgins, C.L. and R.E. Strauss. 2008. Modeling stream-fish assemblages with niche apportionment models: patterns, processes, and scale dependence. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 137: 696-706.
Willig, M.R., C.P. Bloch, N. Brokaw, C.L. Higgins, J. Thompson, and C.R. Zimmermann. 2007. Cross-scale responses of biodiversity to hurricane and anthropogenic disturbance in a tropical forest. Ecosystems 10: 824-838.
Bloch, C.P., C.L. Higgins, and M.R. Willig. 2007. Effects of large-scale disturbance on community structure: temporal trends in nestedness. Oikos 116: 395-406.
Higgins, C.L., M.R. Willig, and R.E. Strauss. 2006. The role of stochastic processes in producing nested patterns of species distributions. Oikos 114: 159-167.
Chizinski, C.J., C.L. Higgins, C.E. Shavlik, K.L. Pope. 2006. Multiple hypotheses testing of fish incidence patterns in an urbanized ecosystem. Aquatic Ecology 40: 97-109.
Higgins, C.L., and G.R. Wilde. 2005. The role of salinity in structuring fish assemblages in a prairie stream system. Hydrobiologia 549: 197-203.
Smith, C.D., C.L. Higgins, G.R. Wilde, and R.E. Strauss. 2005. Development of a morphological index of the nutritional status of juvenile largemouth bass. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 134: 120-125.
Higgins, C.L. and R.E. Strauss. 2004. Discrimination and classification of search paths produced by different search-tactic models. Behavioral Ecology 15: 248-254.
Courses
2026 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| LSC 322 | Fundamentals of Ecology Lab |
2026 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| BIO 182 | General Biology II |
| BIO 412 | Conservation in Practice |
| BIO 100 | The Living World |
| BIO 100 | The Living World |
| BIO 100 | The Living World |
2025 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| BIO 100 | The Living World |
| BIO 100 | The Living World |
| BIO 100 | The Living World |
| BIO 181 | General Biology I |
2025 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| LSC 322 | Fundamentals of Ecology Lab |
2025 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| BIO 412 | Conservation in Practice |
| BIO 100 | The Living World |
| BIO 100 | The Living World |
| BIO 100 | The Living World |
2024 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| BIO 100 | The Living World |
| BIO 100 | The Living World |
| BIO 100 | The Living World |
2024 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| LSC 322 | Fundamentals of Ecology Lab |
2024 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| ENV 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| BIO 412 | Conservation in Practice |
| BIO 100 | The Living World |
| BIO 100 | The Living World |
| BIO 100 | The Living World |
2023 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| BIO 181 | General Biology I |
| LSC 394 | Special Topics |
| ENV 394 | Special Topics |
| BIO 100 | The Living World |
| BIO 100 | The Living World |
| BIO 100 | The Living World |
2023 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| LSC 322 | Fundamentals of Ecology Lab |
2023 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| BIO 412 | Conservation in Practice |
| BIO 100 | The Living World |
| BIO 100 | The Living World |
| BIO 100 | The Living World |
2022 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| LSC 394 | Special Topics |
| ENV 394 | Special Topics |
| BIO 100 | The Living World |
| BIO 100 | The Living World |
| BIO 100 | The Living World |
2022 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| LSC 322 | Fundamentals of Ecology Lab |
2022 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| BIO 100 | The Living World |
| BIO 100 | The Living World |
| BIO 100 | The Living World |
| BIO 412 | Conservation in Practice |
2021 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| BIO 182 | General Biology II |
| BIO 100 | The Living World |
| BIO 100 | The Living World |
2021 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| LSC 322 | Fundamentals of Ecology Lab |
2021 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| BIO 100 | The Living World |
| BIO 100 | The Living World |
| BIO 100 | The Living World |
As part of my commitment to community engagement and environmental education, I have organized and led several outreach initiatives that connect biodiversity science with the public. These efforts include coordinating campus mini-bioblitz events for K–12 summer camps, where students actively participate in documenting local species and learning about ecological research through hands-on field experiences. In addition, I spearheaded the installation of the first certified Monarch Waystation on ASU’s West Valley campus located in West Valley Gardens, providing critical habitat for monarch butterflies and other pollinators while enhancing the campus’s role as a living laboratory for sustainability and conservation education. Together, these projects foster environmental awareness, promote citizen science, and strengthen connections between the university and the surrounding community.