Research and Student Projects

RESEARCH OVERVIEW   My general research interests are in functional morphology, biomechanics, and physiological performance.  Simply, I study how animals are put together and how they function.  These issues are approached from comparative, developmental, physiological, and clinical perspectives.    STUDENT RESEARCH PROJECTS   Moira Hutchings (current) Cranial suture complexity in tree-gouging marmosets and tamarins Nick Osborne (current) Ontogeny of suture complexity and brain growth in New World monkeys Erik Nabi (current) Bilateral asymmetry in the upper limbs of baseball players. 2006.  Jillian S. Davis (Shank) Feeding Biomechanics in Vampire Bats. 2006.  Natasha C. Lucki  Grip Strength and Endurance in Tennis Players: Physiological Consequences of Playing an Asymmetrical Sport. 2005.  Jessica L. Kenney  (Nalley) Influence of Menstrual Cycle Phase and Contraceptive Use on Muscle Strength and Endurance. 2004.  Anna L. Walker Surface EMG and Anatomical Measurements as Predictors of Grip Strength. 2003.  Mark J. Vaders  An Assessment of Fractal Analysis as a Tool for Quantifying Complex Sutures in White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). 2003.  Emily A. Seymour Ontogeny of Locomotor Performance in Tadpoles.

Student Publications 

(*student author)

Lucki NC and CW Nicolay.  <in press>.  Phenotypic plasticity and functional asymmetry in response to grip forces exerted by intercollegiate tennis players.  American Journal of Human Biology.

Nicolay CW, JL Kenney*, NC Lucki*. <in press>.  Grip strength and endurance throughout the menstrual cycle in eumenorrheic and women using oral contraceptives. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics.  

Nicolay CW and MJ Vaders*.  2006. Cranial suture complexity in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus).  Journal of Morphology 267: 841-849.

Nicolay CW and AL Walker*.  2005.  Grip strength and endurance: influences of anthropometric variation, handedness and gender.  International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics 35(7): 605-618.

Nicolay CW and JL Nalley*.  2005.  Upper extremity strength and endurance throughout the menstrual cycle in naturally cycling women and women using chemical contraceptives.  In, TK Fredericks, et al. (eds) Proceedings of the 10th Annual International Conference on Industrial Engineering Theory Application and Practice, p. 574-579.

Lucki NC* and CW Nicolay.  2005.  Grip strength in female tennis players: ergonomic implications of extreme asymmetry in hand use.  In, TK Fredericks, et al. (eds) Proceedings of the 10th Annual International Conference on Industrial Engineering Theory Application and Practice, p. 560-565.

Nalley JL* and CW Nicolay.  2004.  Influence of Menstrual Cycle Phase and Contraceptive Use on Muscle Strength and Endurance.  UNCA Journal of Undergraduate Research.

Student Presentations

Shank JS* and CW Nicolay. 2006. Comparative Analysis of the Cranial Morphology of Vampire Bats (Phyllostomidae: Desmodontinae). 67th Meeting of the Association of Southeastern Biologists, Gatlinburg, TN. March 2006.

Lucki, Natasha. 2006. Physiological Adaptations of the Upper Limb to the Biomechanical Environment of Playing Tennis. Proceedings of the National Conferences on Undergraduate Research 2006 [CD-ROM]. University of North Carolina at Asheville, Asheville NC, p. 282-287.

Shank-Davis, Jillian. 2006. Craniofacial Morphology of Vampire Bats (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae). Proceedings of the National Conferences on Undergraduate Research 2006 [CD-ROM]. University of North Carolina at Asheville, Asheville NC, p. 3466-3472.

Lucki NC* and CW Nicolay. 2005. Grip Strength: Physiological Consequences of the Over-trained Forearm. Poster presented at State of North Carolina Undergraduate Research Symposium (SNCURS), Raleigh NC. November 12, 2005.

Nalley JL* and CW Nicolay. 2005. Upper Extremity Strength and Endurance throughout the Menstrual Cycle in Naturally Cycling Women and Women Using Chemical Contraceptives.  10th International Conference on Industrial Engineering Theory, Applications & Practice.

Lucki NC* and CW Nicolay. 2005. Grip Strength in Female Tennis Players: Physiological Consequences of Playing an Asymmetrical Sport.  10th Annual International Conference on Industrial Engineering Theory, Applications & Practice.

Nalley JL* and CW Nicolay.  2005.  Influence of Menstrual Cycle Phase and Contraceptive Use on Muscle Strength and Endurance.  Poster presented at NCUR, April 2005.

Vaders MJ* and CW Nicolay.  2003.  Fractal analysis of cranial sutures in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus).  Paper presented at the SE Regional Meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, Division of Vertebrate Morphology.  James Madison University, Harrisonburg VA.

Nicolay CW, EA Seymour*, and SG Lynm*.  2003.  Ontogeny of sprint speed in tadpoles.  Paper presented at the SE Regional Meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, Division of Vertebrate Morphology.  James Madison University, Harrisonburg VA.

Other Publications / Presentations

Dumont ER and CW Nicolay. <accepted; in press> Cross-sectional geometry of the dentary in bats.  Zoology.

Nicolay CW and Y Winter.  2006.  Performance analysis as a tool for understanding the ecological morphology of nectar feeding bats.  In, A. Zubaid, G.F. McCracken, and T.H. Kunz (eds). Functional and Evolutionary Ecology of Bats.  New York: Oxford University Press, p. 131-144.

Nicolay CW.  2001.  Ecological Morphology and Nectar-Feeding Performance in Flower-Visiting Bats.  Ph.D. dissertation, School of Biomedical Sciences, Kent State University and NE Ohio Univs College of Medicine.

Nicolay CW and ER Dumont.  2000.  An experimental analysis of feeding performance in Syconycteris australis (Megachiroptera, Pteropodidae).  Mammalia 64 (2):155-161. 

Frayer DW and CW Nicolay.  2000.  Fossil evidence for the origin of speech sounds.  in, N.L. Wallin, B. Merker, and S. Brown (eds).  The Origins of Music.  Cambridge: MIT Press, p. 217-234.

Nicolay CW.  2003.  Anatomy of flower-visiting bats (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae): Functional and Ecological Considerations.  Paper presented at the Joint Meeting of the World Association of Veterinary Anatomists and American Association of Veterinary Anatomists, University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Nicolay CW.  2002.  Canine dimorphism in phyllostomid bats.  Paper presented at the 32^nd North American Symposium on Bat Research, Burlington VT.

Nicolay CW and RJ Sherwood.  2001.  Eigenshape and biomechanical analysis of the phyllostomid mandibular symphysis.  Paper presented at the Meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, Chicago, IL.

Nicolay CW.  2000.  Functional morphology of the mandibular symphysis in glossophagine bats.  Poster presented at the 30^th North American Symposium on Bat Research, Miami.

Nicolay CW, Y Winter, and ER Dumont.  2000.  Comparative analysis of nectar feeding performance in four phyllostomid bats.  Paper presented at the American Society of Mammalogists, Durham, NH.

Nicolay CW, ER Dumont, and Y Winter.  1999.  Feeding performance in Glossophaga soricina.  Paper presented at the 29^th North American Symposium on Bat Research.

                        *awarded Bat Research News Award for outstanding student presentation*

Nicolay CW and ER Dumont.  1998.  An experimental analysis of feeding behavior in a nectarivorous bat, Syconycteris australis.  Paper at 28^th North American Symposium on Bat Research.

Nicolay CW. 1996. Neanderthal speech and human origins.  Ohio J. Science 96(2): 38

                        *awarded outstanding paper in Environ. Sciences at 105^th Ohio Academy of Science*

Nicolay CW. 1995. Variation in cranial base flexion in modern humans, chimpanzees, and Neanderthals.  American Journal of Physical Anthropology (Supplement 20): 161-162.

Nicolay CW. 1994. Variation in Cranial Base Flexion in Humans and Chimpanzees. MA Thesis.  Dept. Anthropology, University of Kansas, Lawrence.