Dr. Brian Bagatto

Title: Professor / Integrated Bioscience Director / Honors Advising
Dept/Program: Biology
Office: ASEC W179
Phone: (330) 972-2571
Fax: (330) 972-8445
Email: bagatto@uakron.edu

Biography

Research Interests

The main focus of my lab is study of physiological processes during development in vertebrates. Even though a lot of developmental processes are very similar between species of vertebrates, there are many differences. This is why I like to use a comparative approach when designing experiments to tease out and describe these differences. Physiological variation is also a large topic in my lab. By examining variation during development, the plasticity of developmental processes can be studied, especially during environmental perturbations, such as hypoxia or temperature. Some seemingly fragile developmental systems are more resilient than you might think. The majority of the work in the lab focuses on the cardiovascular system during development in various environments including hypoxia. Currently, we use the zebrafish as our animal model but I have worked in various animal systems including snakes, lizards, amphibians, turtles, alligators, emus, and armadillos.

Education

2001 Ph.D. in Biological Sciences, University of North Texas. Area of study: Influence of environment on development and performance in fish larvae.

1997 M.S. in Zoology, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama. Area of study: The effects of exercise and forced submergence on bimodal gas exchange, ventilatory behavior, and blood acid-base status in freshwater turtles.

1994 B.S.H. in Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Thesis area of study: The effects of water ion content on the recovery of exhaustively exercised rainbow trout.

Selected Publications

Widmer, S., F.B.-G. Moore, and B. Bagatto. 2006. The effects of chronic developmental hypoxia on swimming performance in zebrafish. Journal of Fish Biology 69:1885-1891.

Bagatto, B., J. Francl, B. Liu, and Q. Liu. 2006. Cadherin2 (N-cadherin) plays an essential role in zebrafish cardiovascular development. BMC Developmental Biology 6:23.

Moore, F.B.-G., M. Hosey, and B. Bagatto. 2006. Cardiovascular system in larval zebrafish responds to developmental hypoxia in a family specific manner. Frontiers in Zoology 3:4.

Bagatto, B and W.W. Burggren. 2006. A three-dimensional functional assessment of heart and vessel development in the larvae of the zebrafish (Danio rerio). Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 79(1):194-201.

Marks, C., T.N. West, B. Bagatto, and F.B.-G. Moore. 2005. Developmental environment alters conditional aggression in zebrafish. Copeia 2005(4):900-907.

Bagatto, B. 2005. Ontogeny of cardiovascular control in zebrafish (Danio rerio): Effects of developmental environment. Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry Part A 141:391-400.

Bagatto, B., D.A. Crossley, and W.W. Burggren. 2000. Physiological variability in neonatal armadillo quadruplets: within and between litter differences. Journal of Experimental Biology 203:1733-40.

Research

Cypher, A.D., J.R. Ickes, and B. Bagatto. 2015. Bisphenol A alters the cardiovascular response to hypoxia in Danio rerio embryos. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part C 174/5:39-45.

Marks, C., S.M. Lombardo, K.L. Formanik, F.B.-G. Moore, and B. Bagatto. 2012. The influence of ontogenetic dietary fluctuations on zebrafish size and swimming performance. Frontiers in Aquatic Physiology 3:310. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2012.00310

Marks, C., K.P. Kaut, F.B.-G. Moore, B. Bagatto. 2012. Ontogenetic oxygen fluctuations alter zebrafish behavior, physiology, and morphology. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 85(6) doi: 10.1086/666508

Bagatto, B., D.A. Crossley II, J. Altimiras, R.M. Elsey, and J.W. Hicks. 2012. Physiological variability in yearling alligators: Clutch differences at rest and during activity. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part A 162:44-50.

Currie, S., Bagatto, B., et al. 2010. Metabolism, nitrogen excretion and heat shock proteins in the central mudminnow, Umbra limi, a facultative air-breathing fish living in a variable environment. Canadian Journal of Zoology 88:43-58.