I started at Bangor University, as a teaching-focused lecturer in zoology, in 2014. My research background is in amphibian biology and biomechanics and I contribute sessions drawing on this expertise to modules compulsory to our unique 'Zoology with Herpetology' degree. As a biomechanicist, I am particularly fascinated by the links between form and function as it applies across a whole range of organisms, meaning my interests are broad, so I am able to contribute to a wide range of modules across the biology, zoology and marine zoology degrees (see Teaching and Supervision link). 

As a teaching and scholarship lecturer, I am also interested in pedagogical approaches to teaching zoology. Both at Glasgow, where I started teaching, and at Bangor I have been mainly involved in teaching in a large-class environment, with particular focus on the first year. I was awarded a teaching excellence award in 2008 in recognition of “effective, responsive and creative approaches to administering, teaching and supporting the learning of a large group of students in their first year at University”. I completed a PGCHE in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education in 2009 and have been a Fellow of the HEA since 2014.  

Name              Joanna Smith

Position           Senior Lecturer in Zoology

Email               j.smith@bangor.ac.uk

Phone              +44 (0)1248 38 2298

Location          Memorial Building

Module lead:

BNS-1002 Organismal Diversity

BSX-1028 Tutorials

Contribute teaching to:

BSX-2021 Bioscience Skills

BSX-2032 Field Courses (India)

BSX-2035 Field Courses (Local)

BSX-2028 Introduction to Herpetology

BSX-3158 Advances in Herpetology

BSX-3070 Dissertations

Previous teaching on:

BNS-3001/3 Freshwater Ecosystems

BSX-1027 Comparative Zoology

BSX-2022 Vertebrate Biology

BSX-2030 Integrated Zoology

BSX-3151 Animal Design

BSM-4000 Masters Research Project

ONS-1001 Introductory Research Skills

OSX-3203 Airbreathing Marine Vertebrates

I supervise ~10 UG dissertation students a year, and have co-supervised MScRes students.  

2021

• PublishedContrasting selection pressure on body and weapon size in a polygynous megaherbivore
  Shannon, G., Sadler, P., Smith, J., Roylance-Casson, E. & Cordes, L., 31 Oct 2021, In: Biology Letters. 17, 10
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedThe distribution and conservation status of the Dwarf Marsupial Frog (Flectonotus fitzgeraldi, Anura, Hemiphractidae) in Trinidad, Tobago, and Venezuela
  Smith, J., Thornham, D., Downie, R., Jowers, M., Auguste, R., Hoskisson, P., Beyts, C., Muir, G., Greener, M., Byrne, I., Lehtinen, R., Eyre, M., Rutherford, M., Murphy, J. C., De Freitas, M. & Rivas, G., 30 Jun 2021, In: Amphibian and Reptile Conservation. 15, 1, p. 36–56 20 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2019

• PublishedStable individual variation in ventral spotting patterns in Phyllomedusa trinitatis (Anura: Phyllomedusidae) and other Phyllomedusa species: a minimally invasive method for recognizing individuals
  Smith, J., Bland, A., Gourevitch, E., Hoskisson, P. & Downie, R., Jun 2019, In: Phyllomedusa. 18, 1, p. 13-26
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2018

• PublishedA Field Guide to the Amphibians & Reptiles of Trinidad & Tobago
  Smith, J., Murphy, J., Downie, R., Livingstone, S., Mohammed, R. & Lehtinen, R., Feb 2018, Trinidad & Tobago Field Naturalists’ Club. 336 p.
  Research output: Book/Report › Book

2013

• PublishedAn Investigation of Ecological Correlates With Hand and Foot Morphology in Callitrichid Primates
  Smith, J. & Smith, A., Oct 2013, In: American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 152, 4, p. 447–458 12 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedNest structure, incubation and hatching in the Trinidadian leaf-frog Phyllomedusa trinitatis
  Downie, J. R., Nokhbatolfoghahai, M., Bruce, D., Smith, J. M., Orthmann-Brask, N. & McDonald-Allan, I., 18 Jun 2013, In: Phyllomedusa. 12, 1, p. 13-32
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2012

• PublishedSetting the trap: cleaning behaviour of Camponotus schmitzi ants increases long-term capture efficiency of their pitcher plant host, Nepenthes bicalcarata.
  Thornham, D. G., Smith, J. M., Grafe, T. U. & Federle, W., Feb 2012, In: Functional Ecology. 26, 1, p. 11-19
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2011

• PublishedAmphibia: Anura: Hylidae Scarthyla vigilans (Solano 1971): Range extension and new country record for Trinidad, W.I. with notes on tadpoles, habitat, behaviour and biogeographical significance.
  Smith, J. M., Downie, J. R., Dye, R. F., Ogilvy, V., Thornham, D. G., Rutherford, M. G., Charles, S. P. & Murphy, J. C., 2011, In: Check List. 7, 5, p. 574-577
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2009

• PublishedUltrastructure and physical properties of an adhesive surface, the toe pad epithelium of the tree frog, Litoria caerulea.
  Scholz, I., Barnes, W. J. P., Smith, J. M. & Baumgartner, W., 2009, In: Journal of Experimental Biology. 212, p. 155-162
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2008

• PublishedUndergraduate Expeditions as a vehicle for final year projects.
  Smith, J., White, S. & Downie, R., 2008, Student Research Projects: Guidance on Practice in the Bioscience. Luck, M. (ed.). Leeds: HEA Centre for Biosciences, p. 41 42 p.
  Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review

2006

• PublishedAdhesion and allometry from metamorphosis to maturation in hylid tree frogs: a sticky problem.
  Smith, J. M., Barnes, W., Downie, J. R. & Ruxton, G. D., 2006, In: Journal of Zoology. 270, 2, p. 372-383
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedLarval transport does not affect locomotor performance in the stream frog Mannophryne trinitatis.
  Smith, J. M., Buchanan, J., Downie, J. R. & Riehle, M. O., 2006, In: Herpetological Journal. 16, 3, p. 333 336 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedStructural correlates of increased adhesive efficiency with adult size in the toe pads of hylid tree frogs.
  Smith, J. M., Barnes, W. J. P., Downie, J. R. & Ruxton, G. D., 2006, In: Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology. 192 , (11), p. 1193 1204 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedWet but not slippery: Boundary friction in tree frog adhesive toe pads.
  Federle, W., Barnes, W. J. P., Baumgartner, W., Dreschler, P. & Smith, J. M., 30 May 2006, In: Journal of the Royal Society: Interface. 3, 10, p. 689-697
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedWhole animal measurements of shear and adhesive forces in adult tree frogs: insights into underlying mechanisms of adhesion obtained from studying the effects of size and scale.
  Barnes, W. J. P., Oines, C. & Smith, J. M., 2006, In: Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology. 192 , 11, p. 1179-1191
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2004

• PublishedMetamorphic duration: an under-studied variable in frog life histories.
  Downie, J. R., Bryce, R. & Smith, J., 2004, In: Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 83, p. 261-272
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2003

• PublishedSurvival of larval Leptodactylus fuscus (Anura: Leptodactylidae) out of water: Developmental differences and interspecific comparisons.
  Downie, J. R. & Smith, J., 2003, In: Journal of Herpetology. 37, 1, p. 107-115
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2018

• Size matters, but what you do withit also counts: Strategies to break down the large class experience

  2018

  Activity: Invited talk (Speaker)

2016

• Ticking boxes or voyage of self-discovery? Reflective self-assessment as a tool for student-led learning.

  2016

  Activity: Oral presentation (Speaker)

2003

• Adhesion in growing tree frogs – solutions to a sticky problem.

  2003

  Activity: Oral presentation (Speaker)