Dr. Ben Cash

Division Chair of Natural Sciences
Associate Professor of Biology

Topics of Interest & Expertise: Ecology and conservation of the Southeast; amphibian and reptile biology/ecology; behavioral ecology

Education: B.S., Piedmont College; M.S., Georgia Southern University; Ph.D., University of Mississippi.


Publications/Presentations: Cash, W. B. and R. L. Holberton. 2005. An endocrine and behavioral response to a decline in habitat quality: The effects of pond drying on the slider turtle, Trachemys scripta elegans. Journal of Experimental Zoology, Vol 303A, n. 10, pp. 872-879.

Bio: Dr. Cash is an Associate Professor of Biology and the chair of the Division of Natural Sciences at Maryville College. Cash teaches courses in ecology, zoology, herpetology and evolution. He earned a B.S. from Piedmont College, an M.S. from Georgia Southern University and a Ph.D. from the University of Mississippi.

Cash is currently in the process of completing a reptile inventory of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park as part of an international project, the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory. Additionally, he is working on contributions to the book, “Amphibians and Reptiles of Georgia,” and has recently published articles in both the Journal of Experimental Zoology and Herpetological Review. Cash is currently involved in research projects in the US and Canada concerning amphibian and reptile ecology and conservation.

Other research at Maryville College includes field and laboratory studies involving reptile and amphibian species, such as the calling dynamics of the wood frog of the Southern Appalachians as well as the phenology and breeding dynamics of the boreal chorus frog and the wood frog in northern Manitoba, Canada. In October of 2004, Cash hosted the 2004 Tennessee Herpetological Conference at Maryville College. He has also just initiated a study of the biology of selected salamander species in Cherokee National Forest.

Contact: (865) 981-8209
info@maryvillecollege.edu