Danny Bryan
Assistant Professor of Biology
Degrees: A.S., Motlow State Community College (1980)
B.S., University of Tennessee (1983)
M.S., Middle Tennessee State University (1987)
ABD, Tennessee Technological University (Current)
Office Location: Memorial Hall, 309C
Phone: 615.547.1272
E-mail: dbryan@cumberland.edu
Danny L. Bryan is an assistant professor of biology at Cumberland University. He has been an employee of the university since August of 1990. Prior to coming to Cumberland, he taught at Martin Methodist College in Pulaski, Tenn., for three years.
His teaching responsibilities at the university have included aquatic biology, general biology, introduction to botany and zoology, flowering botany, genetics, invertebrate zoology, vertebrate zoology, principles of biology, microbiology, biology seminar and environmental biology.
A 1983 graduate of the University of Tennessee, he also attended Motlow State Community College and the University of Tennessee Space Institute. In addition, he earned a Master of Science degree at Middle Tennessee State University. He is currently attending Tennessee Technological University and is on his way to completing a PhD. in Environmental Science with an emphasis in Conservation Biology.
Danny is currently conducting research on the distribution, natural history and conservation of the timber rattlesnake in Tennessee. He is the Tennessee representative for the Timber Rattlesnake Conservation Action Planning Committee, a congregation of scientists and wildlife biologists creating conservation plans and objectives for the species.
Professional and organizational affiliations include the Tennessee Academy of Science, Tennessee Entomological Society, Kentucky-Tennessee branch of American Society of Microbiology, Tennessee Herpetological Society, Beta Theta Pi fraternity, Beta Beta Beta Biological Honor Society, Republicans for Environmental Protection and the Wildlife Society. He also served as the chair for the Zoology Section of the 2004 meeting of the Tennessee Academy of Science.
Timber Rattlesnake Conservation Research
From the Cumberland University YouTube Channel:
Cumberland University Assistant Professor of Biology Danny Bryan has spent the past several years studying the impact of development in Middle Tennessee on the Timber Rattlesnake population. Prior to Professor Bryan's study, which is in conjunction with the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, very little was known about the Timber Rattlesnake population in the mid-state.
The species is currently listed as "threatened" in Tennessee; however, Bryan's study - which focuses on the Timber Rattlesnakes' population movements and repopulation - suggests the species may be endangered due to encroaching development and habitat loss.
In this video, Professor Bryan implants a Timber Rattler with a radio tracking device that will allow him to monitor its movement and activities for approximately two years.
Click here to view an episode of Tennessee's Wild Side featuring Professor Bryan and his work with Timber Rattlesnakes.