Tuatara

The tuatara is quite possibly my favorite reptile. Not only are they, well, adorable, but they are one of the most primitive and, sadly, most endangered of the herps ("herps" are amphibians and reptiles, collectively). There is a short Sciencespot on the ScienceNow link below that describes the predicted consequences of their temperature-dependent system of sex determination (cooler temperatures trigger the embryos to develop into females while warmer temps lead to males) combined with global warming. Other herps, like some lizards, turtles, and alligators & crocodiles, also have similar systems of sex determination; so global warming could also skew the sex ratios in these species. However, the tuataras (a.k.a Sphenodons or Rhynchocephalians) are in much more imminent danger of going extinct.

Biology Field Trip!!!!

We are back from our Bio Field Trip across Kansas to Colorado and Utah. Chad Scholes and I drove two van-loads of students (Sean Kimbrell, Chistina Knoy, Chris Dondlinger and Stephanie Pearcy in my van and Kelsey Weigel, Meagan Hendrix, Peter Feuerborn, Nick Wagner and Emma Schrader in Chad's) first to the Pike's Peak area where we visited the Garden of the Gods. Then it was on to the Great Sand Dunes (an awesome but challenging hike) followed by Mesa Verde's Puebloan and Anasazi ruins. We next toured Natural Bridges and then traveled to Hanksville, Utah, where we were in close proximity to Glen Canyon, Capitol Reef, Goblin Valley and Little Wild Horse Canyon (pictured). Our last stop was Moab, Utah, a central site from which we could visit Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. The trip was incredible (despite the nearly 3500 miles of driving) and our group was fantastic! This course is truly the best way to actually experience biology (and geology and culture) and apply many of the concepts learned in class. It was an absolute blast.

Snake Update

For those of you waiting to hear whether or not our rattlesnakes were able to successfully brave this harsh winter, the answer is yes! My students and I have recently begun monitoring the snakes again and, though some are still moving around in the den (we've had some rather recent cold spells, and the emergence period lasts several weeks), 3 of them have emerged. We were able to spot one of them late last week, which was incredibly exciting. Though she was dirty from being in the den all winter, she appeared healthy and ready to eat. All of the people who have contributed to this project have done a phenomenal job and I cannot thank them enough. I will continue to post updates on this season's tracking efforts and let you know when we see the others again!

Pre-registration

This weekend several colleagues and I will be traveling to St. Louis in order to conduct a registration event. This is all very exciting because we actually go to our prospective students and provide them help with the following:

Registration for fall 2008 classes• finalizing their financial aid paperwork• completing their residence hall contracts• taking their Student ID pictures and setting up their campus email accounts

And we present them with other helpful information and their Class of 2012 gift. A similar registration event was held last weekend in Omaha and one will be here in Kansas City on May 4th. These programs give us the opportunity to connect with incoming students before they even reach campus!

Wiggins Walk

This Saturday morning (April 5th) marks the 4th Annual Harry Wiggins Memorial Trolley Walk. It's a 5K walk from Rockhurst down the scenic Trolley Trail and back, and it's a lot of fun. In addition, the entry fees paid to the Alumni Office (Pre-Sale: $20 for adults, $10 for RU students, and $5 for children 17 and under) go to benefit the Helen F. Wiggins and Rev. Walter J. Ong, S. J., scholarship funds. Registration on site the day of the walk ($5 more for adults and RU students) starts Saturday at 9am, the rally begins at 9:45, and we head out from RU at 10. I hope to see you there!

Advising time

Next week marks the beginning of Summer/Fall registration, so the better-prepared of my advisees have been honoring my request for advising appointments. At these meetings, we discuss their academic futures and, more pressing, their upcoming semester schedules. These talks are also beneficial in that I get to have informal chats with my advisees (some of whom come chat regularly anyway) and therefore get to know them quite well. In fact, last semester my Biology colleagues and I invited all of our freshmen advisees out for pizza, as we were each granted money from the College of Arts and Sciences to have a social gathering with these students. It was great to have so many new students together with the faculty in such a laid back setting. We really got to know eachother!

Service Learning and Extraordinary Students

I had intended to direct your attention to the intriguing science news of the week (potential new HIV treatment, long-life genes discovered, breakfast resulting in less weight gain, etc.), but instead I wanted to direct you toward the other links at the bottom of this page. These are links to my students' blogs that describe their Service Learning projects. They are doing a phenomenal job, and have recently posted interviews they conducted with people they consider to be experts on the topic addressed by each of their projects. They will next post answers to questions about some challenging scientific papers they've been assigned to read based on their interviews.
I also wanted to express my pride in an exceptional research student of mine, Rebecca (pictured above after a hot day of snake tracking), who recently submitted an application for a Dean's Undergraduate Fellowship for Research. If she receives this fellowship, she and I (and others) will continue our snake tracking in the summer and expand the project to include DNA analysis. She will then present these data in a poster at the ASIH (American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists) in Montreal this summer.
Our students are just outstanding!