New Species Discovered

A student sent me a link to an article discussing the recent species discoveries made in the Mekong. One of them is the Laotian rock rat pictured here, which I blogged about when it was first discovered. Again, it's nice (but unfortunately rare) to hear some positive news concerning biodiversity.

KC Wildlands Award

The week before Thanksgiving break, the Biology Department received the KC Wildlands Environmental Excellence Award (that's Chad Scholes and I gratefully receiving the award)! KC Wildlands is an affiliate of Bridging the Gap, a valuable local organization that seeks to promote environmental sustainability. KC Wildlands helps achieve that goal by working to restore and maintain the remnant native ecosystems in the KC area. In fact, this weekend KC Wildlands will be hosting a Cedar Tree Event at Shawnee Mission Park where you can cut down your own Cedar Christmas tree and take it home for a small donation. It's a lot of fun to volunteer at this event, and/or to come pick out and chop down your own tree.

KHS

This past weekend, one of my phenomenal research students, Rebecca Benjamin, and I attended the Kansas Herp Society Meeting in Wichita, KS. These meetings are a great forum for talking and learning about the latest amphibian & reptile research, as well as a place to meet others who share our interests. I presented our rattlesnake research and had the opportunity to listen to some really interesting and informative talks about herps. We also got to experience a little of the Wichita nightlife at the KHS Social in Old Town, which was a lot of fun. Probably the best thing about these meetings, though, is that my students get to become part of and contribute to the scientific community.

Vote!

The message promoted by today's blog entry is a simple one. Get out and vote tomorrow! I plan to get up EARLY in the morning to walk to my polling place so that I can get back here in time for my office hours. So whatever it takes for you, get to the polls between 6:00am and 7:00pm and vote - and remember that if you are in line by 7, you will still be counted!

ACUBE '08

Last Thursday through Saturday, more than half of the RU Biology Department faculty (Drs. Scholes, Salem, Wills, Evans, and I) attended the 52nd annual meeting of the Association of College and University Biology Educators (ACUBE) at Hopkinsville Community College in Hopkinsville, KY. We were able to share some of our ideas about teaching, and at the same time pick up some innovative ideas from colleagues at other institutions. This meeting also gives us a forum in which to provide and receive feedback about teaching biology, and meet some new people with whom we share many interests. This is a fantasatic organization, and we had a lot of fun in Hopkinsville. Next year, Rockhurst is hosting the meeting; so we will have the opportunity to invite our colleagues to KC and show them how great Rockhurst is!

Monty

Last Friday over Fall Break I took my snake, Monty (above), to visit Mrs. Teel's Biology Class at Notre Dame de Sion High School. He is an incredibly mild-mannered snake - ball pythons "ball up" when frightened, and are thus not at all aggressive. Monty and the girls adored one another. He liked the attention and the novel surroundings (this was not his first public appearance), and the girls in the class thought he was quite cute and friendly. It's always great for me to see people who have never before touched a snake warm right up to Monty. In the process, they also learn a lot about reptiles without even realizing they're learning! In this way, he is a fantastic tool by which to educate the public, and it doesn't hurt that he is so cute.

This week in rattlesnakes...

On Sunday night, Rebecca (a Rockhurst research student), Joey (a KU research student) and I were prompted by necessity to perform an emergency field operation on Colt-45, mother of the baby rattlers mentioned last week. To briefly summarize our original project before going on, last year our research team salvaged a population of these snakes, whose habitat was subject to imminent destruction, by moving them to a secure site. In order to evaluate their success, we surgically implanted 8 of these snakes with internal radio-transmitters. Since this process began in April of 2007, we have tracked these snakes throughout their active seasons. When we went out to track Sunday morning, we found that Colt was no longer emitting a radio signal, though we saw her in the birthing shelter (rookery). We knew that something was wrong, though we didn't know the extent. Rather than taking her from her babies or collecting all of them as we took her in to perform exploratory surgery, we set up a make-shift surgical facility in the middle of the prairie near the rookery and commenced the procedure. She was recovering from an infection from her initial implantation this summer, and the transmitter antenna had been exposed through this wound, causing it to become brittle and eventually break off of the transmitter. The transmitter and antenna had to be removed, and we opted not to replace them in order to speed her recovery. Following surgery, we placed her back in with her babies and waited for her to come out from under the anasthesia. She and the babies have since abandoned the rookery and we are hoping that she is successful in her search for food before they enter the den for the winter in the next few weeks.

Baby rattlesnakes!

Last week, one of our gravid ("pregnant") female rattlesnakes gave birth! Rattlesnakes are unusual in that they retain the embryos inside the female's body, incubate the internalized eggs throughout the warm summer months, and give live birth toward the end of summer. The picture is of one of 6 observed offspring from the female we call Colt-45 (the radio frequency that her implanted transmitter emits is 045), with a Bic added by a student for scale. They are small versions of the adults at about 6-8 inches in length, with only a tiny button for a rattle. Their mother will stay with them for up to two weeks in the birthing shelter, or rookery, protecting them from predators and other danger. They will soon shed their skin for the first time and then follow their mother's scent to the den to overwinter. The healthy birth of at least 6 babies is incredibly exciting for our conservation project, as it ensures that this new addition to the population will utilize the den at our relocation site and that they will establish themselves there as permanent residents.

Hurricane Ike

As of yesterday, I now have 4 Texans and a small poodle staying with me as a result of Hurricane Ike. My family is from southeast Texas (precisely where Ike is heading in this picture), an area that underwent a mandatory evacuation in the middle of the night on Thursday. The entire region is currently being pummeled by this devastating storm, and I think the hearts of the people in KC are with the people in Texas and Louisiana. That Midwest hospitality has been evident in the last two days, as everyone here has been incredibly receptive and sympathetic toward them. So I think we should extend that spirit to the other victims and evacuees and let them know that our thoughts are with them.

More art info

In keeping with the theme of last week's blog entry, I wanted to point out a few exhibits that are currently open or will be opening soon. First, here at Rockhurst in the Greenlease Gallery, Friday marked the opening of "Ocular Hedonism," which will be on display through September 20th. Following this exhibit, "All or Nothing or Otherwise" will open here on September 26th and run through October 18th. Then on October 20th, we will have the chance to see "Menage a trois: painting, abstraction and the image" until December 5th. Just as exciting, our own Anne Austin Pearce's work will be on display beginning this weekend at Unit 5 Gallery at 1920 Wyandotte in KC, MO. The drawing to the left is one of Anne's. You should DEFINITELY go see her work!

Art in KC

For those of you who are new to Kansas City (and perhaps some of you who aren't), we have a fantastic art scene. We are fortunate to have access to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, the KC Art Institute, the Mattie Rhodes Art Center (a bilingual and bicultural non-profit center), the Byron C. Cohen Gallery for Contemporary Art, and various others. We also have concentrations of artists and galleries in places like the Crossroads District downtown. Among the myriad accomplished indivdual artists, we at Rockhurst are exceedingly proud to have our own artistic treasure, Anne Austin Pearce, Visiting Assistant Professor of Communication and Fine Arts. Anne's teaching, her creations and her spirit are all phenomenal and we are so lucky to have her.

On a related note, Aric and I and some friends were lucky enough last week to discover another local artist, known only to us as "Big John," who fashioned the above creature. After we admired his creations for a short while, this 6'10" mysterious craftsman unexpectedly gave this creature (which our friend named "Brinks") to us. Brinks now sits in our front of our house, serving as both a sentinel and as a reminder of why people like Anne and Big John become artists: to share their creations and passions with others.

Montreal

Last week my research student, Rebecca Benjamin, and I returned from Montreal, Quebec. We were there presenting a poster about our rattlesnake research at an international meeting (JMIH - Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists). We had a blast listening to presentations all day and attending the meeting-sponsored socials at night. We met some of the most fascinating people and were able to share our research with a very receptive crowd. Rebecca did an outstanding job, and I am so proud of the way in which she represented Rockhurst internationally!

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!

Valentine's Day and Sexual Selection

Though a teeny bit late for Valentine's Day, I received this link to a NY Times piece speculating about the mechanisms of sexual reproduction in dinosaurs.

Darwin Day

Today is Charles Darwin's 199th birthday! Though next year (his 200th) will be cause for more celebration, I am planning to pay modest homage to Darwin by posting this link to the Darwin Day website, which includes information about his life and scientific contributions, and by continuing our timely discussion of natural selection in my Evolution class. When I was a graduate student, each February 12th I was in charge of procuring the "Happy Birthday, Chuck" cake that we all shared at our philosophy of biology discussion group. Though we're not conducting that elaborate of a celebration here, I have wished my fellow biologists here at Rockhurst Happy Darwin Day. Btw, Abraham Lincoln was born on the same day, (February 12, 1809), so I wish all of you a Happy Darwin-Lincoln Day!

Artificial Selection and M&Ms

Today in my Evolution course I began my expanded discussion of the crux of adaptive evolution, natural selection. In introducing the details of natural selection I began, as Darwin did in On the Origin of Species, by likening the mechanism to that of artificial selection. In the former, the ever-changing environment "selects" who will survive and reproduce, while in the latter, human preference is the arbitrator of what characters are passed on to the next generation. So I thought it appropriate when today I received a link to a post about M&M fitness. It's pretty entertaining, so read it if you get a chance!

New Mammal!

I am always pleased to hear about the discovery (rather than the extinction) of a new plant or animal, and the identification of a new mammal is quite remarkable. Recently, scientists found a new species of elephant shrew, which are neither elephants nor shrews. These 16 species of small mammals actually comprise their own Mammalian Order, the Macroscelidea. That means that they are so different from other mammals that they are the taxonomic (classification) equivalent of carnivores (Order Carnivora), insectivores (Order Insectivora), or primates (Order Primates). So this is a huge find!

new semester

Happy First Full Week of the New Semester! I'm becoming increasingly excited about what this spring will hold for my students. In Evolution (BL 4800), we are embarking on a Service Learning project that ties grid-computing (using networks of PCs/Macs to search for disease cures and to predict global climate change) to serving the global community (see links to projects below). There is a website describing such grid-computing projects, and anyone with access to a computer or even a PS3 can sign up to help. We also just finished watching and discussing a great documentary entitled Flock of Dodos, which presents the Evolution/Intelligent Design "controversy." It's worth seeing if you haven't already.

In my Human Anatomy & Physiology course (BL 2930) we are now using i>clickers, which are interactive tools that allow students to "buzz in" with answers to quiz questions presented during class. The questions are then followed by discussions and any follow-up questions students might generate.

We are only a few days into the semester but it has already been a lot of fun for me, and hopefully for my students as well!

Classes

Happy 2008!!! As I prepare for spring courses I thought it might be of interest for me to indicate which classes I teach here at Rockhurst. During the fall semesters I am primarily preoccupied with Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy lab (this is an awesome course and involves extensive disseciton) but also teach an issues based non-majors class (Biology of the Contemporary Scene) and my Independent Study Research course; and, starting next fall, I will team teach our capstone course, Advanced Principles, with Dr. Mary Haskins. In spring I will be teaching Evolution, Human Anatomy & Physiology I, Cell Basis for Human A&P, and Biology Field Trip (team taught with Dr. Chad Scholes). And, of course, my research students and I will be continuing our rattlesnake project once the snakes emerge from their den in April/May.