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!