New Climate Data from NASA

2009 the Second Warmest Year on Record: End of the Warmest Decade

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/temp-analysis-2009.html

COP 15

In December 2009 representative of governments from around the world met in Copenhagen Denmakr for COP 15 a meeting that was intended to allow nations to make a plan on how they would go forward to deal with environmental issues.

Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/#/group.php?v=info&ref=search&gid=39551754651

COP 15 website

http://www.cop15.dk/en/

Links to articles from Time Magazine discussing the results of COP 15

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,1929071,00.html

Global Carbon Cycle and Climate Change II

Thursday 1:00 PM- To those of you who were able to make it to class this morning I hope you enjoyed the irony of a global warming lecture on a snow day. For those that weren't able to miss it, no problem. Here is a link to the powerpoint presentation that I started on Tuesday and finished up today. Most of the slides from the global climate change portion of the presentation came from Katharine Hayhoe's website (she is a professor in the Tech Geoscience Dept. and the link to her website is listed on the presentation). You should be able to catch up on today's info by following the presentation

Global Carbon Cycle and Global Climate Change
http://www.slideshare.net/secret/C6iDTujQlIh73C

Further Reading

Climate Change FAQ- http://www.eoearth.org/article/Climate_change_FAQs

Causes of Climate Change- http://www.eoearth.org/article/Causes_of_climate_change

Economics of Climate Change- http://www.eoearth.org/article/Economics_of_climate_change

Mauna Loa Curve- http://www.eoearth.org/article/Mauna_Loa_curve

Expected Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course a fully engaged student should be able to

- identify the major reservoirs of carbon

- discuss the two most important biological processes that result in a movement of carbon from one reservoir to another

- discuss the three ways that human activity has altered the global carbon cycle

- explain the Mauna Loa Curve

- discuss why climate scientists have concluded that global temperatures have increased

- discuss why cllimate scientists have concluded that this increase in temperature is most likely caused by humans

- discuss some potential consequences of global climate change

Writing Assignment #1

For this assignment I would like you to choose an audience (parents or other family members, a friend or a group of friends, co-workers. fellow classmates, a ex or current teacher, readers of the Lubbock Avalanche Journal, random people that you meet in the mall, etc.) and then explain your view of global climate change.

These papers should have three parts.

1. A short paragraph describing the audience you have chosen to write for. Provide some background about their currrent knowledge and attitude about the topic and why you chose to communicate to this audience.

2. The main body of the paper where you should explain your views of global climate change to your audience.

3. References that you used to develop your ideas.

Length: The first two sections should be limited to a maximum of three double spaced pages. I suggest that you use Times New Roman 12 point font and normal margins. You may include your references on a separate page.

Due Dates

First Draft- due Tuesday February 2nd at the beginning of class (make sure that you have a STAPLER so that you can staple the pages together (you have just discovered one of my pet peeves!)

I will read your papers and provide comments to you on Thursday.

Final Draft- due Thursday February 11th at the beginning of class.

It is important that all work is turned in on time! (pet peeve #2)

Global Carbon Cycle and Climate Change

Further Reading

Reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

A report of Working Group I of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change:
Summary for Policymakers
http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg1/ar4-wg1-spm.pdf

IPCC- Synthesis Report- http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/syr/ar4_syr.pdf

Articles from EoE

Global Warming- http://www.eoearth.org/article/Global_warming



Recent Opinion Pieces From Lubbock Avalanche Journal

Global warming like religion true believers accept on faith by Walter Williams. Publlished in AJ Monday January 25th
http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/williams011310.php3

Snow has chilling effect on doctrine of global warming by Cal Thomas
Published in AJ (I think) Saturday January 23rd
http://www.calthomas.com/index.php?news=2810

"Spheres" of the Earth

The Earth is a complex system that can be thought of as consisting of a number of interacting "spheres". Many of these spheres are abiotic (non-living)

1. Lithosphere- The lithosphere is the outer solid part of the earth, including the crust and uppermost mantle. The lithosphere is about 100 km thick, although its thickness is age dependent (older lithosphere is thicker).

2. Atmosphere- The atmosphere of Earth is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth that is retained by Earth's gravity. The atmosphere protects life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warming the surface through heat retention (greenhouse effect), and reducing temperature extremes between day and night. Dry air contains roughly (by volume) 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.038% carbon dioxide, and small amounts of other gases. Air also contains a variable amount of water vapor, on average around 1%.

3. Hydrosphere- The hydrosphere is often called the "water sphere" as it includes all the earth's water found in streams, lakes, the soil, groundwater, and in the air. The hydrosphere interacts with, and is influenced by, all the other earth spheres. The water of the hydrosphere is distributed among several different stores found in the other spheres. Water is held in oceans, lakes and streams at the surface of the earth. Water is found in vapor, liquid and solid states in the atmosphere. The biosphere serves as an interface between the spheres enabling water to move between the hydrosphere, lithosphere and atmosphere as is accomplished by plant transpiration. The hydrologic cycle traces the movement of water and energy between these various stores and spheres.

4. Crysosphere- The cryosphere is the part of the earth's hydrosphere comprised of frozen water. It plays a integral role in the global climate system through its influence on surface energy budgets, atmospheric moisture, hydrology, and atmospheric and oceanic circulation. The cyrosphere is a sensitve element of the climate system providing a key indicator of climate change. The increasing loss of Arctic sea ice and breakup of Antarctic ice shelves are are two examples.

Other of these spheres containg the biotic (living) components of the earth.

1. Biospshere- The biosphere is the biological component of earth systems, which also include the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and other "spheres" (e.g. cryosphere, anthrosphere, etc.). The biosphere includes all living organisms on earth, together with the dead organic matter produced by them.

2. Anthrosphere- The anthrosphere.is that part of the environment that is made or modified byhumans for use in human activities.

Readings

Biosphere- http://www.eoearth.org/article/Biosphere

Expected Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course a fully engaged student should be able to

1. define the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, crysosphere, biosphere, and anthrosphere

2. discuss how humans depend on each of the abiotic spheres

3. discuss how humans can be affected by the different abiotic spheres

4. disucs how humans affect the different abiotic spheres

The Physical Environment

Introduction

The physical environment can have a profound influence on ecology at a variety of levels. For example, the physical environment can act as a strong selective presssure to produce adaptations or can influence the rates of nutrient cycling through an ecosystem. For our simple purposes here, the two most important components of the physical environment are temperature and precipitation. I suggest that we can predict a lot about what is going on ecologically in an environment if we know something about temperature and precipitation patterns.

From watching the nightly news we all know how difficult it is for the local weatherperson to accurately predict what the weather is going to be like tomorrow. Fortunately, it is much easier to understand broad patterns of variation in temperature and precipitation.

Temperature



The dominant global temperature pattern is that it tends to get cooler as you move away from the poles. The cause of this is relatively simple. Because the earth is so far from the sun, the light rays hitting the earth are basically paralell to each other. Because of the curvature of the earth, sunlight hitting the earth near the equator falls over a smaller area than sunlight hitting near the poles. Because the same amount of light energy is hitting a smaller area near the equator, the concentration of energy/area is greater near the equator than the pole thus resulting in higher temperatures.

Elevation is another factor that influences global temperatures. Because there is less insulating atmosphere above areas of high elevation temperatures tend to decrease as you go up in elevation.

Large bodies of water can mediate temperature variations. For example, seasonal and daily variation in temperatures are much lower in areas near the ocean (maritime climates) than they are in areas far from the ocean (continental climates).

Global temperature patterns can also be affected by patterns of ocean circulation. For example, the west coast of continents are often cooled by cool water flowing from the poles to the tropics while the east coasts of continents can be warmed by warmer water from the tropics to the poles (e.g., the Gulf Stream). If you have ever been to the beach in southern California you surely noticed how cold the water was; east coast beaches at similar latitudes have much warmer water.

Precipitation

In order to understand global precipitation patterns you need to understand global patterns of atmospheric circulation. Hopefully, after studying the article on atmospheric circulation you will be able to explain-

1. why there tends to be high precipitation in tropical regions and

2. why precipitation tends to be low at 30 degrees North and South of the equator.

Patterns of precipitation can also be influenced by the presence of mountains. As air masses containing moisture hit a mountain they are forced upward. Because rising air cools and cool air







holds less moisture, precipitation occurs on the windward side of mountains. Once the air mass has passed over the mountain in falls to lower elevations and gets warmer. Because most of the moisture has been lost as precipitation on the windward side of the mountain and the warmer air holds more moisture there is very little precipitation on the leward side of the mountain resulting in a "rainshadow desert".

Let's think about Lubbock!

Let's see if we can use our newfound understanding of some of the factors influencing temperature and precipitation to make predictions about what the climate should be like in Lubbock. What information do we need about the geographic location of Lubbock to help us understand the climate? First, we need to know the latitude; Lubbock is located approximately 33 degrees north. Second we need to know something about the proximity to the ocean. As an old beach boy, I can guarantee you that we are a long, long way from the ocean in Lubbock. Third, where is Lubbock in relation to mountains? Lubbock is located to the east of the southern extension of the Rockies.

Why is all of this important?

1. What can we learn from the latitude of 33 degrees North? This latitude is still close enough to the equator to be warm so we expect relatively high temperatures. Because Lubbock lies near the 30 degree zone of low precipitation we would predict relatively low precipitation. At 30 degrees North we would predict that Lubbock would receive predominately winds from the west.

2. From the continental location of Lubbock we would predict fairly extreme daily and seasonal fluctuations of temperatures.

3. Because Lubbock lies in the Westerlies most of the precipitation that is arriving in Lubbock comes from the Pacific Ocean. Because these winds have passed over the Rockies we would predict that Lubbock would lie in a rainshadow, again causing low precipitation.

How did we do. If anyone has ever been in Lubbock (especially in the spring time) you would know that the wind almost always blows in from the west. Temperatures are relatively warm but there is fairly large seasonal and daily variations in temperature. Lubbock has a semi-arid climate and receives on average about 18 inches of precipitation per year. Thus, with just a little bit of knowlege about the factors that influence global patterns of temperature and precipitation we were able to fairly accurately the climate in Lubbock. Thus, I would expect that organisms native to Lubbock should be well adapted to the low precipitation, continental climate of the region (the short grass prairie was the dominant vegetation type presettlement).

See use these patterns to understand climate in your town (note climate patterns in Texas are complicated in central and eastern Texas becasue of the influence of air masses coming up from the Gulf). Compare the temperature and precipitation of your town with that if very divergent locations around the globe.


Further Reading

If you would like some more detailed information about factors affecting climate and the atmosphere you can check out the Atmosphere Chapter in Michael Pidwirny's online Physical Geography textbook http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/contents.html.

Powerpoint Presentation

Click here to see the powerpoint presentation "Factors Influencing the Physical Environment".
http://www.slideshare.net/secret/EaVq4nm5KuSsBI

Expected Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course a fully engaged student should be able to

- describe global patterns of variation in temperature and precipitation and be able to explain the causes of these patterns

- for any location in the world, use your knowledge of the factors that affect global patterns to preict the local climate

Brief Intro to Environmental Issues

Here is a link to the powerpoint presentation I made in class about Environmental Issues and the Earthquake in Haiti.

http://www.slideshare.net/secret/DhiGqDTZBsDIeY

Possibly Useful Reference

Here is a link to an online Environmental Science textbook that is published on the Encyclopedia of Earth. This book is written for an AP Environmental Science class so it is a bit basic, but it is not a bad place to start.

http://www.eoearth.org/article/AP_Environmental_Science_Online_Course

Critical Thinking Exercise

There are lots of controversial issues on campus, in Lubbock, in Texas, and in the USA that would allow us to practice our critical thinking skills. However, sometimes I think it is easier to think critically about issues that don't seem to immediately affect us. Thus, I would like us to explore an issue that has been in the news recently that is happening in Malaysia.

Malaysia is a very interesting county. If you would like to know more about Malaysia, their environment, and the people that live there you can check out this powerpoint presentation. This slideshow, which is think is pretty cool, was developed by one of my Natural History and Humanities classes to be used in a 5th grade classroom. Even though it was intended for kids, it still serves as a useful introduction to Malaysia.

http://www.slideshare.net/secret/3JwD4G3hq4RjhQ

Crticial Thinking Exercise

Here is a link to the slideshow that I used in class.

http://www.slideshare.net/secret/9SnjQ9zV1GFQMX

Further Viewing

Malaysian woman to be caned for drinking beer - 23 Aug 09
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnOWgCz5fj4

Further Reading

If you want to learn more about this story then here are links to a couple of CNN and BBC articles. It seems to me that the outcome of this story is still uncertain, so it will be interesting to follow it to see what happens.

Malaysian model, mother to be caned for drinking beer in public
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/08/20/malaysia.caning/index.html?iref=newssearch

Malaysia postpones woman's caning
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/08/24/malaysia.model.caning/index.html?iref=newssearch

Malaysia delays caning beer woman
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8217440.stm

Course Syllabus

Ecology: The Science Behind Environmental Issues

Spring 2010 NHH 3305-H01 T-Th 11:00 – 12:20

Instructor
Dr. Mark McGinley
Room 215 McClelland Hall
mark.mcginley@ttu.edu

Office Hours:
T-Th- 10-11 or by appointment

I encourage you to make an appointment to meet with me if you need to see me. The easiest ways to do this are (1) to talk to me either before or after class or (2) to send me an email listing times when you are available to meet with me and then I will let you know which works best for me.

Course Outline
Climate change, extinction, the ozone hole, deforestation, pollution, invasive species, wind or nuclear power, and water supply are all environmental issues facing us today and in the future. If we are going to make wise decisions about these and other issues related to the environment then it will be necessary for us to have a strong understanding of the science behind the issues. This course will provide the background in ecology necessary to understand environmental issues and then examine important environmental issues affecting us at a local, state, national, and global scale.

THIS COURSE FULFILLS 3 HOURS OF THE HONORS SEMINAR REQUIREMENT AND UPPER DIVISION BIOLOGY CREDIT.

Student Absence for Observation of Religious Holy Days

A student who is absent from classes for the observation of a religious holy day shall be allowed to take an examination or complete an assignment scheduled for that day within a reasonable time after the absence if, not later than the fifteenth day after the first day of the semester, the student had notified the instructor of each scheduled class that the student would be absent for a religious holy day.

Academic Integrity.

Texas Tech University faculty strive to foster a spirit of complete honesty and high standards of integrity. Any attempt by students to present as their own work any work not honestly performed is regarded by faculty and administration as a most serious offence and renders offenders liable to serious consequences, possibly suspension from the university. “Scholastic dishonesty” includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, collusion, falsifying academic records, misrepresenting facts, and any act designed to give an unfair academic advantage to a student. A detailed list of offenses is available in the Code of Student Conduct, found in Part IX, pp. 20-21 in the current Student Handbook, available on line at:
http://www.studentaffairs.ttu.edu?publications/SA_handbook_2005-2006.pdf.
Any student who, because of a disability, may require special arrangements in order to meet the course requirements should contact the instructor as soon as possible to make any necessary arrangements. Students should present appropriate verification from Student Disability Services during the instructor’s office hours. Please note instructors are not allowed to provide classroom accommodations to a student until
appropriate verification from Student Disability Services has been provided. For additional information, you may contact the Student Disability Services office at 335 West Hall or 806-742-2405.

Expected Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, a fully-engaged student will be able to:


1. Discuss basic concepts in population, community, and ecosystem ecology. Assessed by performance in class discussions, exams, written papers, and class presentation.

2. Discuss the ecological concepts that underlie environmental issues such as eutrophication, effects of invasive species, etc. Assessed by performance on in class discussions, exams, written papers, and class discussion.

3. Lead and participate in group discussions about ecology and environmental issues. Assess by performance on class discussion and presentation.

4. Write about environmental issues. Assessed performance on written papers.

5. Present information about ecology and environmental issues to a “non expert” group. Assessed by performance on class presentation.

6. Become more aware of current environmental issues. Assessed by performance in class discussions, exams, written papers, and class presentation


Grading
Midterm exam 20%
Final exam 10%
Participation in workshops, online, and discussion 10%
Writing assignments 30%
Presentation 30%

It is extremely important that all assignments be turned in on time!!!

Midterm and Final Exam
The written midterm and final exams will cover material discussed in lectures, class readings, and discussions.

Writing Assignments
2 papers. These papers will be three pages maximum double spaced (more details to follow).

Class Presentation
Each student will give a 40 minute presentation on an environmental topic of their choice (more details to follow).

Course Blog
I have created a blog for this course. This blog will be an important means of communication between us so I encourage you to check the blog early and often. The blog is located at http://sciencebehindenvironmentalissues.blogspot.com/. Hopefully, most of your questions about the details of the class will be answered somewhere on the blog. In addition, I will list specific “expected learning outcomes” for each lesson to help you focus your study efforts.

Required Reading
There is no required textbook for this course. I will assign readings throughout the semester on the course blog http://sciencebehindenvironmentalissues.blogspot.com/

Books About Writing
Writing well is important for effective communication. Thus, improving your writing skills is an important component of this course. Here are a couple of references that would be useful for you to have on your shelf (and use) throughout your college career. (these books are not required).

The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White.

Eats, Shoots & Leaves. The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. By Lynne Truss.


Tentative Course Schedule

Week 1. (January 14)
Introduction
Critical Thinking

Week 2. (January 19 & 21)
Ecology in Brief
Environmental Issues in Brief

Week 3. (January 26 & 28)
Biosphere Level
- Climate Change

Week 4. (February 2 & 4)
Ecosystem Level
- Ecosystem Services
- Draft writing assignment #1 due February 2nd

Week 5. (February 9 & 11)
Ecosystem Level
- Nitrogen cycle, eutrophication, dead zones
- Final draft assignment #1 due February 11th

Week 6. (February 16 & 18)
Community Level
- Importance of Indirect Effects
- Invasive species

Week 7. (February 23 & 25)
Community Level
- Habitat Destruction
- Rough draft writing assignment #2 due February 23rd

Week 8. (March 2 & 4)
Community Level
- Conservation Biology
- Final draft writing assignment #2 due March 2nd

Week 9. (March 9 & 11)
Population Level
- Extinction
- Midterm Exam- March 11th

Week 10. (Spring Break)

Week 11. (March 23 & 25)
Population Level
- Human Population Growth

Week 12. (March 30 & April1)
Student presentations

Week 13. (April 6 & 8)
Student presentations

Week 14. (April 13 & 15)
Student presentations

Week 15. (April 20 & 22)
Student presentations

Week 16. (April 27 & 29)
Student presentations

Week 17 (May 4th)
Student presentations

Final Exam- Thursday May 6th- 1:30 to 4:00 PM.

Ecology

In order to understand the science behind environmental issues it will be necessary to have a basic knowledge of the science of ecology.

Ecology has been defined in many ways. The definition that I prefer is that "ecology is the scientific study of the interactions between organism and their environment." Organisms interact with two distincly different parts of the environment. The "abiotic (non-living) environment" includes all of the non-living attributes of the environment including water, soil characteristics, temperature, etc. The "biotic environment" includes all of the living organisms and involves interactions such as competition, predation, mutualism, etc.

Hierarchical Organization of Ecology

Ecology can be studied at different hierarchical levels.

1. Individuals have phenotypic characteristics such as morphology (e.g., eye color, height, etc.), physiology (blood type, photosynthetic ability, etc.), and behavior (food preferences, response to stimuli, etc.). We can understand the characteristics of organisms by studying how natural selection has affected those traits.

2. A population is a group of individuals of the same species that live in the same area. Individuals in the same population interact via competition and sometimes predation (e.g., canibalism).

Some species live in very large populations whereas others live in very small populations. Ecologists are interested in understanding the factors that influence population size (this is important because when population size equals zero individuals then a population has gone extinct.)

3. A community is a group of different species living together in the same environment. Interspecific interactions including competition, predation, and mutualisms are some of the most interesting, and most important, aspects of ecology.

4. An ecosystem involves all of the biotic components in a community as well as the abiotic components. Unlike the lower levels of the ecological hierarchy where the focus is on living organisms, ecosystem ecologists are interested in understanding theh flow of energy and nutrients through the ecosystem. Some of the most important environmental issues facing us today are caused by human alteration of these cycles.

Prerequisite Knowledge For This Course

I assume that you have some academic experience to the field of ecology if you are enrolled in this course. At a minimum you should have taken the ecology portion of BIOL 1404 from me or one of the non-majors courses offered by the Department of Biological Sciences or Department of Natural Resources. It would be even better if you had taken a course such as Principles of Ecology (BIOL 3309) or other advanced course that talks about ecology. If you do not have this background, don't panic. However, you should meet with me soon so that we can discuss how to make sure you are not too far behind.

Basic Ecology Information

A great source of information that will be useful for stregthening your ecology background is the Ecology Reader that I created for the Encyclopedia of Earth (http://www.eoearth.org/article/Ecology_Reader-_Ecology_for_Teachers). I originally created this as an on-line textbook that I used in a graduate course entitlted "Ecology for Teachers" that I taught to practicing high school teachers enrolled in the Multidisciplinary Masters Degree offered by Texas Tech.

I don't expect any of you to know everything discussed in the Ecology Reader. For each topic that we cover I will post explicit expected learning outcomes on thet blog so you will know the information that I think is critically importantn for you to know.

Critical Thinking

Further Reading

Critical Thinking: What is is and why does it count?
http://www.criticalthinking.org/aboutCT/define_critical_thinking.cfm

A Working Definition of critical thinking by Michael Scriven and Richard Paul
http://lonestar.texas.net/~mseifert/crit2.html



This table lists characteristics of work done by individuals with different levels of critical thinking skills. Hopefully, this information will help you to (1) write your own papers and (2) critically analyze papers written by your fellow students.

Note: If you double click on the table it will get larger so it is easier to read.

The Mark McGinley Story

Here is the perfect cure for insomnia!

The Formative Years
I was born in Corpus Christi, TX and after a couple of moves we ended up in Rosenberg, (near Houston) where I attended grade school. I was interested in biology from an early age; I watched Marlin Perkins and Jacque Cousteau and I spent a lot of time outdoors on family camping and fishing trips. Even though I grew up near Houston during the Apollo years, I always thought that it would be much cooler to be a biologist than an astronaut.

When I was in the sixth grade my family moved to Australia for four years. This was an amazing life change for a kid who thought that the annual trip to my grandparents’ house in Oklahoma was a big deal. I had the incomparable experience of living in another country and experiencing a whole new way of life. Probably the biggest difference between Australia and the U.S. was the schools. I went to an all-boys English-style, private school where we had to wear uniforms (suits and ties) and straw boater hats to class everyday (this probably explains my preferred style of dress today).

The move also provided me with the opportunity to travel the world. During trips through Europe and Asia we saw many places of historical and cultural interest. Among my favorites were the Coliseum in Rome, the Tower of London, and Mt. Fuji in Japan. More importantly, my travels exposed me to many new biological experiences including seeing hippos, gazelles, elephants, and a cheetah in South Africa, snorkeling and beachcombing in Hawaii, Tahiti, Fiji, and the Great Barrier Reef, chasing emus through the Australian outback, watching a male lyrebird do his mating dance, watching fairy penguins come ashore for the night off of the coast of southern Australia, and many sightings of other Australian wildlife including kangaroos and koalas (how many people do you know that have ever seen a koala running along the ground?).

During the summer before my sophomore year in high school we moved to Thousand Oaks, CA (old-timers will remember TO as the former summer home of the Dallas Cowboys before they were ruined by Jerry Jones) where I graduated from high school. During my senior year I spent a week studying ecology and philosophy in Yosemite National Park and this trip confirmed by desire to be a biologist.

Education

I enrolled at the University of California, Santa Barbara to study biology. UCSB is an incredible place to go to school (I could see the ocean from my bedroom window three out of the four years that I was there) and it also happened to have one of the best ecology programs in the world. Joe Connell (one of the most influential ecologist of our era) taught the ecology section of my intro biology course and also taught my first ecology course, so it is probably his fault that I am here today because after finishing his course I knew that I wanted to be an ecologist. Later, after taking courses from Steve Rothstein and Bob Warner, I became interested in behavioral and evolutionary ecology and I decided to go to grad school to study behavioral ecology. I went to Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS which was a pretty big change from UCSB. I enjoyed K-State (I learned to bleed purple for Wildcat basketball) and I was lucky to be able to spend summers working for my advisor Chris Smith at the Mountain Research Station in Colorado studying pollination in lodgepole pine. My Masters Thesis extended optimal foraging models to examine woodrats foraging for non-food items (sticks that they use to build their houses). I also did a theoretical study examining how food stress should affect sex ratios. I earned a Ph. D. at the University in Salt Lake City. For my Ph. D. thesis with Jon Seger, I developed models and conducted experiments to understand the causes of seed size variation in plants. During my little free time, I played volleyball with the U of U Volleyball Club team and I was probably the only person in the whole city who did not ski (I still don’t see the point of intentionally getting cold). I spent two years working as a post-doctoral researcher with Dave Tilman at the University of Minnesota. Our research focused on succession in old fields at Cedar Creek Natural History Area just north of Minneapolis.

Life at Texas Tech
I started as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Texas Tech University in 1991. I am currently an Associate Professor with a joint position in the Honors College and the Department of Biological Sciences. In the Honors College I work closely with the Natural History and Humanities degree (http://www.depts.ttu.edu/honors/nhh/)

Teaching

I teach a wide variety of classes at Tech. Two of my favorite courses are Tropical Marine Biology (taught in Jamaica and Belize) and the Rio Grande Class (we take a week-long canoe trip through Big Bend over Spring Break). For the past 6 summers I have worked as a scuba instructor and marine biologist with Odyssey Expeditions leading sailing and scuba trips through the Caribbean (British Virgin Islands, Martinique, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent & the Grenadines).

Scholarship
For several years I conducted ecological research in the sand shinnery oak community in West Texas. My current interests are in science curriculum development, environmental education, and informatl science education. I serve as a member of the Stewardship Committee of the Environmental Information Coalition and as an Associate Editor for the Encyclopedia of the Earth (http://www.eoearth.org/). In the Malaysian Bat Education Adventure we are using the ecology of Malaysian Bats as the focus of an integrated science curriculum for students in Kindergarten through 8th grade.

Traveling

I enjoy traveling and I have been able to explore my passion for scuba diving on dive trips in Texas (San Solomon Springs in Balmorhea and the Flower Garden Banks) throughout the Caribbean as well as Yap, Palau, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Galapagos Islands. My favorite marine critters include hammerhead sharks, pygmy sea horses, and “the pea”.