Dr. Avery Russell, assistant professor of biology, attended the national meeting of the Animal Behavior Society (ABS) in August of 2019 in Chicago. Russell co-hosted a diversity workshop on cultural competency at the meeting. Dr. Cameron Jones and doctoral student Montrai Spikes also led the event. “The goal of the workshop was to increase retention of underrepresented … [Read more...] about Bias as behavior: Understanding cultural competency
Spring-fed ponds are common in the Ozarks. But biologists don’t know much about their plant communities. Dr. La Toya Kissoon-Charles, assistant professor of biology, and biology graduate student Hannah Whaley lead research on the ponds’ plant communities in the local region. About their research Kissoon-Charles and Whaley study aquatic plants in spring-fed … [Read more...] about Diving into aquatic plant research
Like other living creatures, plants are capable of deceit. Dr. Avery Russell, assistant professor of biology, studies how some plants deceive insects through a process called floral mimicry. About his research In plants that engage in floral mimicry, flowers mimic other flowers to trick insects into pollinating them. The pollen the insects spread fertilizes flowers and … [Read more...] about From ploy to pollination: How flowers plant tricks on bees
SPRINGFIELD — Wildlife biology student Liz Harris had never sailed the ocean before she adopted a 135-foot brigantine sailboat as a classroom. Harris conducted first watch on deck as she and her fellow classmates set sail before dawn. Navigational stars and the Milky Way blanketed the dark sky. “I had never seen that many stars before. I realized, wow, I’m really in the … [Read more...] about Making waves in research and the sea
Good breeding is important, even for turtles. In the midwest, the alligator snapping turtle became trapped to near extinction decades ago. Since then, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service has attempted to restore the turtles’ populations in captive breeding programs. These programs' facilities often serve as only temporary homes for the declining … [Read more...] about Breeding the bite for survival