Author & Ecologist
According to many textbooks, an ecosystem is defined as a community of living organisms interacting with each other and the nonliving components of their environment. Whenever I introduce this concept to students, I ask them to consider what is meant by "living" and "nonliving." Common examples of "nonliving" parts of an ecosystem include air (oxygen, carbon... Continue Reading →
About four months ago, this lovely photo by Joe Neely of Diadasia bees sleeping together in a flower appeared on Bored Panda and promptly went viral. Based on my experience as a biologist, I concluded at once these individuals were two adult females, perhaps sisters, cuddled for warmth as they were sleeping. Recently, it occurred to me others... Continue Reading →
August already, and I am moving into late summer collections at Jerry Smith Park. This season I don't have students working with me in the field. Avila is a small college, and the timing of biology majors moving through our programs isn't always conducive to having research assistants on my summer team. Even when you... Continue Reading →
Last fall, I wrote in a bee update that about 40% of our 2018 summer bee collection belonged to one species of small, metallic green bee: Augochlora pura. Turns out I was wrong. With a little more experience and a fresh look at our collection, I've been able to determine that of the 70-some-odd bees I... Continue Reading →
One of the most common questions I hear is how I got interested in writing. I actually have a very clear memory of the first story I wrote, based on a dream I had when I was a little girl. I always point to that as the initiation of my interest in story telling. Similarly,... Continue Reading →
Classes start this week. In other words, we are five blinks away from Christmas! I've been blessed with a wonderful summer and am starting the new academic year rested and ready (more-or-less) to go. Two of my favorite courses are in this fall's line-up: Introduction to Animal Behavior and Women and Science. When I was an undergrad, I... Continue Reading →
There are several aspects of flamenco that have bedeviled me since I first started studying the dance form a few years back. One of these is contratiempos. The other is the use of the castanets. Last week, I had the opportunity to tackle both in an intensive workshop with the Escuela de Flamenco Paulina Peralta in Costa Rica. Contratiempos is... Continue Reading →
