Life Science

Blair Wolf is an associate professor of biology at the University of New Mexico. Research in the Wolf lab focuses on the natural history and ecophysiology of desert animals. He agreed to blog with Dr. Dolittle on the topic of birds. Here is the final excerpt from their exchange. PHOTO: Budgerigars keeping cool under the shade of a patio during an Australian heat wave, courtesy of Dr. Blair Wolf. Dr. Dolittle: Would you predict that with global warming, the average body size of birds will increase in hotter areas like the southwestern United States and Australia? Why? What will this mean to…

Blair Wolf is an associate professor of biology at the University of New Mexico. Research in the Wolf lab focuses on the natural history and ecophysiology of desert animals. He agreed to blog with Dr. Dolittle on the topic of birds. Here are excerpts from their exchange. Dr. Dolittle: What made you interested in studying the effects of Australian heat waves on bird populations? Dr. Wolf: Australia has a very challenging environment, with a great expanse of hot desert and seems to be THE poster child for the bad things that are associated with climate warming. The continent has recently…

Blair Wolf is an associate professor of biology at the University of New Mexico. Research in the Wolf lab focuses on the natural history and ecophysiology of desert animals. He agreed to blog with Dr. Dolittle on the topic of birds. Here is an excerpt from their exchange. Dr. Dolittle: Much of your recent research has taken place in the southwestern United States. Do you predict that similar heat waves will occur in this region? Why?Dr. Wolf: The most current climate research suggests that the southwestern United States is going to get quite a bit hotter and dryer in the next 80 or so years (…

Blair Wolf is an associate professor of biology at the University of New Mexico. Research in the Wolf lab focuses on the natural history and ecophysiology of desert animals. Preface: Dr. Blair Wolf's research discussed in a previous blog released August 13, 2010 on what causes the mass deaths of budgerigars (small birds in Australia) during heat waves sparked much discussion. PHOTO: Budgerigars killed by a heat wave near a dried-up pond courtesy of Dr. Blair Wolf. PHOTO: Budgerigars killed by a heat wave in Australia courtesy of Dr. Blair Wolf. As a result of this discussion I decided to…

As the heat drags on in the southwestern United States, I cannot stop dreaming about sledding through the snow. So I checked out the trusty American Physiological Society press releases to see what the animals might be doing in cold environments that I can only dream about these days. In my search I watched a really neat video of Dr. Michael Davis (Center for Veterinary Health Sciences at Oklahoma State University) who works on perhaps one of the "coolest" animals (pun completely intended): sled dogs! Oh, how I envy these animals. Racing sled dogs are incredible athletes as they traverse the…

tags: gender issues, gender disparity, blogosphere, science blogs, life science blogs PZ asked his students these questions on an exam that he was recently writing; 14. Hey! Have you noticed the lack of women scientists so far? Briefly speculate about why they're missing. 15 (2 pts extra credit). Name a female scientist of any era. So .. in addition to those questions, I pose these questions for you regarding female scientists; Can you name any? Who? Who is the first woman scientist who comes to mind? Do you have a "favorite" woman scientist? My answers to these additional questions are…