Zoology and Physiology

College of Agriculture, Life Sciences, and Natural Resources

Novel Hawaiian Communities Operate Similarly to Native Ecosystems

March 13, 2019 -- In a first-of-its-kind study published today (April 4) in the journal Science, researchers -- including Assistant Professor Corey Tarwater and Research Scientist J. Patrick Kelley of the University of Wyoming’s Department of Zoology and Physiology -- demonstrate that these novel communities are organized in much the same way as native communities worldwide.

 

Brendan Oates: Hungry Moose More Tolerant of Wolves’ Presence

March 13, 2019 -- Brendan Oates and his advisers, Drs. Jake Goheen Matt Kauffman, published their new findings about hungry moose in the journal Ecology, provide new insights into the interactions of the region’s apex predators and their prey. The results also highlight the complexity of the relationships between wolves and big-game species, making it difficult to reach general conclusions about whether and how fear of wolves has impacted the ecosystem.

 

Professor Benkman honored by ornithological society

March 6, 2019 -- The Department of Zoology and Physiology professor recently was named the American Ornithological Society’s 2019 winner of the William Brewster Memorial Award. The honor is given each year to the author or co-authors of an exceptional body of work on birds of the Western Hemisphere.

 

Zoology student Laura Gomez-Murillo receives Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Internship

January 24, 2019 -- Laura Gomez-Murillo, a University of Wyoming master’s degree student from Colombia, begins a research adventure in Panama Jan. 28 by virtue of receiving a Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute internship.

 

Discovering New Questions Through Chasing Chipmunks

For more than 12 years, Dr. Merav Ben-David and her wildlife students at the University of Wyoming have been chasing least chipmunks up at Happy Jack Recreation Area, located outside of Laramie. Each year, they trap them, measure the little critters and quantify their habitat and food availability. And, each year, the students in Ben-David’s “Wildlife Ecology and Management” class come up with a hypothesis or question they want to study regarding these small mammals. Ben-David has extended this experience the previous summers to high school students from as part of the Native American Summer Institute. “What makes this different than other labs or similar activities is that, every year, the class develops a new research question,” says Ben-David, a zoology professor of the Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience. “We spend the rest of the semester addressing the question with the data we’ve collected.” Over the years, this chipmunk experience has helped Ben-David’s undergraduate students decide to enroll in graduate school and continue honing their research skills. And it keeps them asking questions.

Watch video of the ongoing chipmunk research;

Watch video from last summer about the Native American Summer Institute participants experiencing field research