Tag: Department of Biology

During an interview on the “With Good Reason” public radio program, Deborah O’Dell, associate professor of biology, discusses magnetic orientation in bees. The interview originally aired in July 2010 on public radio stations across Virginia.

The interview will be re-aired beginning Saturday, September 15 on several Virginia public radio stations, as well as stations across the U.S. The segment, “Hard Cider: Early America’s Drink of Choice,” also is available online at http://withgoodreasonradio.org/2012/09/hard-cider-early-americas-drink-of-choice-2/.

For Andrew Dolby, a stressed-out bird is a big deal. Dolby, professor and chair of the biology department, is researching the stress response in birds, specifically, the Tufted Titmouse. During the spring semester he worked with three students to catch birds on UMW property and at sites in southern Stafford County. They took their measurements […]

Bird Song: No Idle Chatter  

Sun, March 11, 2 p.m.
Illustrated Presentation
Dr. Andrew Dolby, University of Mary Washington Biology Department Chair and Virginia Society of Ornithology President will introduce the anatomy, physiology, and ecology of bird song and will explain the modern tools that biologists are using to decipher their hidden messages. Bird song may sound like nature’s pleasant background music to our ears, but for the birds, singing is serious business. The lecture will be held at Gari Melchers Home and Studio at Belmont and is free for members of Friends of Belmont or included with regular museum admission.

Michael Killian, senior instructor in biological sciences, and Jay McGhee, former visiting assistant professor in biological sciences at UMW, had their paper “A Habitat Model for the Detection of Two-lined Salamanders at C. F. Phelps Wildlife Management Area, Fauquier and Culpeper Counties, Virginia, ” published in the peer-reviewed journal Virginia Journal of Science.

This work was made possible through a grant by the University of Mary Washington and involved the participation of the following  URES students at UMW: Carly Byers, Sarah Almahdali, Jennifer Clary, Hillary Adams and Ramsey Hanna.