Note from the Chair

Ray Huey

Faculty Research

The Evolution of an Indispensable Ecosystem
Grasslands are a relatively new ecosystem, evolving only within the last 25 million years. Yet they cover one quarter of the total land surface area and are prime human habitat - one billion people around the world make their home in grasslands. And grasses comprise well-over 50% of most people’s caloric intake (think grains). Biology assistant professor Caroline Strömberg investigates when and how this vital ecosystem evolved. Read more ...

Investigating the K-T Boundary
Despite its reputation, extinction is not necessarily a bad thing. Consider this: without extinction, humans may never have evolved. Extinction opens up previously occupied niches, or roles in the community, thus creating opportunities for new species to evolve. Biology assistant professor Greg Wilson researches the cause of the K-T mass extinction 65 million years ago and the spectacular radiation of mammals that followed. Read more ...

Graduate Student Research

Magellanic Penguin Conservation
In 1999 Argentina’s primary fishery, hake, collapsed due to rampant overharvesting. Many fishing fleets have since started harvesting anchovies and the Argentine government has supported expanding anchovy fishing using the same model that drove the hake fishery defunct. In a recent Science article, Biology graduate student Elizabeth Skewgar and professor Dee Boersma warned that if the anchovy fishery collapses, undue harm to the plethora of species reliant on anchovies, including Magellanic penguins, could follow. Read more ...

Alumni Recognition

Putting a Price Tag on Nature
It’s difficult to put a price tag on ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration and flood control, because the environment conducts them free of charge. But assigning a monetary value to these services clarifies their worth and bolsters conservation appeals. To facilitate ecosystem valuation the Natural Capital Project and its Lead Scientist, UW Zoology alum Heather Tallis, Ph.D., ’06, have just developed a cool, new tool. Read more ...

Biology Networking Night: Connecting Students & Alumni
The Department of Biology thanks all of those alumni who have volunteered their time for our popular Biology Networking Nights. Last year, more than 150 students attended Biology Networking Nights to learn from alumni what jobs in the real world are like. Read more ...

Columns Honors Zoology Alumni
To celebrate its 100th anniversary this year, UW’s alumni magazine Columns formed a selection committee to identify 100 remarkable UW alumni. How they kept the list to 100 is hard to say. What isn’t surprising is that a couple of Zoology alumni made the cut. Read the Columns features on Shirley Malcom, '67 and Rebecca Nelson, Ph.D, '88.

Check Out Our New Biology Alumni Web site!
Staying connected with UW Biology after you graduate just got easier. Check it out ...

Outreach

Insects in Flight at Seattle's Pacifc Science Center
Watching an insect in flight with the naked eye is a completely different experience than watching one fly through a high-speed camera. Biology graduate student Andrew Mountcastle aptly calls high-speed cameras “time microscopes” because “high speed cameras magnify time just as a microscope magnifies space. You see things you can’t normally see.” Read more ...

News & Events

Awards & Achievements
Recognizing the best from our faculty and students. Read more ...

Visit UW Biology in 2008-09
UW Biology is pleased to offer its alumni and friends opportunities to visit during the 2008-09 academic year.All event information will be posted on our department Web site and on our new biology alumni Web site, so stay tuned! We look forward to seeing you!

Thanks to Our Contributors

Thank you for your support during the 2007-2008 academic year! Read more ...