Research Bit - Anuran Call Surveys

Posted by Alex H. |0 comments

Now for one of my favorite things about being a student at SU - anuran call survey research!

What are anurans, you ask? Anurans are frogs, all in the order Anura. Toads, which are just specialized frogs, are also in this order.

Along with SU student Giulia Giuffre, Dr. Pierce and I conducted NAAMP (North American Amphibian Monitoring Program) surveys at 40 sites in central Texas. Once a week, we chugged away to rural central Texas and recorded frog calls using a NAAMP protocol. To practice for field work, we quizzed ourselves weekly using an online NAAMP frog quiz. In total, we trained ourselves to be able to identify the male breeding advertisement calls of 41 species of frogs.

My project, titled "Call Latencies and Breeding Call Detection Ranges of Anurans in Central Texas," contributed to the scientific community's knowledge of the dates during which anurans in central Texas call. Additionally, my project was the first paper that analyzed a potentially useful correlate easily obtained during NAAMP surveys - call latency. We defined call latency as the time in seconds each species was heard after the start of an anuran call survey. Although we were not able to correlate call latency with air temperature, our future research may be able to find a biotic or abiotic factor that influences this new measure.

My independent research with Dr. Ben Pierce has convinced me that a professional career in herpetology is not only possible, but hugely rewarding! In case you haven't gotten the memo, herpetology is the scientific study reptiles and amphibians. Herpetology is an exciting field of research, especially because of the diverse ways in which it can be approached. Population genetics, vertebrate morphology, behavioral neuroscience, and natural history are popular topics using reptiles or amphibians as model organisms. More on that later, though. :)

If you would like a copy of my paper, email me at halla(at)southwestern.edu

Field Trip - Baylor Aquatic Research Center

Posted by Alex H. |0 comments

Field trip time!

This past April, Dr. Romi Burks took those interested (mostly SU Animal Behavior Society folk) to see the Lake Waco Wetlands.

After meeting up with a grad student working on the BEAR (Baylor Experimental Aquatic Research), Dr. Burks showed us first hand the invertebrate community living in a natural central Texas wetlands.

Highlights of the trip were:

1) Ecological learning experience.

2) Seeing a garter snake in the water (couldn't get a picture, unfortunately).

3) Spending time with fellow ecology students.

4) Just some great time off from school.

Here are a few pictures:

Field Trip - To the Ausin Zoo!

Posted by Alex H. |0 comments

In early March 2009, Dr. Kevin Woo took his animal behavior class and anyone interested to the Austin Zoo. What a great time!

The premise for the field trip was to test constructed animal stimulation projects his class had constructed. Although I was not in his class, I joined in watching a black bear fiddle with their weave basket and various other assundry.

My heartthrob order of animals, Testudines, were in full bloom. They have so many tortoises and turtles!

Now for some pictures:

Mystery-B-Gone

Posted by Alex H. |0 comments

Just who am I, and why do I have a blog? Allow me to introduce myself.

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, rogue walls of text flew threw space. It was a happy time - a better time... perhaps. On August 15th of a certain year, several people were born. I happened to be one of these people. The expectations were intense from day one! Breathe! Speak! Tap R or L twice to do a barrel roll! After acquiring basic skills, I soon decided to entice the idea of a future career in the research of Animal Behavior.

If the dots need filling in, my name is Alex Hall, and I am a sophomore at Southwestern University majoring in Animal Behavior with a Studio Arts minor. My hometown is Lewisville, TX, and I attended Lewisville High School for all four years of my secondary education.

Throughout my educational experience thus far, animals and their goings-on have fascinated my sister and me. Our lovely parents familiarized themselves with youth's sub-conscious call towards the great outdoor at some early point in time, and bought the home we currently live in. Our backyard sprawls toward the geographic feature giving our street a name - a babbling brook. Many an exciting adventure were had in this "untamed" (though roughly man-made) creek bed. Nature! Biophilia! Oh, how much fun.

My privileged, American public educational experience sent me to a wonderful elementary school encouraging reading as much as possible and often. Lucky for us youngsters, our literary success led and continues to lead us to such great heights. For me, my interest in animals combine with my reading affinity causing animal-related books to fall off of store shelves and out of internet archives onto my lap.

I eventually persuaded myself to commit to an account of my literary, academic, and other experiences on the topic of animals, animal behavior, and being an undergrad. Thank you very much for finding my blog, and I encourage you to contact me (halla(at)southwestern.edu) with suggestions of books I should review or topics I should cover. Comments are more than welcome, and I again encourage you to share my blog with bibliophiles, your roommate, or anyone who could appreciate my musings.


Q/A:

Q: What are your plans for the future?
A: After graduating from SU with a BS in Animal Behavior, Studio Arts minor (it's for fun), I plan on attending graduate school to continue my studies. After grad school, it's a bit far off to say, but I am considering more schooling, research, and/or teaching. Field research excites me, to say the least, and I am currently looking into summer programs that could tailor to a student of animal behavior.

Q: What do you do in your spare time?
A: Video games! I'm a Nintendo-kid, and you'll have to excuse the occasional stretched Yoshi's Island reference (touch fuzzy, get dizzy). I am an amateur photographer, and am employed by SU's school newspaper The Megaphone as a photographer and occasionally as a writer. I am also an internet radio DJ on SU Radio and host the show "Alternative Affinity." Among other things, I read, websurf, enjoy camping, listen to music (my last.fm profile), appreciate art, and critique things. As you will probably be able to tell from later posts, there really isn't a great deal of free time at Southwestern, so many of these things are put on the backburner while in school.

Q: What did you do before attending SU?
A: I have roots in Boy Scouting and am an Eagle Scout, but as of the moment, I am not connected to a troop. My high school had an active NJROTC I contributed to for all four years. These experiences built and polished my leadership skills and convinced me of my capacity to teach using a hands-on approach.

Q: What clubs and organizations are you in? What about the past?
A: I am currently in the Alpha Gamma Kappa chapter of SU's Alpha Phi Omega. I am also a member of Beta Beta Beta (BBB), SU Animal Behavior Society (ABS), SU Allies, and Theater for Social Justice (TSJ). At various points in time, I have been part of BSA, NJROTC, Leo Club, NHS, and LHS's Herpetological Society.