about WSU
programs & courses
campus life & services
admissions
news, events & athletics
WSU Home


DEPARTMENTS

Botany

Chemistry

Geosciences

Mathematics

Microbiology

Physics

Zoology
_______________
Pre-Professional Programs
_______________
Center for Science and Mathematics Education

Ott Planetarium

Facilities
_______________
Undergraduate Research

Employment Opportunities

Scholarships

______________

Seminars and Special Events
______________

Ogden, Utah
home | index | search | contact us

College of Science
Department of Zoology
Undergraduate Research Activities

Overview

The Department of Zoology believes that undergraduate research is an important part of the educational experience at Weber State University. Students that participate in the research process gain valuable experience and skills that are not easily conveyed in the classroom setting.  Participation in research promotes critical thinking and problem solving skills and fosters a mentor-student relationship between faculty and student. In order to provide undergraduate research opportunities, the Department of Zoology has developed a summer research program and a curriculum which fosters undergraduate research.  The Research Experience for Undergraduates in the Biology of the Greater Salt Lake Ecosystems is a National Science Foundation program that provides financial support for students to conduct full-time independent research, collaboratively with a faculty mentor for ten weeks during the summer. Applications for the 2004 program will be available during the spring semester.  Zoology students are also given the opportunity to receive course credit for research with a faculty member.  All Zoology majors are required to take an orientation class (Zoology 1990), which introduces them to the faculty and their research interests. Students are encouraged to take Readings in Zoology (Zoology 4830) and Problems in Zoology (Zoology 4800). These courses permit advanced students to work closely with faculty and provide exposure to scientific literature and to participate in ongoing research projects. 

Thesis

Thesis in Zoology (Zoology 4970) provides students with the opportunity to formalize their research experience into a larger project. Typically, students conduct their research over a one to two-year period and register for "thesis" during the time they write up the study. Students are required to present the work as a departmental seminar, and many theses have been published and/or presented at national/state/local meetings. 

Some current thesis projects:

* Taking the plunge: pouch morphology and function in diving brown pelicans

* Evolution of coloniality in the American Avocet

* The effect of female condition on parental care in European starlings

* An examination of the Elaeophora schneideri and other diseases of Moose (Alces alces) in Utah

* The effects of green nesting material on ectoparasite loads of nestling European Starlings

Recently completed theses:

2003. Kristina McKinley:Seasonal variation in offspring sex ratios in European Starlings

2003. Heather Hill: Adjustments to parental care by the European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris): the effect of female condition.

2002. Nancy Summers: Clutch size variation in European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris): a test of Lack's hypothesis.

2002. Julia Rayl: A study of the pollination system of Steershead (Dicentra uniflora).

2002. Olga Freidekind: Practical training protocol: In situ hybridisation to polytene chromosomes in Drosophila. Diplomate thesis, University of Heidelberg, Germany. (Research conducted at Weber State University).

2002. Melissa Bentley: The distribution and phylogeny of Het-A transposable elements within selected species of Drosophila.

2001. Eric Stakebake: A biomechanical and immunohistochemical study of gliding flight in albatrosses.

2001. Lori Spears: The effects of avian pox on plumage coloration in male house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus).

2001. Chris Ostler: Identification of Het-A transposable element in Drosophila teissieri.

2000. Jared Rogerson: Sexual segregation in introduced California bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis californiana) on Antelope Island state park.

1999. Melinda Morin. Abundance, distribution, and distribution of the Ogden Rocky Mountain land snail.

1997. Debra Naylor. Thyroid morphology and life history in Utah tiger salamanders.

1996. Ed Mathias. Muscle histochemistry and gliding posture in California gulls (Larus californicus).

Recent Student Research (student names in boldface)

Published Manuscripts:

Spears, Lori and J. F. Cavitt.  2003.  The prevalence and effects of avian pox on body condition and plumage coloration in northern Utah populations of House Finches (Carpodacus mexicanus).  Utah Birds 17:25-2003.

 Hill, Heather. 2003. Adjustments in parental care by the European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris): the effect of female condition. Proceedings of the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) 2003, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah. March 13-15, 2003.

Colton, L. and J.B. Clark. 2002. Comparison of DNA isolation methods and storage conditions for successful amplification of Drosophila genes using PCR. Dros. Info. Service 84:180-182.
 

Meyers, R.A. and B. M. Clarke. 1998. How do flap-neck chameleons move their flaps? Copeia 1998(3): 759-761.

Meyers, R.A. and E. Mathias. 1997. Anatomy and histochemistry of spread-wing posture in birds. 2. Gliding flight in the California gull, Larus californicus: A paradox of fast fibers and posture. J. Morphology 233(3):237-247.

Bates, C. B., and G. Z. Wurst. 1996. Effect of Local Variation on Life History Characteristics of Ambystoma tigrinum nebulosum in Utah. Encyclia, 73:275-283

Published Abstracts:

Stakebake, E. F. and R.A. Meyers. 2000. The albatross shoulder lock: A biomechanical and immunohistochemical study. American Zoologist 40(6):1220.

Meyers, R.A., T.R. Button, B.M.Clarke and J.W. Hermanson. 1997. The horse soleus muscle: postural sensor or vestigial structure? Amer. Zool. 37(5): 59A.

Mathias, E.R., B.A. Chadwell, and R.A.  Meyers. 1995. Gliding flight in gulls: The paradox of fast muscle fibers and posture. Amer. Zool. 35(5):119A.

Meyers, R.A., S.P. Murray, and E.R. Mathias. 1995. Spread-wing posture in the double-crested cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus: Anatomy and histochemistry. Amer. Zool. 35(5): 119A. 

Wurst, G. Z., and R. G. Lucas. 1998. Age structure in Utah Tiger Salamander populations. Amer. Zool. 38(5):50A.

Presentations:

Dickinson, Jannette, and J. F. Cavitt. 2003. Evolution of coloniality in the American Avocet.  Utah Ornithological Society Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City, Utah, November 7-9, 2003.

Bentley, M.J., J.W. Wilson, and J. B. Clark. 2002. Molecular phylogeny of the HeT-A transposable element in the melanogaster species subgroup of Drosophila. Molecular evolution: A meeting on evolution, genomics, and bioinformatics (Organized by Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution). Sorrento, Italy. June 13-16, 2002.

Hill, H. and J. Cavitt. 2002. Effects of female condition on male parental care in starlings. Utah Ornithological Society Annual Meeting, Ogden, Utah, August 23-24, 2002.

McKinley, K., J. Clark., and J. Cavitt. 2002. Seasonal variation of offspring sex ratio in starlings. Utah Ornithological Society Annual Meeting, Ogden, Utah, August 23-24, 2002.

Myers, R.P. and R.A. Meyers.  2002. Pouch morphology and function in the Brown Pelican. Meeting of the Utah Ornithological Society, Ogden, Utah, August 23-24, 2002.

Ray, T. and J. Cavitt. 2002. The use of green nesting material to reduce parasites. Utah Ornithological Society Annual Meeting, Ogden, Utah, August 23-24, 2002.

Stakebake, E. F. and Meyers, R.A .2002. Slow muscle fibers make albatrosses the elite of soaring birds. Meeting of the Utah Ornithological Society, Ogden, Utah, August 23-24, 2002.

Spears, L. and J. F. Cavitt. 2001. The effects of avian pox on plumage coloration in male House Finches (Carpodacus mexicanus). Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, Salt Lake City, UT

Stakebake, E. F. and R.A. Meyers. 2001. The albatross shoulder lock: A biomechanical and immunohistochemical study. Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, Chicago, IL.

Cavitt, J.F. and V. Nelson. 2000. The effects of fire and climatic variation on the relative abundance of Greater Prairie Chickens. XVII North American Prairie Conference, Mason City, Iowa. 

Mull, J.F., A. Lindhal, and J.Hatch. 2000. The Great Salt Lake: An ecosystem services perspective. Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, Snowbird, Utah, August 2000.

Wurst, G.Z., J.F. Mull, and R. Waldron. 2000. Diet and cannibal morphology in salamanders. Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA, January 2000.

Meyers, R.A.,  T.R. Button, B.M.Clarke and J.W. Hermanson. 1998. The horse soleus muscle: sensor or vestigial structure? Society of Integrative and Comparative Biologists, Boston, MA.

Mull, J., G. Z. Wurst, C. Harris, A. Brevard and R. Lucas. 1998. Correlations between diet and morphology in Utah Tiger Salamanders. Am. Assoc. Adv. Sci. Regional Meeting; Logan, UT.

Mull, J.F. and D. Dompreh. 1998. Composition of the canopy ant fauna in a West African rain forest. Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, Baltimore, Maryland, August 1998.

Meyers, R.A. and B.M. Clarke. 1997.  The flap neck chameleon: How does it move its flaps? American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Seattle, WA.

Naylor, D. and G. Z. Wurst. 1997.  Relationship of thyroid gland morphology to life history in Utah Tiger Salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum nebulosum). Annual meeting of the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters, Ogden, UT.

Naylor, D. and G. Z. Wurst. 1997. Thyroid morphology and life history in Utah Tiger Salamanders. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA.

Clarke, B. M. and R.A. Meyers. 1997. Neck-flap movement in Chamaeleo dilepis: A model undergraduate research project. Annual meeting of the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters, Ogden, UT.

Mathias, E.R., B.A. Chadwell, and R.A Meyers. 1995. Gliding flight in gulls: The paradox of fast muscle fibers and posture. American Society of Zoologists, Washington, D.C.

Meyers, R.A., S.P. Murray,and E.R. Mathias. 1995. Spread-wing posture in the double-crested cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus: Anatomy and histochemistry. American Society of Zoologists, Washington, D.C.

   
Weber State University, College of Science
Ogden, Utah 84408-2501
(801) 626-6159, science@weber.edu