Retired APSU professor Scott publishes update to landmark guide of Land Between the Lakes reptile, amphibian life
November 7, 2016
Clarksville, TN – In the mid-1960s, Austin Peay State University professor of biology Dr. David Snyder began work on a monumental task.
Commissioned by the Tennessee Valley Authority to conduct an inventory of the herpetofauna, or reptiles and amphibians, of the newly established Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, Snyder and a small team of researchers and students set about cataloguing the various species contained within the 170,000-acre plot of land crossing the Tennessee and Kentucky border.
Retired Austin Peay professor Dr. Floyd Scott with the book “Amphibians and Reptiles of Land Between the Lakes.”
APSU biology grad students continue to excel in their research
October 28, 2016
Clarksville, TN – Since about 1950, the small-scale darter—a tiny fish that lives in tributaries of the Cumberland River—has existed in relative obscurity. Few scientists have heard of the darter or checked to see if the fish is in danger of disappearing.
But for the last year and a half, Joshua Stonecipher, a graduate student with the Austin Peay State University Center of Excellence for Field Biology, has waded into local streams, trying to get an accurate estimate of the darter’s population size.
APSU Field Biology graduate student Joshua Stonecipher has received three grants to study the darter fish that lives in tributaries of the Cumberland River.
Austin Peay State University Biology Faculty Awarded $300K NSF Grant To Improve APSU’s Natural History Collection
July 29, 2014
Clarksville, TN – Drs. Rebecca Johansen, Dwayne Estes and Chris Gienger, principle investigators of the Center of Excellence for Field Biology and Biology Department faculty at Austin Peay Sate University, have been awarded more than $300,000 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to improve the infrastructure, utility and visibility of the APSU Natural History Collection.
In addition to teaching and research activities, Johansen, Estes and Gienger, serve as curators of these collections.
A photo of Rebecca Johansen was staged for the biology research portfolio on Thursday, July 3, 2014. (Taylor Slifko/APSU)
APSU grad student awarded NSF fellowship
May 9, 2014
Clarksville, TN – Dustin Owen didn’t spend much time outside as a child. While other boys stomped through creeks chasing lizards and frogs, he stared out the window of his parents’ Indiana home, wishing away the severe allergies that kept him trapped indoors.
As he slowly grew out of his allergies, allowing a 10-year-old Owen to finally venture outside, he decided to make up for lost time. He threw himself into the wild, tracking down turtles and snakes and other creatures his mother appreciated but didn’t particularly care for.
Dustin Owen conducts research in the APSU David H. Snyder Museum of Zoology. (Photo by Taylor Slifko/APSU)
Esteemed biologist Hayes to speak at APSU April 7th
March 25, 2014
Clarksville, TN – Have you ever heard of atrazine? It’s a popular, but potent, weed-killer, and chances are, there are traces of this chemical contaminant in your body.
In the late 1990s, the agri-chemical giant Syngenta hired Dr. Tyrone Hayes, professor of integrative biology at the University of California at Berkley, to make sure atrazine was safe for the public. [Read more]
APSU Provost Lecture Series features Biology professor Dwayne Estes November 21st
November 21, 2013
Clarksville, TN – An Austin Peay State University biology professor will present the next session of the Provost Lecture Series this week at APSU.
Dr. Dwayne Estes, APSU associate professor of biology, will present at 3:00pm, Thursday, November 21st, in the Morgan University Center, Room 303. [Read more]
APSU biology student Eva Grebe presents research in Washington, D.C.
May 7, 2013
Clarksville, TN – Earlier this spring, a bidding war erupted on the Austin Peay State University campus. Specifically, several different departments were fighting over the honor to pay for biology student Eva Grebe to attend the annual Council on Undergraduate Research’s Posters on the Hill Convention in Washington, D.C.
Only 60 out of 800 applicants nationwide are accepted to attend the convention. Grebe was the only Tennessee college student to be invited.
APSU student Eva Grebe is interviewed about her research during the Council on Undergraduate Research’s Posters on the Hill Convention in Washington, D.C.
APSU graduate student to showcase work in Nashville
March 12, 2013
Clarksville, TN – An Austin Peay State University graduate student will showcase her work at the Legislative Plaza in Nashville, TN as part of the annual Graduate Education Week in Tennessee, April 1st-7th.
Veronica Mullen will present research, titled “Population demographics and site-fidelity among cave-dwelling bats of Dunbar Cave, Montgomery County, Tennessee,” which was co-authored by Dr. Andrew Barrass, associate professor in the APSU Center of Excellence for Field Biology at APSU.
APSU graduate student Veronica Mullen and former APSU graduate student Josh Schulte prepare for a night of monitoring bats at Dunbar Cave.
APSU to host 61st annual Middle Tennessee Science and Engineering Fair
March 6, 2013
Clarksville, TN – Later this month, more than 100 middle and high school students throughout middle Tennessee will converge on the Austin Peay State University campus to participate in the 61st annual Middle Tennessee Science and Engineering Fair (MTSEF).
The MTSEF, affiliated with the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), starts March 21st, and the public is invited to view all MTSEF projects between 10:00am–8:00pm, March 22nd in the Morgan University Center Ballroom. [Read more]
Noted environmental landscape artist to speak at APSU Biology Honors Seminar February 25th
February 22, 2013
Clarksville, TN – In the early 1770s, the American naturalist William Bartram headed south to explore the pristine, untouched region that would soon become known as the Southeastern United States of America.
Instead of forests and farms, he discovered wide, grassy savannahs spreading across Georgia and Alabama. He jotted down details of this terrain and drew pictures of the land in his notebook. [Read more]
