Butler University Department of Biological Sciences

09/19/2023

08/26/2023

Biology Club Call-Out Meeting:
Wednesday, August 30th in GH 104 at 6:00pm

Come join us for snacks and drinks, and to hear about our upcoming events as well as our goals for the year!

03/09/2023

Drs. Stoehr and Ryan, with help from Dr. Madinger, burned the campus prairie on Monday, March 6. Fire helps prairie ecosystems by clearing out trees and other plants that compete with the prairie grasses and flowers for light and nutrients. In addition, the reduced vegetation and dark ash increases soil temperatures from solar absorption, giving the prairie plants a jump start on spring. This is the third year in a row the prairie has been burned but unlike the last two years, we were able to successfully burn some particularly brushy places. Hopefully this will increase the diversity of the prairie plants, and animals, this year!

10/29/2022

Great time at the Annual Pumpkin Carving event at the CUES farm. Thanks to all who attended. BU biology students, be on the lookout for an opportunity to vote for your favorite carved pumpkin!

07/14/2022

The department is looking for an adjunct to teach a Natural World course for non majors. Starts in late August. If you or someone you know is interested see the university website for the job ad. Or contact Dr. Villani @ [email protected]

05/05/2022

Congratulations to our 2022 class of graduating seniors in biology! We had a nice time at Dr Etnier's house with a cohort of intrepid faculty and students playing yard games and eating pizza on a rainy day! We wish them luck in their future endeavors.

04/02/2022

On March 29, Drs. Stoehr and Ryan conducted a prescribed fire burn on the Butler Prairie. We didn't get a fully successful burn (about 40% burned), but the parts that did burn should see improved growth of prairie grasses and other fire-adapted plants.

11/19/2021

Please join today!

Karo Omodior, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Indiana Univ., School of Public Health

Tick ecology – investigating spatial drivers of tick distribution and tick-borne zoonoses

When: Friday, November 19th, 12:00pm
Where: Pharmacy Building (PB) 156

10/21/2021

Evynn Joy Davis - class of 2019 - took advantage of our Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute internship program and spent three months in Panama as part of a research team studying the behavioral ecology of bats. The research that she participated in resulted in a scientific paper published yesterday. Over 12 years we have sent 21 undergrads or recently graduated students to intern at STRI, and 1 in 4 of them have ended up coauthoring scientific publications.

“Flying bats use serial sampling to locate odour sources”

Olfactory tracking generally sacrifices speed for sensitivity, but some fast-moving animals appear surprisingly efficient at foraging by smell. Here, we analysed the olfactory tracking strategies of flying bats foraging for fruit. Fruit- and nectar-...

08/04/2021

Exciting news: Dr. Savchenko is a co-PI on a grant funded by the National Science Foundation to study fungal diversity/ecology on a global scale. This award, worth $1.5M, will take him and his co-PIs to Mozambique, Brunei, Chile, Czech Republic, and Armenia for field work. A student will be able to accompany him for the European field work and to travel to an international conference in Amsterdam to present findings. Congratulations do Dr. Savchenko and his team!

03/29/2021

We are saddened by the passing of our dear colleague, Professor Emeritus Steve Perrill. He was a beloved faculty member, leaving a tremendous impact on the many, many students he taught. He will be greatly missed.

View Stephen Perrill's obituary, send flowers and sign the guestbook.

10/22/2020

Out students are working hard on this event and looking forward to meeting young scientists!

It's time to think like a citizen scientist! 🔍 👩🏽‍🔬
We're partnering with Butler University Department of Biological Sciences for an exciting virtual Journey in a Day event!

Register now to learn how to make observations and collect data!

Daisies, Brownies, Juniors- https://bit.ly/31ycAgs
Cadettes, Seniors, Ambassadors- https://bit.ly/2Hjfv62