 Clifton explores algal reproduction on coral reefs
It was 5:30 in the morning and still dark along the Panama coast, so Ken Clifton was snorkeling with a flashlight. He was gathering data for the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute—as he had done every morning for two-and-a-half years—on the reproductive ecology of coral reef fish.
"Suddenly, I saw the reef begin to smoke," Clifton says. "Plumes of green were pouring out of the seaweed on the reef. The water around me turned bright green. The seaweeds became paler and paler. Within 10 minutes, it was over. By the time the water cleared, the seaweeds were dead.
"I was stunned. In the 20 years that I had been working as a biologist, I had never seen anything like this. I thought, ‘Either there is something toxic in the water, or I am watching a sexual event.’"
Continue this article  Jesse Ellis follows his passion
Each year, millions of shorebirds flock to Willapa Bay, Wash. The bay’s fertile tide flats provide essential habitat as the birds stop to feed on invertebrate preys and to rest during annual migrations between the Tropics and the Arctic.
What better place for Jesse Ellis, a biology major and chemistry minor, to follow his passion—studying the behavior of birds?
Continue this article |
| |
| | |
|
Questions drive professor's research
 Algae aren’t the only organisms that have captured Ken Clifton’s attention.
"I’m not a fish specialist or bird specialist," he admits. "I study animal behavior from an evolutionary point of view. I’m more interested in questions than organisms, so I study a species to answer a question."
Continue this article  Student Researchers
Students who have conducted collaborative student-faculty research with Kenneth Clifton, assistant professor of biology, during the past two-and-a-half years are Kevin Anderson ’01, Amelia Cushing ’01, Jule Schultz ’01, Carolyn Christel ’99, Jesse Ellis ’01, Sarah Clements ’00, Bethany Dengler ’01, Deborah Purce ’01, Londi Tomaro ’01, Ian Townley ’01, Tracey Young ’01, Dan DeSloover ’02 and Rebecca Wahl ’02. Jule Schultz, Kevin Anderson, and Amelia Cushing pictured.
|
