In 1988, Texas A&M University, with guidance from David Schmidly, recruited faculty to establish a world-class program in marine mammal science, including Bernd Wursig, Graham Worthy, Randy Davis, and Bill Evans. These faculty received appointments within the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences. Their fields of specialization covered ecology, physiology, behavior, and bioacoustics, all topics of organismal biology. William E. Evans, my advisor, has a long record of research in bioacoustics, performing many of the early studies investigating whether particular species of marine mammals had biosonar abilities.

When I was applying to graduate school, I did not go by the name of the department. I went by the record of study of the person who would be my advisor in each university. In all, I applied to departments of “wildlife and fisheries sciences”, “biology”, “ecology and evolution”, “psychology”, “oceanography”, and “organismic and evolutionary biology”. In all but one case, my intended subject of study was marine mammal biology. Short version: the name of the department does not permit the easy and clear discrimination King seeks to make. When people have asked me for advice on applying to graduate school, my response is to identify the person whose research one wishes to learn from, then apply where they are. This is especially true now that many “biology” departments hardly take cognizance of organismal biology, and researchers must find positions in differently named departments in order to pursue such research.

A presentation concerning my dissertation research earned me the Society for Marine Mammalogy’s Fairfield Award for Innovation in Marine Mammal Research in 2001. This work combined bioacoustics and physiology, leading to an estimate of bioenergetics involved in pressurization of gas for biosonar sound production in bottlenose dolphins. I also collaborated on work establishing the first audiogram for a marine mammal at depths down to 300m. That study was published in the Journal of Experimental Biology.

I’m sorry that King did not like my earlier compilation of Yecke materials. I will continue to help organize pro-science action in Florida, and time will tell whether I am over-reacting, reacting appropriately, or far too late.

Let me note that the Florida Citizens for Science web page is up and running now.

http://www.haloscan.com/comments/scsuscholars/112535213650189124/