Thesis Opportunities

Senior Thesis Opportunities with Dr. Donald McFarlane
Fall 2009 - Spring 2010

In addition to the projects outlined below, I am willing to consider well thought-out proposals in the area of general mammalogy, field-based ecology, ecological modeling, and paleontology. I will also co-supervise Geology/Earth Sciences projects developed in collaboration with colleagues in the Depts. of Geology or Environmental Analysis, Pomona College.

Ventilation rate versus body mass in mammals.

In general, ventilation (breathing) rate in mammals scales with the 2/3rds power of body mass. This project would involve shooting video footage of a variety of zoo animals at rest, measuring ventilation rate, and searching for deviations from the general trend that correlate with ecology. (2 semesters)

Historical Biogeography of Rattus rattus

This project is requires a thorough, literature-based study and synopsis of the spread of Rattus rattus (the Ship Rat) around the World since the 11th century. One semester. Could be developed as a two semester thesis with some statistical analysis.


Fluorescence properties of Amber.

Amber (fossil tree resin) is an important medium for the preservation of fossil insects. Fossil-bearing ambers are known from a wide variety of ages, from Cretaceous to Holocene, but their precise dating is problematic. This project will compare the luminescence properties of amber samples of different ages to determine if such properties correlate with age. (1 semester).

Spatial analysis of roosting bats

Cave bats distribute themselves in roof-space in species-distinctive patterns. This phenomenon has not been rigorously studied. This project involves a statistical analysis of photo-imagery.

Modelling the Serengeti ecosystem.

The Serengeti-Mara conservation area is a well studied tropical savanna ecosystem in Tanzania/Kenya. This project involves taking published data on herbivore and carnivore energetis, together with rainfall-productivity data and developing a community-population model in STELLA.

Atlas of Southern California Bat Distributions

This project involves coding a large museum dataset for presentation and analysis in ArcGIS.