Instructor Profiles

Click on instructor names for individual web sites or e-mail adderesses.

David D. Biesboer
Director & Professor, Department of Plant Biology, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Research interests include nitrogen cycling in wetlands, and the anatomy and physiology of angiosperms. Dr. Biesboer is a recipient of the Morse/Alumni Award for outstanding teaching.

Muir Eaton
Assistant Professor of Vertebrate Biology, Biology Department, Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa
Research interests focus on the evolution of characteristics among birds, ranging from plumage coloration to ecological niches, using a comparative phylogenetic approach. (EEB 4844, Ornithology)

Leif Hembre
Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Hamline University, St. Paul, Minnesota
Research interests include the evolutionary biology of organisms that alternate between asexual and sexual reproduction, aquatic ecology, acoustic analyses of zooplankton, and invertebrate biology. This will be his third year teaching ecology at Itasca after receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 2002. (Biol 3807, Ecology)

Larry Kuechle
President of Advanced Telemetry Systems Inc. (ATS) a manufacturing company based in Isanti, Minnesota.
ATS manufactures radio-telemetry, radio-location and supporting software used to monitor free ranging animals. Prior to his association with ATS he was director of the University of Minnesota's Cedar Creek Bioelectronics Laboratory for 25 years. He has authored or co-authored more than 30 publications relating to radio telemetry. (Biol 4850, Animal Behavior/Telemetry)

Patina Mendez
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Minnesota
Her interests focus on the life history ecology of aquatic insects, the ecology of streams, and on the taxonomy and systematics of caddisflies. She enjoys spending time watching insects in the wild. (ENT 4861, Aquatic Entomology)

Jon Ross
Resident Biologist, Itasca Biological Station, University of Minnesota
Research interests include aquatic biology, specifically fish habitat selection and ecological genetics. (Biol 4850, Animal Behavior/Telemetry)

Donald L. Rubbelke
Professor of Biology at Lakeland Community College in Kirtland, Ohio
His interests in imaging encompass nature photography, macrophotography, and photomicroscopy.  His ecological interests and concerns drive his desire to document rare and elusivebiological subjects and behaviors. (EEB 4862, Biological Photography and Digital Imaging Techniques)
Access his photographic website at: http://lakelandcc.edu/biophoto/Biopho.htm

Joe Whittaker
Associate Professor of Biology, Department of Biology, Pikeville College, Pikeville, KY.
Research interests include the natural history and ecology of small mammals. Much of Joe's research has focused on the population dynamics and habitat use of shrews and voles. He is an alum of the Itasca Biological Station, and his Master's field research was conducted near the Itasca Biological Station. He earned his M.S. at the University of Minnesota - Duluth and completed his Ph.D. in Zoology from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. (EEB 4839, Field Mammalogy)

Brian D. Wisenden
Associate Professor, Minnesota State University Moorhead, Moorhead, MN
Interested in behavioral ecology of fishes including patterns of parental care, mating systems and chemically-mediated predator-prey interactions. (Biol 3811, Animal Behavior)