Press release from Warren Wilson College:
Warren Wilson College biology professor Paul Bartels, Ph.D., will speak at WWC on “Tardigrades (aka Water Bears) in the Great Smoky Mountains” at the Oct. 9 meeting of Sigma Xi – UNCA Chapter. His presentation, free and open to the public, begins at 7 p.m. in Room 110 of WWC’s Morse Science Hall.
Tardigrades are “charismatic microfauna” – microscopic, multicellular animals. Although famous for their ability to withstand extreme environmental conditions via “cryptobiosis,” they are poorly studied.
Since 2000, Paul and his Warren Wilson students have been working on Phylum Tardigrada as part of the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In the park they have discovered 78 new records and 13 species new to science.
During his presentation Bartels will introduce the audience to the world of tardigrades, the ATBI and the journey of discovery that has led to some big questions about these tiny animals in the park and beyond. Warren Wilson biology student Mackenzie Kaelin also will give a progress report on her Natural Science Undergraduate Research Sequence work on a genetic analysis of Milnesium, a puzzling group of predatory tardigrades in the Great Smokies.
Bartels has been teaching and leading student research projects at Warren Wilson College since 1986, after receiving his Ph.D. in biology from University of California at Santa Cruz and teaching at the University of Illinois. He has authored a number of peer-reviewed publications not only on tardigrades, but also on animal behavior, biodiversity and coral reefs. He recently received the Magnarella Family Faculty Scholarship Award at Warren Wilson.
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