River Pollution

Alabama scientists ask for help collecting feral pig poop: Al.com – Nov. 19

A University of Alabama biology professor is working to trace the origins of the pollution in Alabama’s river waters. But first she needs a few baggies of wild hog poop. Julie Olson, a professor and curriculum chair at the UA Department of Biological Sciences, is one year into a three-year study of water pollution in Alabama’s rivers and where that pollution came from.

GOP Primary Debate

What to expect at the upcoming GOP primary debate in Tuscaloosa: WVTM 13 – Nov. 21

The University of Alabama is used to being the center of the college football world. But on Dec. 6, it will be the center of the political world as The University of Alabama is set to host the fourth GOP primary debate. “The Republican Party is really trying to appeal to younger voters. Being on a college campus, in a place where there is a lot of Republican support, may be able to garner enthusiasm and mobilize people to get involved in the campaign and to support the party,” said University of Alabama political science professor Marissa Grayson. “A lot of time ‘safe states’, like Alabama, are not chosen. I think this is a nod to the Republicans who have been consistently there supporting Republican Party and supporting Trump by having the debate in Tuscaloosa.”

Whipnose Anglerfish

A fish that fishes for other fish lives its life upside down: The New York Times – Nov. 22

… “Just when you think they couldn’t get any weirder, anglerfish outdo themselves,” said Pamela Hart, an associate professor at The University of Alabama who researches fish that live in extreme conditions… (Neither Dr. Miller nor Dr. Hart was involved in the discovery.) … Researchers suspected that they were targeting prey on the seafloor, but scientists couldn’t discard the possibility that it was just one goofy fish behaving abnormally, Dr. Hart explained — a hazard of animal behavior studies.