It’s a gut reaction

Submitted by Marie Gilbert
Phone: (907) 474-7412
04/13/04

In long-distance migratory birds the gut fattens rapidly before migration, and is virtually ignored during the migratory flight when it shrinks by more than 50 percent. In marmots the gut enlarges in summer and shrinks during winter hibernation.

It’s the epitome of flexibility, yet most people wrinkle their nose when talk turns to guts. That’s understandable; it’s a gut reaction.

The Institute of Arctic Biology (IAB) welcomes Ian Hume, emeritus professor from the University of Sydney, Australia, who will present, "Conserving Australian Marsupials from Knowledge of their Energy and Water Requirements" Wednesday, April 14, at 7 p.m. in the Elvey Auditorium on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus.

A reception at the UA Museum of the North for Hume, the 2004 Irving-Scholander Memorial Lecture Series guest speaker, will follow his lecture. The lecture and reception are free and open to the public.

Hume appreciates digestive flexibility and has put his expertise to use to manage Australian icons, such as the koala and lesser know oddities such as the desert bilby.

Koalas are the epitome of picky eaters. A koala’s diet consists solely of Eucalyptus, which has many defensive mechanisms to deter herbivores. The foliage is not only toxic, but is also low in nutrients. Koalas eat nothing else.

As the koala’s habitat declines, so do koala numbers. Hume’s work planting an experimental Eucalpytus forest (featured on National Public Radio and National Geographic’s Radio Expeditions http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=1119155 showed that if done properly, the koala’s habitat can be restored and captive-bred koalas can be successfully released into the wild.

Hume will also be presenting an IAB Life Science Seminar, "Responses of the digestive tract to cold", Friday, April 16, at 3:30 p.m. in the Elvey Auditorium on the UAF campus. The Life Sciences Lectures are free and open to the public.

The IAB Life Science Lecture calendar is available at www.iab.uaf.edu, click on the "events" link.

Marie Gilbert
Publications and Information Coordinator
Institute of Arctic Biology
312 Irving I
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Fairbanks, AK 99775-7000
Tel: 907.474.7412
Fax: 907.474.6967
E-mail: marie.gilbert@uaf.edu