Latitudinal Differences in the Hibernation Characteristics of Woodchucks (Marmota monax)

There is little information on the phenotypic flexibility of hibernation characteristics within species. To address this issue, we observed differences in hibernation characteristics of three free-ranging populations of woodchucks (Marmota monax) distributed along a latitudinal gradient from Maine to South Carolina. Data from free-ranging animals exhibited a direct relationship between latitude and length of the hibernation season. As expected, woodchucks in the northern latitudes hibernated longer than those in the southern latitudes. Also, the length of interbout arousals decreased with increase in latitude, whereas the length of torpor bouts and the number of arousals increased. Thus, we observed phenotypic plasticity in hibernation characteristics based primarily on latitudinal temperature differences in each population. Further analysis revealed a direct relationship between latitude and total time spent in torpor. Maine animals spent 68% more time in torpor than South Carolina animals. However, total time spent euthermic did not differ among the three populations. The cost-benefit hypothesis of hibernation may help to explain these results. It assumes that hibernators avoid the physiological stress of torpor by staying euthermic as much as possible. Woodchucks in each population maximized time spent euthermic, utilizing torpor only at the level needed to survive winter hibernation and to commence reproduction in the spring

Modelling mammalian energetics: the heterothermy problem

Global climate change is expected to have strong effects on the world’s flora and fauna. As a result, there has been a recent increase in the number of meta-analyses and mechanistic models that attempt to predict potential responses of mammals to changing climates. Many models that seek to explain the effects of environmental temperatures on mammalian energetics and survival assume a constant body temperature. However, despite generally being regarded as strict homeotherms, mammals demonstrate a large degree of daily variability in body temperature, as well as the ability to reduce metabolic costs either by entering torpor, or by increasing body temperatures at high ambient temperatures. Often, changes in body temperature variability are unpredictable, and happen in response to immediate changes in resource abundance or temperature. In this review we provide an overview of variability and unpredictability found in body temperatures of extant mammals, identify potential blind spots in the current literature, and discuss options for incorporating variability into predictive mechanistic models

On Mission and Political Purpose in Higher Education Institutions: How Two Jesuit Universities Responded to the Complexities of DACA

Throughout American history, higher education institutions have confronted political and cultural events that challenge society. The academy, as the nexus of the pursuit of knowledge and of a prosperous society, must recognize its potential role in the political process, lest the health of our democracy weaken. Recent political issues, such as those surrounding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy of 2012, have profoundly impacted students and stirred the attention of colleges and universities. Leaders of higher education institutions can and should seize the opportunity to respond to such issues, especially during an unsteady and vulnerable time in government. In an effort to understand the phenomenon of higher education institutions’ engagement in politically charged cultural matters, using DACA as an example, this study explores two essential research questions: • What are the ways in which Jesuit institutions and their leaders have responded to DACA? • How did these leaders leverage their mission in order to navigate through this complex, divisive, and value-laden terrain? The study was conducted using a case-study method and cross-study analysis. Georgetown University and Loyola University Chicago, two institutions that have been highly responsive to DACA, provided the data for this study. The primary means for gathering data included personal, telephonic, and Skype interviews with institutional leaders (trustees, ex-trustees, presidents, faculty, chief academic officers, alumni, and administrators), as well as with past and present leaders of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU). I also collected data from archival materials, including presidential speeches and position statements, university mission statements, and university publications. Drawing from the work of Marc Lavine, I examined the ways in which conflicting values intersect with institutional responses to national political events. The contributions of Robert Birnbaum also provided the backdrop for how presidents led their institutions and the interpretive and instrumental approaches in doing so. The study found common characteristics and differences in how leaders at the two institutions responded to DACA, how internal and external forces figured in their calculus, and how institutional missions informed their decision making

On Mission and Political Purpose in Higher Education Institutions: How Two Jesuit Universities Responded to the Complexities of DACA

Throughout American history, higher education institutions have confronted political and cultural events that challenge society. The academy, as the nexus of the pursuit of knowledge and of a prosperous society, must recognize its potential role in the political process, lest the health of our democracy weaken. Recent political issues, such as those surrounding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy of 2012, have profoundly impacted students and stirred the attention of colleges and universities. Leaders of higher education institutions can and should seize the opportunity to respond to such issues, especially during an unsteady and vulnerable time in government. In an effort to understand the phenomenon of higher education institutions’ engagement in politically charged cultural matters, using DACA as an example, this study explores two essential research questions: • What are the ways in which Jesuit institutions and their leaders have responded to DACA? • How did these leaders leverage their mission in order to navigate through this complex, divisive, and value-laden terrain? The study was conducted using a case-study method and cross-study analysis. Georgetown University and Loyola University Chicago, two institutions that have been highly responsive to DACA, provided the data for this study. The primary means for gathering data included personal, telephonic, and Skype interviews with institutional leaders (trustees, ex-trustees, presidents, faculty, chief academic officers, alumni, and administrators), as well as with past and present leaders of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU). I also collected data from archival materials, including presidential speeches and position statements, university mission statements, and university publications. Drawing from the work of Marc Lavine, I examined the ways in which conflicting values intersect with institutional responses to national political events. The contributions of Robert Birnbaum also provided the backdrop for how presidents led their institutions and the interpretive and instrumental approaches in doing so. The study found common characteristics and differences in how leaders at the two institutions responded to DACA, how internal and external forces figured in their calculus, and how institutional missions informed their decision making

On Mission and Political Purpose in Higher Education Institutions: How Two Jesuit Universities Responded to the Complexities of DACA

Throughout American history, higher education institutions have confronted political and cultural events that challenge society. The academy, as the nexus of the pursuit of knowledge and of a prosperous society, must recognize its potential role in the political process, lest the health of our democracy weaken. Recent political issues, such as those surrounding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy of 2012, have profoundly impacted students and stirred the attention of colleges and universities. Leaders of higher education institutions can and should seize the opportunity to respond to such issues, especially during an unsteady and vulnerable time in government. In an effort to understand the phenomenon of higher education institutions’ engagement in politically charged cultural matters, using DACA as an example, this study explores two essential research questions: • What are the ways in which Jesuit institutions and their leaders have responded to DACA? • How did these leaders leverage their mission in order to navigate through this complex, divisive, and value-laden terrain? The study was conducted using a case-study method and cross-study analysis. Georgetown University and Loyola University Chicago, two institutions that have been highly responsive to DACA, provided the data for this study. The primary means for gathering data included personal, telephonic, and Skype interviews with institutional leaders (trustees, ex-trustees, presidents, faculty, chief academic officers, alumni, and administrators), as well as with past and present leaders of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU). I also collected data from archival materials, including presidential speeches and position statements, university mission statements, and university publications. Drawing from the work of Marc Lavine, I examined the ways in which conflicting values intersect with institutional responses to national political events. The contributions of Robert Birnbaum also provided the backdrop for how presidents led their institutions and the interpretive and instrumental approaches in doing so. The study found common characteristics and differences in how leaders at the two institutions responded to DACA, how internal and external forces figured in their calculus, and how institutional missions informed their decision making