Biology Professor, University of Montana

Field: Animal Behavior

"My interest in music is the reason I study birds, bird songs, and communication - the language of how animals talk with each other."

When I was 17, I lived for a year in the Galapagos Islands to help with studies on birds called Darwin's finches. Now I teach college students the science of how the living world works. I also research and ask questions about how and why animals behave and communicate. Animals convey a fantastic amount of information with their vocalizations.

I did not actually graduate from high school, but after working with the Canadian Wildlife Service for five summers, I did enroll in college to study biology, music, and mathematics. I studied ospreys for my undergraduate senior thesis. They're fun to watch, and I continue to study them today.

What I love about my job is that I have been able to combine my interests in music and biology by studying how animals use sounds to communicate with each other.