Nathaniel T. Wheelwright
Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Natural Sciences
Spring 2008
- Introductory Biology (BIO 109)
- Ornithology (BIO 258)
- Ornithology (BIO 258L1)
- Ornithology (BIO 258L2)
- Advanced Independent Study and Honors in Biology (BIO 402)
- Intermediate Independent Study in Environmental Studies (ES 294)
| Phone | (207) 725-3583 |
| Title | Professor |
| Department | BIOLOGY |
| Work Location | 230B Druckenmiller Hall |
| nwheelwr@bowdoin.edu |
 |
Education:
University of Washington (1982) Ph.D.
Yale University (1975) B.S.
Teaching Area
- behavioral ecology
- population biology
- evolutionary ecology
- plant-animal interactions
- ornithology
- conservation biology
- environmental studies
Research Statement
Since 1979 I have been studying interactions between fruit-eating birds and the tropical plants whose seeds they disperse in Monteverde, Costa Rica. That project expanded to include investigations of sex expression, population genetic structure, phenology, photosynthesis, and lifetime reproduction in a group of tree species in the family Lauraceae. The work of more than 120 biologists working in Monteverde was synthesized in a book published in 2000 by Oxford University Press.
In 1986 I began a long-term study of Savannah Sparrows on Kent Island, New Brunswick, Canada, site of the Bowdoin Scientific Station. Each summer, I join eight undergraduates, several graduate students and other researchers on the archipelago in the Bay of Fundy. Our work on sparrows deals with the avoidance of inbreeding, the acquisition and heritability of song, incubation rhythms of experienced and inexperienced birds, post-fledging parental care, and mate choice. Other long-term research on Kent Island includes the reproductive ecology of insect-pollinated island plants, and the population biology of Tree Swallows.
Recent Publications
Wheelwright, N.T., M.B. Swett, I.I. Levin, D.E. Kroodsma, C.R. Freeman-Gallant, and H. Williams. 2008. The influence of different tutor types on song learning in a natural bird population. Animal Behaviour 75(4), pp. 1479-1493. pdf
Wheelwright, N.T., and J.D. Rising. Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis). 2008. The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. (revision and expansion of 1993 publication)
Anchukaitis, K.J., M.N. Evans, N.T. Wheelwright, and D.P. Schrag. 2008. Isotope chronology and climate signal calibration in neotropical cloud forest trees. Journal of Geophysical Research-BioGeosciences (in press).
Freeman-Gallant, C.R., N.T. Wheelwright, K.E. Meiklejohn, and S.V. Sollecito. 2006. Genetic similarity, extra-pair paternity and offspring quality in Savannah Sparrows. Behavioral Ecology 17: 952-958. pdf
Wheelwright, N.T., C.R. Freeman-Gallant, and R.A. Mauck. 2006. Asymmetrical incest avoidance in the choice of social and genetic mates. Animal Behaviour 71: 631-639. pdf
Wheelwright, N.T., E.E. Dukeshire, J.B. Fontaine, S.H. Gutow, D.A. Moeller, J.C. Schuetz, T.M. Smith, S.L. Rodgers, and A.G. Zink. 2006. Pollinator limitation, autogamy, and minimal inbreeding depression in insect-pollinated plants on a boreal island. American Midland Naturalist 155: 19-38. pdf
Wheelwright, N.T. 2005. Conservation successes in the shadow of the Golden Toad. P. 150 in S. Brennan and J. Withgott, Environment: The Science Behind the Stories. Benjamin Cummings Publishing, San Francisco. pdf
Freeman-Gallant, C.R., N.T. Wheelwright, K.E. Meiklejohn, S.L. States, and S.V. Sollecito. 2005. Little effect of extra-pair paternity on the opportunity for sexual selection in Savannah Sparrows Passerculus sandwichensis. Evolution 59: 422-430. pdf
Wheelwright, N.T., and J.C. Beagley. 2005. Proficient incubation by inexperienced Savannah Sparrows Passerculus sandwichensis. Ibis 147: 67-76. pdf
Wheelwright, N.T., and B.A. Logan. 2004. Previous-year reproduction reduces photosynthetic capacity and slows lifetime growth in females of a neotropical tree. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 101: 8051-8055. pdf
Wheelwright, N.T., K.A. Tice, and C.R. Freeman-Gallant. 2003. Post-fledging parental care in Savannah Sparrows: sex, size and survival. Animal Behaviour 65: 435-443. pdf
Wheelwright, N.T., and R. Seabury. 2003. Fifty-fifty offspring sex ratios in Savannah Sparrows. Auk 120: 171-179.pdf
Freeman-Gallant, C.R., M. Meguerdichian, N. T. Wheelwright, and S.V. Sollecito. 2003. Social pairing and female mating fidelity predicted by restriction fragment length polymorphism similarity at the major histocompatibility complex in a songbird. Molecular Ecology 12: 3077-3083.pdf
Wheelwright, N.T., and J.J. Templeton. 2003. Development of foraging skills and the transition to independence in juvenile Savannah Sparrows. Condor 105: 279-287. pdf
Conrad, K.F., P.V. Johnston, C. Crossman, B. Kempenaers, R.J. Robertson, N.T. Wheelwright, and P.T. Boag. 2001. High levels of extrapair paternity in an isolated, low-density, island population of tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor). Molecular Ecology 10: 801-808. pdf
Nadkarni, N., and N.T. Wheelwright (editors). 2000. Monteverde: Ecology and Conservation of a Tropical Cloud Forest. Oxford University Press. 573 pp.
Futamura, C.W., and N.T. Wheelwright. 2000. The mosses of Kent Island, New Brunswick. Northeastern Naturalist 7: 277-288. pdf
Apigian, K., and N.T. Wheelwright. 2000. Forest ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) on a boreal island. Canadian Entomologist 132: 627-634. pdf
Wheelwright, N.T. La conservación requiere investigación básica. Ecología en Bolivia 35: 1-2. pdf
Wheelwright, N.T., and R.A. Mauck. 1998. Philopatry, natal dispersal and inbreeding avoidance in Savannah Sparrows. Ecology 79: 755-767. pdf
Orians, C.M. and N.T. Wheelwright. 1997. Thinking globally, team-working globally. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 12: 1-3.
Zink, R.A., and N.T. Wheelwright. 1997. Facultative self-pollination in island irises. American Midland Naturalist 137: 72-78. pdf
Wheelwright, N.T., J.J. Lawler, and J.H. Weinstein. 1997. Nest-site selection in Savannah Sparrows: using gulls as scarecrows? Animal Behaviour 53: 197-208. pdf
Gibson, J.P., and N.T. Wheelwright. 1996. Mating system dynamics of Ocotea tenera (Lauraceae), a gynodioecious tropical tree. American Journal of Botany 83: 890-894. pdf
Wheelwright, N.T., J.M. Dangerfield, M. Flyman, and M. Tjibae. 1996. Strengthening biological theory in wildlife research and management: a case study for Botswana. South African Journal of Science 92: 1-5. pdf
Gibson, J.P., and N.T. Wheelwright. 1995. Genetic structure in a population of a tropical tree, Ocotea tenera (Lauraceae): influence of avian seed dispersal. Oecologia 103: 49-54. pdf
Wheelwright, N.T., and C. Schultz. 1994. Age and reproduction in Savannah Sparrows and Tree Swallows. Journal of Animal Ecology 63: 686-702. pdf
Wheelwright, N.T., G.C. Trussell, J.P. Devine, and R. Anderson. 1994. Sexual dimorphism and sex ratio in juvenile Savannah Sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis). Journal of Field Ornithology 65: 520-529. pdf
Gervais, J., and N.T. Wheelwright. 1994. Winter fruit removal in four plant species in Maine. Maine Naturalist 2: 15-24. pdf
Publications continued