This week we spoke with Assistant Professor Jeff Buler and graduate student Solny Adalsteinsson, both from UD’s department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology. We talked about how their department, like so many others in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources uses the whole outdoors as their laboratory!

During the interview, we talked about a balloon trip that Jeff led for one of his Landscape Ecology classes. The trip gave the students a very different perspective on how humans and wildlife interact with the landscape than the perspective gained by walking on the ground or looking at maps and computer graphics.

Solny and Jeff talked about their research into the transmission of Lyme disease, and how ticks, mammals, birds, and different plants interact in the disease transmission cycle. Solny also told us how widely Lyme disease has spread. One of the reasons Jeff and Solny work on Lyme disease is that Delaware has one of the highest rates of Lyme disease infection in the United States.

Our conversation also touched on Jeff’s research into the migratory patterns of insects and birds. Jeff also told us about the technology used to track the migrations (balloons and radar).

Give a listen to the interview linked below. It provides a fascinating insight into how all these creatures–including humans–interact with each other and with the landscape.

Listen to the Interview

Jeff Buler and Solny Adalsteinsson, Entomology and Wildlife Ecology 29:59 28.8 MB

Video Clip Coming soon

Photo by Sarah Tompkins