Dr. David Spector: Bird’s Eye View of Biology

Perhaps, no one knows as much about the yellow warbler and its song as David Spector. Maybe that is what inspired the CCSU professor of biology to combine science and music when he wrote “The Circulation Rap” and performed its syncopated rhythms in teaching his General Biology II laboratories. To convey the various components of the circulatory system, he devised such snappy couplets as Right atrium in, at more than a trickle,/Then the blood flows down to the right ventricle.

An expert birder, Spector loves to spread bird-watching information and is co-editor of the Bird Finding Guide to Western Massachusetts, published by the University of Massachusetts Extension, 2003. One of the distinctions of the guide, he says, is that it covers “less well-known bird sites. I’m pleased that our book put a heavier emphasis on environmental education and land conservation than is typical for bird finding guides.”

He also delights in helping students to experience the joy of scientific inquiry. He remarks, “Biology students can explore the functioning of their own bodies, the interactions of the several millions of species alive today, and the sweep of 3.5 billion years of the history of life.”

Helping students form well-framed arguments and “delve into the accumulated body of literature in a field,” he upholds one goal: “In all my teaching I let students know I consider scholarship fun and biology interesting.” 

Quizzes—on the First Day?
Spector prods students in 100-level courses to absorb his syllabi: “I give them a take-home, open-book, first-day quiz on the syllabus and on the first class. The quiz counts as one homework assignment. Most of them feel positive about getting a good grade right at the start. And they become familiarized with the course structure and office hours.” One of Spector’s students commented, “Wow, I never realized there’s so much stuff in there.” 

Discovery takes another form when biology majors in Spector’s upper-level Vertebrate Zoology course, on a field trip to the campus orchard, uncover a red-backed salamander residing under a log. Breaking into an impromptu lecture about the biology of this creature, Spector points out, “People may not be aware that here in New Britain it’s easy to find a red-backed salamander, a common land vertebrate in New England, more abundant than small mammals or birds. There is a lot of biological diversity—for example, roughly 50,000 living species of vertebrates—to see.”

Spector emphasizes integration of the different sub-disciplines of biology, such as physiology, ecology, molecular biology, behavior, anatomy, development, and evolution. In his upper-level Sensory Biology course, students examine the eye in exquisite molecular detail. Spector describes how learning becomes an interlocking chain: “When a light wave hits an individual molecule in the eye’s retina, that molecule changes shape, which in turn affects the protein holding it, which affects the electrical characteristics of the entire cell, which then communicates with other cells, and ultimately they convey information to the brain, which integrates that into a picture.”

Next, students look at the evolutionary history of the eye and how visual abilities of animals differ in relation to their ecology and behavior. “Consider,” he tells students, “how a hawk gliding in a thermal can look down and see what is invisible to us—the urine trail of a mouse.” Spector goes from molecules to ecology just from looking at the eye.

Inspiring Student Creativity

Spector, who holds a bachelor’s degree from Stockton State in New Jersey and a doctorate in zoology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, had taught part-time at George Washington and Brown universities prior to joining CCSU 11 years ago. His passion for birds accompanies him into many of his courses to the benefit of students who have done a variety of bird and non-bird research projects with him.

Scott Hevner, who worked on a gull study and is now pursuing a Ph.D. at Bowling Green State University, recalls, “We concluded that more gulls tended to face into the wind as wind speed increased. They also oriented to the sun when wind speeds were lower.” In some 80 hours doing the study, Hevner “learned that research requires tremendous attention to detail and care in designing and carrying out an experiment.”

“I liked that Professor Spector left me room to do much of the creative work that goes into experimental design. He also allowed me to discuss my own conclusions before telling me his. He’d give me enough information to help figure out solutions for myself.”

Fledging New Scholarship

Spector’s current scholarly interest is in birds and literature, an offshoot of his fascination with how scientific knowledge gets diffused into the wider culture. He and Dr. Christine Doyle, professor of English, are discussing the possibility, he said, of setting up “a learning community based in a group of students taking the same biology and literature courses in which we’d look at how birds are used in literature (sometimes metaphorically) and examine them in biological terms.”

Connecting Biology with People

Spector has shared his knowledge and research on yellow warbler song through several journal articles (most recently on bird singing behavior for the Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior) and some 70 public presentations (including at the International Society for Antrozoology meeting in Niagara Falls). He’s lectured in six states at bird clubs, nature centers, and museums.

Spector hopes his students, even after they graduate, will keep the field guides he uses in his CCSU courses. “I’m constantly fighting for students’ futures, for their memories, and their hobbies. The field guides should prove useful to prospective high school teachers and to future parents teaching their children to enjoy and respect nature.”

—Geri Radasci

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