Bats that donate blood; spiders that deceive; ants that explode! Prof. Theodore Sumnicht is an Academic Specialist in the S&T Biology Department. He is also the Manager of the Ozark Research Field Station (Mark Twain Nal Forest). He has an extensive experience doing field research in the tropical forests of Central America, Borneo, etc. Although his primary focus is ants, he is fascinated by the reoccurring ecological patterns present in rainforests across the world—this has become the focus of his tropical biology classes.
He lives at the Ozark Research Field station in Mark Twain National forest where he hosts visiting researchers, college-level field courses, elementary school field trips, and summer art camps. His goal is to foster a curiosity for nature in others by providing opportunities to learn and create in natural spaces. The amazing lives of the smallest rainforest inhabitants paint a larger picture of how complex Earth’s tropical biomes are. We’ll enjoy a series of vignettes—showcasing some of the oddest behaviors nature has ever generated—and discuss what we can learn from them.