More Biology Profiles

Dr. Alexander J. Werth

Elliott Professor of Biology
Gilmer Hall , 127
(434) 223-6326
awerth@hsc.edu

Education

B.S. in zoology, Duke University (1985) summa cum laude; A.M. in organismic and evolutionary biology, Harvard University (1987); Ph.D. in organismic and evolutionary biology, Harvard University (1992); Postdoctoral Research Fellow with Department of Wildlife Management, North Slope Borough, Barrow, Alaska; Fulbright Scholar, Republic of Maldives (Spring 2006)

Teaching Interests
Vertebrate functional morphology
Comparative anatomy and physiology
Evolutionary biology and paleontology
Marine biology and oceanography
Biomechanics and osteology
Mammalogy, ichthyology, and general vertebrate zoology
History and philosophy of science
Bioethics, human genomics, and human reproductive issues

Courses Taught 

• Vertebrate Anatomy
• Vertebrate Physiology 
• Evolutionary Theory/Population Genetics
• Human Evolution
• Marine Biology
• Evolutionary Ecology/Tropical Ecology (in Ecuador/Galapagos)
• Organismal Biology
• Principles of Biology
• Vertebrate Paleontology
• Physics of the Human Body (Biomechanics/Biomaterials)
• Marine Mammals
• Human Genome Project
• Western Culture

Committee Assignments & Service to the College
Chair of Biology Department
Director of Honors Program and Chair of Honors Council
Health Science Advisory Committee and faculty advisor to PreHealth Society
Organizer of "Know Thyself: Human Genome Project" Symposium
Chair, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee
President, Campus chapter of Phi Beta Kappa
President, Longwood/Hampden-Sydney chapter of Sigma Xi
Faculty rep, Duke Marine Laboratory/Marine Sciences Educational Consortium
Service on numerous other College committees (Faculty rep to Board of Trustees, President's Council, etc.)

Faculty oversight committee of Center for Entrepreneurship and Political Economy, and Wilson Center for Leadership in the Public Interest

Most Recent Publications
 

Werth, A.J. 2012. Hydrodynamic and sensory factors governing response of copepods to simulated predation by baleen whales. International Journal of Ecology.

http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijeco/2012/208913/

Werth, A.J. 2012. Avoiding the pitfall of progress and asociated perils of evolutionary education. Evolution: Education and Outreach.

Werth, A.J., and T.J. Ford. 2012. Abdominal fat pads act as control surfaces in lieu of dorsal fins in the beluga (Delphinapterus). Marine Mammal Science.

Werth, A.J. [forthcoming] An evolutionary focus improves students' understanding of all biology. In peer review.

Allchin, D., and A.J. Werth [forthcoming] The naturalizing error: Implications for appeals to human nature and self-justifying nature. In peer review.

Ford, T.J., A.J. Werth, and J.C. George. [forthcoming] An intraoral thermoregulatory organ in the bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus), the corpus caervosum maxillaris. In peer review by Anatomical Record.

Werth. A.J. [forthcoming] Cross-flow filtration in baleen. In preparation; for submission to Journal of Morphology.

Werth, A.J. [forthcoming] Flow-dependent porosity of baleen. In preparation; for submission to Journal of Experimental Biology.

Werth, A.J., and W.S. Shear [forthcoming] "Living fossils" and the problem of species over time. In preparation; for submission to American Scientist.

Werth, A.J. [forthcoming] Huxleys garden, Wallace's ghost, and Harlow's brain: Are there limits to evolutionary explanation? In preparation; for submission to Zygon.

Beatty, B., and A.J. Werth [forthcoming] Aprismatic enamel microstructure and tooth sharpness in odontocetes: Economy or adaptation? In preparation; for submission to Integrative Biology.

Werth, A.J. 2009. Clearing the highest hurdle:Human-based case studies broaden students' understanding of core evolutionary concepts. The Journal of Effective Teaching, 9(2): 37-52.

Werth, A.J. 2008. The human genome project: implications for the study of human evolution. In The Human Genome Project: Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications. University Press of New England.

Werth, A.J. 2007. Adaptations of the cetacean hyolingual apparatus for aquatic feeding and thermoregulation. The Anatomical Record, 290(6): 546-568.

Werth, A.J. 2006. Odontocete suction feeding: Experimental analysis of water flow and head shape. Journal of Morphology, 267(12): 1415-1428.

Werth, A.J. 2006. Mandibular and dental variation and the evolution of suction feeding in Odontoceti. Journal of Mammalogy, 87(3): 579-588.

Werth, A.J. 2005. Evolution and development are not the same. The American Biology Teacher, 67(4): 201-202.

Werth, A.J. 2005. On the benefits of teaching honors. Honors In Practice [The National Honors Report], 1(1):43-48.

Werth, A.J. 2004. Functional morphology of the sperm whale tongue, with reference to suction feeding. Aquatic Mammals 30(3), 405-418.

Werth, A.J. 2004. Models of hydrodynamic flow in the bowhead whale filter feeding apparatus. Journal of Experimental Biology 207(20), 3569-3580.

http://jeb.biologists.org/content/207/20/3569.full

Werth, A.J. 2003. Unity in diversity: The virtues of a metadisciplinary perspective in liberal arts education. Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council, Fall/Winter 2003: 35-52.

Werth, A.J. 2001. How do mysticetes remove prey trapped in baleen? Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, 156(1): 189-203.

Werth, A.J. 2001. Simple lessons in biomechanics using everyday objects. The American Biology Teacher, 63(4): 267-270.

Werth, A.J. 2000. Marine Mammals. In Feeding: Form, Function and Evolution in Tetrapod Vertebrates, ed. K. Schwenk, pp. 475-514. New York, Academic Press.

Werth, A.J. 2000. A kinematic study of suction feeding and associated behaviors inthe long-finned pilot whale, Globicephala melas. Marine Mammal Science, 16(2): 299-314.

Honors & Awards
Phi Beta Kappa, Omicron Delta Kappa
Fulbright Scholar (teaching/research), Republic of Maldives: "Marine Environmental Science of Maldive Islands"

2012 awarded Charles Scott Venable endowed Professorship

2011 Harris Teaching Award from VFIC:

http://www.hsc.edu/News/News-Archive/2011/Werth.html

http://www.vfic.org/programs/harris_index.html

Invited to Smithsonian/NESCent workshop on Teaching Human Evolution

2010 Mettauer Research Award, H-SC
2008 Cabell Teaching Award, H-SC
2006 Fuqua Teaching Award, H-SC
2001 Crawley Teaching Award, H-SC
2002 Wye Faculty Seminar Fellow
2000 NIH Faculty Summer Fellow, Dartmouth College
1996 VFIC Mednick Fellow (research funding)
Visiting Scholar, University of Maine Darling Marine Center
Visiting Scholar, Providence College
Research funding from government of Alaska
Research funding from H-SC faculty fellowships

Professional Affiliations
Sigma Xi (Scientific Research Society)
National Association of Biolgoy Teachers, Virginia Association of Biology Teachers
National Collegiate Honors Council, Southern Regional Honors Council, Virginia Collegiate Honors Council
Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology
Society for Marine Mammalogy
International Society of Vertebrate Morphology
Society for the Study of Mammalian Evolution
Virginia Natural History Society

Reviewer for NSF and 20 journals

Other Interests

running & hiking
woodworking
reading & drawing
sailing
SCUBA & snorkeling
listening to music
playing & watching sports
ardent Duke basketball and (no longer!) condemned Red Sox fan

Family
wife Diane
son Colin
daughter Gwen