Charles Drabek

Professor Charles M. Drabek was born in Chicago, raised in Colorado and obtained his undergraduate degree at the University of Denver. Before joining the Whitman faculty in 1975, he completed his graduate degrees, emphasizing vertebrate biology, at the University of Arizona. He has conducted field research on vertebrates in the tropics (Central America), desert, grasslands, coniferous forests, and the south polar tundra. Three field research seasons in Antarctica with the United States Research Program established and cultivated his research interests in diving adaptations of marine mammals and penguins. Professor Drabek enjoys family activities with his wife and two sons that include dry fly fishing, hiking, reading and sports, both as a participant and spectator. CONTACT: drabek@whitman.edu

Research interests are two-fold, in small mammal etho-ecology and in marine mammal and bird ecological morphology. More specifically, research into the temporal activity patterns, in the field, of native rodent species can help understand temporal/spatial niches in a community. An understanding of the morphology of the cardio-respiratory systems, relative to adaptations to deep diving, of marine mammals and penguins can elucidate partitions between feeding niches.