Page 4
University Daily Kansan
Thursday, Nov. 7, 1963
Zoologist Snares Sparrows on Ice
A KU zoologist returned yesterday from a three-week field trip in Canada. His mission was to bring back the house sparrow—on ice.
Richard F. Johnston, associate professor of zoology, is researching a theory that evolution can occur in a very short time in the animal kingdom.
He has found that the house sparrow has changed considerably since it was introduced in the North American continent in 1851.
PROF. JOHNSTON works closely with Robert K. Selander, a University of Texas zoologist. They began work two years ago with a $14,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, which recently added another $8,900 grant.
Bermuda.
Bird-hunting expeditions have taken the two men to Europe, Canada and Mexico in addition to different parts of the United States. Sparrows were shipped to them from
According to Prof. Johnston, the house sparrow originated in England and Southern Germany. However, he added, the sparrow has spread and thrived over a large area from Canada to the semi-tropical climate of Mexico and Southern Florida.
Prof. Johnston said the changes in form or structure in animals has obviously occurred.
"I FOUND varying characteristics, such as difference in color and density of plumage, skeletal structure variations and size and toughness of the beak in the birds," he said.
Prof. Johnston also hopes to demonstrate the physiological evolution of the house sparrow in its comparatively short history in a new habitat.
to morphological change.
He explained that physiological evolution is a change in function of organs, systems, and cell metabolisms. Form and shape are the keys
The house sparrow must have adapted rapidly to the new climates to survive, he said. Prof. Johnston pointed out that house sparrows caught in Texas cannot survive in colder climates because their tolerance to atmospheric temperature is about 20 Fahrenheit degrees below their northern brothers.
ZOOLOGISTS used to believe that 1,000 to 2,000 generations were needed to show a significant evolutionary change, Prof. Johnston said.
Architecture Grad Appears In Major Television Role
From architecture to show business may be a long step, but for James McMullan it seems to have been a gradual process.
By Jim Langford
Prof. Johnston's studies show that significant change can occur in 112 generations, the number of years sparrows have been in America.
Last night McMullan, a 1961 graduate of the KU School of Architecture appeared in his first major starring role on the television show "Channing".
WHILE HE was attending KU,
McMullan worked in the theater
department for three years while
working on his degree. Since leaving
KU he has been under a seven-year
contract to Universal City Studios.
McMullan recently made a movie, "The Raiders," which is to be released soon.
He has appeared on such shows as, "The Hitehcock Hour", "Alcoa Premiere", "Wagon Train", "The Virginian", "Laramie", "Arrest and Trial", and "Wide Country".
While at KU, he was also known for his ability as a song writer, ballad singer, and guitarist.
McMullan's first record, "I Get So Jealous," was a best-seller in the Lawrence area in the spring of 1959.
On field trips, Prof. Johnston snares between 150 and 200 specimens, has them quick-frozen and shipped back to Lawrence for study. Eventually they are filed into groups of about 15 to 20 in glass cages.
HIS STYLE was unique in that he was very informal. When Mc-
Mullan appeared in public, he would sit in a chair, prop his feet on a foot rest, and talk to his audience as he strummed his guitar.
The first big break into show business for McMullan came when he tape-recorded a few songs for his mother. She gave them to a friend of an agent at Warner Bros. studio in Hollywood. This resulted in an audition and a five-year contract.
His second break came when he appeared on "Video Village" in the summer of 1960 with his brother. Both were three-time winners on the show.
AFTER THAT appearance McMullan was contacted by a number of recording companies in New York.
While at KU, McMullan had the leading role in Eugene O'Neils. "Desire Under the Elms" and he appeared in Frank Loesser's Broadway hit "The Most Happy Fella." He also sang ballads for the Rock Chalk Revue.
In an interview with the Kansan in 1959 McMullan said he didn't know what he wanted to do most. Later he said he wanted to give show business a try, then settle down and do justice to architecture.
SOME OF THE places he has gone to gather sparrows are Death Valley, Calif; Edmonton, Alberta; Montreal, Quebec; Hamilton, Bermuda; Acapulco, Mexico; Oxford, England, and Stuttgart, Germany.
Lawrence of Arabia Sound Track
at
BELL'S
925 Mass. VI 3-2644
Read and Use Kansan Clæsifieds
Ray Christian
"THE COLLEGE JEWELER" 809 Mass.