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Southwestern > Romi Burks Home > About Dr. Burks
Dr. Jesse E. Purdy received his B. S. in psychology in 1974, his M. S. in general experimental psychology in 1976 and his PhD in 1978 from Colorado State University. He graduated with an emphasis in experimental psychology with specialization in animal learning and animal behavior. He is currently Professor of Psychology and holder of the John H. Duncan Chair in the Department of Psychology at Southwestern University where he has been since 1978.
Dr. Purdy has been active in several professional organizations including the Southwestern Comparative Psychology Association, the Southwestern Psychological Association, and Psi Chi. He served on the board of directors for SCPA and he served as President-elect and President of SWPA. Dr. Purdy has also been active in Psi Chi, the National Honor Society in Psychology. Nationally, Dr. Purdy served as the Southwestern Regional Vice President from 1994 - 1997. He served on the Journal Committee, which proposed Psi Chi's journal for undergraduate research, the National Project Committee, the Student Awards Committee, and he was significantly involved in developing Psi Chi's undergraduate small research grants program. In additional he was instrumental in developing two new programs for Psi Chi. The Psi Chi/NSFREU program provides an opportunity for Psi Chi members to conduct research at NSF/REU sites around the country and the Psi Chi Summer Research Program provides opportunities for Psi Chi members to conduct research at a Level 1 Research Institution of the member's choice. He was elected President-elect of Psi Chi National Council during the 1999-2000 academic year and served as president-elect, president, and past-president of that organization.
Dr. Purdy has an active research program that involves undergraduate students extensively. With his students he has authored and co-authored over 25 articles and made over 40 professional presentations. His work is primarily carried out at the Southwestern University's Aquatic Animal Research Laboratory that houses facilities for both fresh water and salt water organisms. He has spent summers at the University of Hawaii (Bekesy Laboratory for Neurobiology), National Marine Fisheries Service in Seattle, Washington, University of Texas Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas, TX, the National Resource Center for Cephalopods in Galveston, TX the Bamfield Marine Science Center on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, and the Alice Cove Research station, Alice Cove, Alaska. In addition, he spent two and one half months in a remote ice camp in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica studying Weddell seals. He returned to the ice Fall, 2002 to follow-up on this work.
Dr. Purdy is involved in work both in the laboratory and in the field. The focus of his laboratory work is on basic animal learning processes in aquatic animals where he continues to explore the mechanisms of learning in cuttlefish. In 1999 he published a paper showing for the first time that cuttlefish were capable of classical conditioning. Cuttlefish in the experimental group were presented a flashing light at one end of their tank for 30 secs followed by food dropped into the center of the tank. Cuttlefish associated the light with food and interestingly responded to the light as if it were food. Cuttlefish oriented to the light, approached the light within striking distance, and struck at the light with their tentacles. He and his students are following up on this research by examining the variables that affect the conditioned response. In addition, he is conducting studies that examine conditioned defensive behavior and instrumental conditioning. His work with cuttlefish has been highlighted on the Discovery Channel's World of Wonder.
(PICTURES & VIDEO)
In the field, Dr. Purdy examines anti-predator responses by salmon to sights and sounds of killer whales. To obtain the sounds of killer whales he traveled to Telegraph Cove, Vancouver Island, British Columbia where from a 15-foot inflatable raft he observed and recorded sounds from the northern resident pods of Orcinus orca. Then at the Bamfield Marine Science Center, Dr. Purdy played the sounds of killer whales back to juvenile salmon. Interestingly, juvenile responded to the sounds by seeking open water and moving about their tank more than salmon in control conditions. Currently, Dr. Purdy is playing the sounds of killer whales back to salmon under natural conditions. This work is being done on the Southeast coast of Alaska and in British Columbia.
In addition to the killer whale project, Dr. Purdy is involved in a study examining social and vocal interactions of Weddell seals under the fast ice in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. His specific area of interest involves an examination of the vocalizations used in courtship and reproductive behavior in this species. Using hydrophones, underwater cameras, and head mounted cameras, Dr. Purdy is beginning to link statistically courtship and reproductive behavior with vocalizations. Specifically, the male appears to use special sounds when he's attempting to attract new females. The females might evaluate those sounds to determine which potential mates are the fittest.
In the presence of females, a focal male, Pink 841, used a loud "trilling" sound, along with mews, growls, and whistles. In the presence of females, Pink used more aggressive chirps, knocks, and jaw claps. In addition, characteristics of his vocalizations were different from those of other males. This work was recently highlighted on a radio program (Seal Talk: www.scienceandthesea.org) produced by the University of Texas Marine Science Institute. This work is being conducted in conjunction with Dr. Randy Davis, Texas A & M University, Dr. Lee Fuiman, Marine Science Institute, University of Texas at Austin, and Dr. Terrie Williams, University of California at Santa Cruz. These individuals serve as the PIs on an NSF funded project examining the foraging and diving energetics of Weddell seals.
Audio of seal sounds
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