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Rabun resident ruffles feathers
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| Ornithologist Brent Horton searches live oaks for orange warblers. |
By Matt Henderson Staff Writer
The Physiological Society defines physiology as "the study of how living organisms function." Brent Horton, a 1995 Rabun County High School graduate, called it his passion.
His family has another definition of what Horton studies.
"We affectionately call him the bird nerd," said his brother, Scott.
Brent Horton currently studies ornithology in pursuit of a post doctorate fellowship at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. He has been pursuing that goal since his undergraduate days.
As a young child in Gwinnett County, Horton began coming to Rabun County on family camping trips.
"One time when I was a kid, we went up to Lake Rabun to camp out and we had this old green Army tent," Horton said. "My brothers and I caught crawdads in a stream."
Horton said he remembered having a great reverence for the outdoors and "paying attention to everything," even as a child.
His family moved to Rabun when he was in grade school. He and his brother spent many weekends hunting together in the woods.
A trip to the Far West early in his life also had a major effect on him.
"We went on a family vacation when I was in the fifth grade to Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park and Grand Teton National Park," Horton said. He met many park rangers and other wildlife professionals while visiting the parks. Conversations with these professionals made up the foundation for his current career.
"I thought for a while I wanted to be a park ranger," Horton said. He changed his mind after he went to college.
Horton began his college career at Berry College in Rome. He initially went to Berry to play golf but found his true calling in biology. Classes he took at Berry inspired him to transfer to Colorado State University in Fort Collins. While there, he had his first real world experience studying animal physiology.
Horton worked on a field crew that spent two years tracking the endangered black-footed ferret in Montana, Colorado, Utah, and South Dakota. Horton said the black-footed ferret was thought to be extinct until a rancher in Wyoming stumbled upon a dead one.
After this discovery, researchers and scientists at Colorado State University bred live ferrets they discovered in the area. Horton then worked for two months for the fish and game department at the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in Harlem, Mont.
"That worked shaped where I am today," Horton said. "I worked with the black-footed ferret from 1997-2000. This work made me realize how much I enjoyed studying how a certain animal's physiology helps them adapt to their environment."
Horton said the work he did with the black-footed ferret made him take an interest in hormones, and this study led him to birds. He went on to attend the University of Maine and wrote his Ph.D. dissertation on the white throated sparrow.
"I met Scott Sillett, who is now my advisor at the Smithsonian, at a scientific meeting in Vera Cruz, Mexico. He said the Smithsonian needed someone with knowledge of physiology and liked my dissertation," Horton said.
Sillett said Horton's knowledge of physiology helped him land a post doctorate fellowship at the Smithsonian, but his communication skills were the deciding factor.
"Brent studied with a renowned physiologist at the University of Maine and had the perfect set of skills for the position," Sillett said. "But one of Brent's greatest skills is his ability to explain science clearly. He gets excited about his field and is an infectious character."
Horton said he is looking to pursue a career in teaching once his fellowship is complete. He wants to teach in an environment that nurtures his passion for the outdoors, and he would like to come back to the South.
"I would like to teach either in Appalachia or the Rocky Mountains," Horton said.
His family has another definition of what Horton studies.
"We affectionately call him the bird nerd," said his brother, Scott.
Brent Horton currently studies ornithology in pursuit of a post doctorate fellowship at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. He has been pursuing that goal since his undergraduate days.
As a young child in Gwinnett County, Horton began coming to Rabun County on family camping trips.
"One time when I was a kid, we went up to Lake Rabun to camp out and we had this old green Army tent," Horton said. "My brothers and I caught crawdads in a stream."
Horton said he remembered having a great reverence for the outdoors and "paying attention to everything," even as a child.
His family moved to Rabun when he was in grade school. He and his brother spent many weekends hunting together in the woods.
A trip to the Far West early in his life also had a major effect on him.
"We went on a family vacation when I was in the fifth grade to Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park and Grand Teton National Park," Horton said. He met many park rangers and other wildlife professionals while visiting the parks. Conversations with these professionals made up the foundation for his current career.
"I thought for a while I wanted to be a park ranger," Horton said. He changed his mind after he went to college.
Horton began his college career at Berry College in Rome. He initially went to Berry to play golf but found his true calling in biology. Classes he took at Berry inspired him to transfer to Colorado State University in Fort Collins. While there, he had his first real world experience studying animal physiology.
Horton worked on a field crew that spent two years tracking the endangered black-footed ferret in Montana, Colorado, Utah, and South Dakota. Horton said the black-footed ferret was thought to be extinct until a rancher in Wyoming stumbled upon a dead one.
After this discovery, researchers and scientists at Colorado State University bred live ferrets they discovered in the area. Horton then worked for two months for the fish and game department at the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in Harlem, Mont.
"That worked shaped where I am today," Horton said. "I worked with the black-footed ferret from 1997-2000. This work made me realize how much I enjoyed studying how a certain animal's physiology helps them adapt to their environment."
Horton said the work he did with the black-footed ferret made him take an interest in hormones, and this study led him to birds. He went on to attend the University of Maine and wrote his Ph.D. dissertation on the white throated sparrow.
"I met Scott Sillett, who is now my advisor at the Smithsonian, at a scientific meeting in Vera Cruz, Mexico. He said the Smithsonian needed someone with knowledge of physiology and liked my dissertation," Horton said.
Sillett said Horton's knowledge of physiology helped him land a post doctorate fellowship at the Smithsonian, but his communication skills were the deciding factor.
"Brent studied with a renowned physiologist at the University of Maine and had the perfect set of skills for the position," Sillett said. "But one of Brent's greatest skills is his ability to explain science clearly. He gets excited about his field and is an infectious character."
Horton said he is looking to pursue a career in teaching once his fellowship is complete. He wants to teach in an environment that nurtures his passion for the outdoors, and he would like to come back to the South.
"I would like to teach either in Appalachia or the Rocky Mountains," Horton said.
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