Edmund Jaeger
Encyclopedia
Biologist
A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of life. Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship to their environment. Biologists involved in basic research attempt to discover underlying mechanisms that govern how organisms work...
known for his works on desert ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
. He was born in Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
and moved to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in 1906. He was the first to document a state of extended torpor
Torpor
Torpor, sometimes called temporary hibernation is a state of decreased physiological activity in an animal, usually characterized by a reduced body temperature and rate of metabolism. Animals that go through torpor include birds and some mammals such as mice and bats...
, approaching hibernation
Hibernation
Hibernation is a state of inactivity and metabolic depression in animals, characterized by lower body temperature, slower breathing, and lower metabolic rate. Hibernating animals conserve food, especially during winter when food supplies are limited, tapping energy reserves, body fat, at a slow rate...
, in a bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
, the Common Poorwill
Common Poorwill
The Common Poorwill is a nocturnal bird of the family Caprimulgidae, the nightjars. It is found from British Columbia and southeastern Alberta, through the western United States to northern Mexico...
.
After teaching at Riverside Junior College for 30 years, he worked the Riverside Municipal Museum
Riverside Metropolitan Museum
The Riverside Metropolitan Museum, or RMM, is an history and anthropological museum located in the historic Mission Inn District of Riverside, California, United States...
in Riverside, California
Riverside, California
Riverside is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and the county seat of the eponymous county. Named for its location beside the Santa Ana River, it is the largest city in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area of Southern California, 4th largest inland California...
. The Edmund C. Jaeger Desert Institute on the Moreno Valley College
Moreno Valley College
Moreno Valley College, or MVC, is a community college located in Moreno Valley, California, United States. The college is part of the Riverside Community College District, as well as the larger California Community Colleges System.-External links:*...
campus of the Riverside Community College District
Riverside Community College District
The Riverside Community College District, or RCCD, is the community college district serving Riverside, California, United States, and neighboring cities. It is part of the California Community Colleges System...
is named in his honor.