October

Businesses survive and thrive on supply and demand. They rely on the supply chain to get products from production to consumers, but when a global pandemic disrupts that chain of events, consumers are left without and demanding more. Product shortages likely will worsen into this holiday season as supplies dwindle and demand increases. In the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, paper products like toilet paper and paper towels were available in limited quantities or not at all. Eighteen months later, consumers are finding stores lacking in such products as half-and-half, yogurt and meat. And now experts say toys will be scarce for even Santa Claus to produce this holiday season.

The Associated Press recently reported that the U.S. government declared 23 species extinct, including the ivory-billed woodpecker that once frequently inhabited the Southeast. But according to Auburn University biological sciences professor and researcher Geoffrey Hill, the bird’s inclusion on the list was premature. Hill, the university’s curator of birds, contends that the woodpecker is simply effective at eluding researchers and conservationists. Hill is a fellow in the American Association for the Advancement for Science and the American Ornithological Society. He teaches ornithology—a branch of zoology dealing with the study of birds—among his courses and is the author of the 2007 book “Ivorybill Hunters: The Search for Proof in a Flooded Wilderness.” He discussed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s report, the effect of urbanization and climate change on bird habitats and more in this edition of Expert Answers.

Sunday, Oct. 10, is World Mental Health Day, a day to help raise awareness for mental health issues around the world and to mobilize efforts in support of mental health. Maintaining one’s mental health during a global pandemic has never been more important, and that certainly rings true for members of the Auburn Family. Dustin Johnson, a licensed psychologist and assistant director for outreach at Auburn University’s Student Counseling & Psychological Services, or SPCS, and Joeleen Cooper-Bhatia, a licensed psychologist and associate director of SCPS, offer helpful tips for keeping mental health a priority, especially with the university at the mid-semester mark.