2017 HTC Distinguished Teacher-Scholar Lecturer: John Hutchens, Ph.D.
Professor of Biology
"Prey Capture by a Local Charismatic Species: The Venus Flytrap"
John Hutchens joined the Department of Biology at Coastal Carolina University in 2002. He earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Biology from Virginia Tech and a PhD in Ecology from the University of Georgia. He conducted stream ecology research at the Natural Resources Research Institute in Duluth, MN and with the US Environmental Protection Agency in Cincinnati, OH before coming to CCU. At Coastal, Hutchens has studied invertebrates and ecosystem processes in local streams, wetlands and adjacent terrestrial habitats. He has served as the major advisor for eight graduates of the Coastal Marine and Wetland Studies Master’s program.
Hutchens has collaborated with Dr. James Luken at Coastal since 2006 on research examining prey capture of the carnivorous plant, the Venus flytrap. Flytraps only live in southeastern NC and northeastern SC, creating a unique opportunity for study by Coastal Carolina University faculty and students. Six CCU undergraduates have conducted their honors thesis research studying Venus flytraps with Hutchens.