EEB Readings, Oct. 18-22

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Monday: Speciation reading group. 2PM in Hutch 341. Chapter 7 of Coyne and Orr.

Wednesday: Island biogeography discussion group. Noon in Hutch 341. Clegg’s chapter on evolutionary changes following island colonization in The Theory of Island Biogeography Revisited. Contact the Glor Lab if you want to get in on lunch.

Wednesday: Plant ecology and evolution journal club. 2PM in Hutch 316.  Hale C.M., Frelich L.E., and Reich P.B. 2006. Changes in hardwood forest understory plant communities in response to European earthworm invasions. Ecology 87:1637-1649. [[doi link]]

UPDATE:
Friday: Elements of Evolutionary Genetics reading group. 10AM in Hutch 313. Chapter 1 of Charlesworth & Charlesworth.

Perfect Time to Visit “Most Beautiful Wine Region in the World”

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The October issue of Budget Travel declares the the Finger Lakes region one of the world’s most beautiful (and least pretentious) places to go wine tasting.  The winery mentioned most prominently in their article – Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars (a.k.a. Dr. Frank’s) – is only about an hour and half from Rochester.  Fall colors are in full swing, so now’s the time to go!

EEB Seminar, Oct. 15: Thomas Kocher on Genetic Architecture of Cichlids

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Tomorrow’s EEB seminar will be presented by one of this year’s student-invited speakers: Dr. Thomas Kocher.  Dr. Kocher’s lab is part of a group at the University of Maryland interested in cichlids as a model species for a number of evolutionary questions.  His current projects include developing Lake Malawi cichlids as a genetic and genomic model species, pigementation, olfaction, coalescense, and sex determination.  In the past his lab has also worked on projects ranging from breeding behavior to morphological differences (remember Craig Albertson’s talk a few years ago?) to phylogenetics.  Please take a minute to check out his lab webpage for more details on his work and links to recent papers.  A reception at Rich Glor’s house will follow Dr. Kocher’s seminar on Friday afternoon. – Dan McNabney

Plant Ecology & Evolution Journal Club

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The Ramsey lab would like to invite all interested students and faculty to participate in the [doi link], or P.E.E. (insert Beavis and Butthead laugh here).  P.E.E. meets Wednesdays at 2PM in Hutchison 316. Focal topics for this semester include forest ecology, plant invasion, and pollination biology. The schedule of papers can be found on the [doi link].

EEB Readings, Oct. 11-15

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Tuesday: EEB journal club. 12:30 in Hutch 316. Neafsey et al. Population genomic sequencing of Coccidioides fungi reveals recent hybridization and transposon control. Genome research (2010) 20:938 [doi link]

Wednesday: Island biogeography discussion group.  Noon in Hutch 341.  Chapters 7 & 8 The Theory of Island Biogeography Revisited (Hanski on island biogeography and metapopulations and Laurence on habitat fragmentation in the real world).  Contact the Glor Lab if you want to get in on lunch.

Wednesday: Plant ecology and evolution journal club.  2PM in Hutch 316.  Scheller R.M. and Mladenoff D.J. (2002) Understory species patterns and diversity in old-growth and managed northern hardwood forests. Ecological Applications 12:1329-1343. [doi link]

Thursday: Speciation reading group. 2PM in Hutch 341. Chapter 7 of Coyne and Orr.

Welcome New Postdoc Tammy Haselkorn

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Tammy Haselkorn recently joined the Jaenike lab as a Postdoctoral fellow.  Tammy is interested in endosymbiotic relationships, and is an expert on Spiroplasma that associate with Drosophila.  She received her undergraduate degree in Biochemistry at Iowa State University, then worked as a research technician with Daniel Promislow, among others.  Tammy then entered graduate school at the University of Arizona, in the lab of Teri Markow.  Tammy studied the bacterial endosymbiont Spiroplasma and its interactions with cactophilic Drosophila in the Markow lab.  In the Jaenike lab, Tammy will continue to study Spiroplasma, including its interactions with dipterans and their nematode parasites.  Besides bacteria and flies, Tammy enjoys hiking, movies, dancing, and live music.  She is a lot of fun to have in the lab.  Welcome Tammy! – Quinn McFrederick

Fall Retreat This Monday

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The U of R Biology Department’s Fall Retreat is happening this Monday at the Genessee Country Village & Museum.  EEB faculty presentations at the retreat include Ramsey on polyploid speciation and adaptation, Fry on ethanol resistance in D. melanogaster, and Glor on island lizards.  A complete program is available as a PDF.  Last time we found redback salamanders and even a few spotted salamanders during a hike over lunch break, so hopefully we can replicate that success this year.

EEB Readings, Oct. 4 – 8

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Monday: Speciation discussion group.  2PM in Graduate Student Lounge.  Ch. 6 on Behavioral and Non-ecological speciation from Coyne and Orr.

Tuesday: EEB Journal club. 12:30 in Hutch 316. Begun et al. (2007). Population genomics: whole-genome analysis of polymorphism and divergence in Drosophila simulans. PLoS Biology. [link]