From bugs and slugs to plant metabolomics

Abbey | Founding/Lead Organizer | Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Synthesis of Metabolomics in Life Sciences and Ecology (sMiLE) | 🔗 | » «

Chemical defenses are found in all plant life, with some species producing hundreds to thousands of unique compounds. In my research, I am interested in how these chemicals influence the interactions between plants and the organisms that eat them - namely insect herbivores. Scientists have hypothesized that higher biodiversity and population sizes in tropical regions near the equator should result in increased plant defenses (like chemistry) against more diverse and dense populations of insect herbivores. My research tests this hypothesis in the North American tree trembling aspen and finds evidence that chemical defense is indeed higher towards the equator. These results have broad implications for human use of plant defensive chemicals including pharmaceutical discovery, agricultural pest resistance, and the future of these services in the face of climate change. (less)

Intelligence in paper wasps!

Juanita | Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | 🔗 | » «

One of the main hypotheses for the evolution of cognition suggests that social dynamics became so complex that it became necessary to learn and remember individuals. It's further unclear if this leads towards specific cognitive domains or generalized cognition. I tested two populations of wasps that can and cannot individually recognize conspecifics across many cognitive domains in order to understand if differences in social cognition would also impact other cognitive domains. I found that only social cognition was impacted thus suggesting that individual recognition evolved as a specific cognitive ability in paper wasps. (less)

Where in the world did your ancestors live?

Zach | Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | 🔗 | » «

Where did your ancestors come from? How have they moved across the planet, and what information can we use to answer these questions? In this talk, I examine two ubiquitous patterns in nature: the increase in pedigree ancestors you have backward in time, and the rapid rate at which your ancestors disperse across the planet. Coupling these, we can generate mathematical models for predicting the barriers to movement, how big historical population sizes were, and the geographic origin of the human species. (less)

The Wild World of Plant Hairs

Rosy | Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | 🔗 | » «

Plants can't run away from the things that want to eat them, but they can still defend themselves! Many plants do this by producing hairs, technically known as trichomes, that damage, catch, or even poison potential plant consumers. Trichomes come in all shapes and sizes, but we know surprisingly little about how they function and evolve over time. My research focuses on the elaborate barbed trichomes produced by a group of plants called “stickleafs” or “blazingstars” (family Loasaceae). I study how they vary across species and how they help the plants defend themselves. Along the way, I've learned a lot about plant-insect interactions, survival in harsh environments, and the extraordinary diversity of life on earth. (less)

Bird Migration

Andrea | Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Frontiers | 🔗 | » «

Learning about the whereabouts of birds throughout their migration journeys is important to identify locations for conservation since many populations are experiencing declines. Range maps and geolocators are two ways to do this, and in my master's thesis, I compared both methods to see how well they characterized avian movement patterns. I also talked about my background, how I got to graduate school, and organizations I'm interested in working for when I graduate. (less)

Uncovering the importance of the plant microbiome

Mia | Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | 🔗 | » «

Microorganisms are everywhere, from the soil beneath your feet to inside the bodies of plants and animals. Despite their abundance, we are still understanding the important functions microorganisms play in host ecology and evolution. My research explores how soil-dwelling microbes can help plants cope with stresses such as drought and protect themselves against herbivore attacks. By expanding our understanding of the microbial world beneath our feet, we may be able to develop more effective and sustainable agricultural practices. (less)

How to make a toxic frog?

Roberto | Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | 🔗 | » «

Animals use toxins for a variety of purposes, such as avoiding predation or hunting prey. However, in order to do this, they need to be able to avoid their own toxin's noxious effects. In this talk I first discuss my work on how poison frogs are able to resist their own powerful toxins, and what this can teach us to successfully and safely use toxins for human purposes, such as medicine and agriculture. Second, I share some of the "daily life" aspects of my job as a scientist, as well as some of the common career paths taken by people with a STEM education. (less)

What can under-studied fungi teach us about fundamental life processes?

Jill | Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | 🔗 | » «

Much of Fungal diversity has been underappreciated, and under-represented, in research; the same is true for viral diversity. In this talk, I argue that by studying these under-represented entities, we not only gain new knowledge but the kind of knowledge that we gain changes some of our fundamental understandings about both fungi and viruses altogether, and even beyond. (less)

How does agriculture affect wild plants?

Anah | Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | 🔗 | » «

I became a scientist because I like to figure things out and solve problems. I started to become interested in herbicides impact on the environment when I began working in a lab at University of Michigan. The herbicide Dicamba poses many problems in agriculture because once it has been sprayed on weeds, it can evaporate and spread onto wild plants. However, because it is being spread in the air, it is affecting plants at a much lower dose than what is recommended in the field. This can lead to all kinds of unexpected impacts. By using the scientific method, I can observe how some plants react to dicamba and analyze how they express their genes differently. (less)