Archives for March 2022

Darwin Day Highlights Evolution Education

March 30, 2022 by wpeeb

This year, graduate students hosted Darwin Day UT, a series of events on campus to promote awareness of the importance of evolution to the study of biology and scientific research at UT and other institutions. Charles Darwin was born February 12, 1809. He is a critical figure in the history of evolutionary biology and during the week of his birthday, graduate students in the UT Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology celebrate his contributions to science.

Events throughout the week included Evolution Trivia, a graduate student research panel discussion, Darwin’s birthday party full of family fun in conjunction with the McClung Museum, and more. Students and faculty on campus may have also seen the large Darwin puppet mascot on the pedestrian walkway handing out flyers and prizes. These events were led by graduate students in the ecology and evolutionary biology department including Hope Ferguson, Wieteke Holthuijzen, Tara Empson, Nicole Lussier, Lauren Lyon, and Krista De Cooke. More than 300 people attended events throughout the week.

“Understanding evolution is key to understanding our world. For over two decades, Darwin Day at UT has been a fun, inclusive way to educate people about the topic,” said Dr. Brian O’Meara, faculty advisor for Darwin Day.

The tradition of Darwin Day celebrations at UT go back to 1997. UT prides itself on being among the most active institutions in celebrating and promoting evolution education, which is possible with support from several units at UT.

“Darwin Day has historically been an interdepartmental event with generous donations, volunteers, and coordinators from other UT departments. It’s been great working with colleagues across the campus to think of innovative activities, especially during the pandemic,” said Krista De Cooke, Darwin Day President 2020-2022.

–Story by Sarah Berry

Gross Investigates Relationship Between Climate Change Beliefs and Risk

March 23, 2022 by wpeeb

Louis Gross, Chancellor’s Professor in the UT Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, recently co-authored an article, “Determinants of Emissions Pathways in the Coupled Climate-Social System” published in the journal Nature, which investigates whether or not there is a link between humans’ belief in climate change risk and the Earth’s changing climate.

“This research indicates that there are significant feedbacks between the physical climate system and human behavioral, societal and economic responses that affect our ability to project future climate,” said Gross. “Our research demonstrates that these feedbacks can somewhat reduce the negative impacts of climate change that are projected to occur when the feedback to human behavior and societal responses are not taken into account.”

This research focuses on how social, political, and technological factors are all critical for predicting the degree our climate will change overtime. Gross explains how this research can be a driving force for society to take more progressive steps to help reduce the negative impact of climate change. People’s beliefs in climate change and its relevance can affect the policies in place. This along with other factors will ultimately have an impact on the earth’s climate.

This research was supported by the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS), which is headquartered at UT. It was funded by the National Science Foundation with additional support from UT.

“This research is part of a set of collaborative efforts which began several years ago through the support of the NIMBioS. It fostered a highly interdisciplinary group of researchers, with backgrounds in economics, public policy, psychology, mathematics, ecology and climate science, which allowed this effort to be successful,” said Gross.

The collaborations established through Gross and his colleague’s research is continuing using new models, alternate theories, and approaches to enhance climate projections that account for societal responses.

–Story by Sarah Berry

Doctoral Student Lauren Lyon Publishes Chapters on Red Panda Conservation in East Tennessee

March 21, 2022 by wpeeb

Millions of years ago, Red Pandas used to roam the hills of East Tennessee. Now, Zoo Knoxville leads one of the most successful captive breeding programs of Red Pandas in the world. Lauren Lyon, a PhD candidate from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in collaboration with ETSU researchers, Steven Wallace and Andrew Joyner, recently published two chapters in the book, Red Panda. Her chapters focus on the conservation of Red Pandas and the reconstruction of Red Panda fossils that were discovered in Tennessee. In her research, Lyon has been able to work closely with Zoo Knoxville and the Gray Fossil Site in Gray, Tennessee. Observing the Zoo Knoxville’s captive breeding program helped aid Lyon and Wallace in the reconstruction of the Red Panda fossils at the site.

*Two of the male Red Panda cubs, Vali and Marvin, at the Zoo Knoxville.*

“Red pandas are part of our Tennessee heritage,” Lyon said. “They roamed here long ago living much like raccoons do today, and perhaps this long and storied history is part of why Zoo Knoxville is so successful breeding red pandas today. Locals should take pride in knowing what a beautiful animal once lived in their backyard and that we have even more discoveries to make.”

In other countries, researchers have only been able to identify a few teeth and jaws from Red Panda fossils. At the Gray Fossil Site, researchers recovered the two most complete fossils in the world, a male that is 75% complete and a female that is 98% complete. Lyon’s publications focusing on Red Panda conservation are used by biologists, zoo staff, and conservationists all over the world.

“Close proximity both to the zoo and the national park have been critical. UT’s ecology and evolutionary biology department has funded my doctoral research and allowed me to be in close proximity to the zoo. Because UT has done such a great job with departmental funding, this is research that will be continuing and that you will be hearing about in the near future!” said Lyon.

Lyon’s research with the Appalachian Red Panda is important for understanding Red Panda evolution. It helps researchers piece together how we ended up with this endangered bamboo eating Red Panda in Asia that is well known today. Moving forward, Lyon is working on her dissertation, which focuses on climate change and its effect on endangered species in the Smokies and Appalachian Mountains. She is working with several conservation agencies and hopes to spread awareness on this pressing issue.

“I want people to know that they can make a difference even with minimal effort,” Lyon said. “It’s up to us to preserve these animals for our future. It is very easily an achievable goal that we can all benefit from, but to start we need to simply raise awareness.”

-Story by Sarah Berry