Vampire bats – look beyond the fangs and blood to see animal friendships and unique adaptations Vampire bats have complex social relationships. Samuel Betkowski/Moment via Getty Images Sebastian Stockmaier, University of Tennessee You can probably picture a vampire: Pale, sharply fanged undead… Read more: The Conversation: Vampire Bats – Look Beyond the Fangs and Blood To See Animal Friendships and Unique Adaptations

While rates of evolution have appeared to accelerate over short time periods, new analysis suggests that statistical noise is affecting the data patterns. A professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and his colleague have developed new tools to help researchers filter the data.

Two researchers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, have received prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER awards to help them establish a firm foundation for a lifetime of leadership in integrating education and research. Stephanie Kivlin, an associate professor in the Department of Ecology… Read more: UT Researchers Receive NSF CAREER Awards for Science, Engineering

The Collaborative for Animal Behavior (CoLAB) is a pioneering research center dedicated to understanding the complexities of animal behavior in a rapidly changing world. This new center within the UT College of Arts and Sciences brings together scholars from diverse fields… Read more: New UT Center Combines Disciplines to Study Animal Behavior

Bees have irrational biases when choosing which flowers to feed on − just like human shoppers do The other flowers a bee has visited recently will influence how it judges this one. Scott-Cartwright-Photography/Moment via Getty Images Claire Therese Hemingway, University of Tennessee… Read more: Claire Hemingway in ‘The Conversation’: Bees have irrational biases when choosing which flowers to feed on − just like human shoppers do

Colton Adams, a 2023 graduate in honors ecology and evolutionary biology, continued his academic journey as one of UT’s 13 Fulbright Scholars for 2023–2024, contributing to the Big Orange reputation as a top producer of these accomplished students.  Adams traveled to the University… Read more: Adams Expands Research Flock with Latvian Fulbright Experience

Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Nina Fefferman became a mathematician because she loves puzzles. She’s just been awarded $18 million from the U.S. National Science Foundation to solve one puzzle that has the potential to change the world: how, when… Read more: U.S. National Science Foundation Awards UT $18M to Study Factors That Lead to Pandemics

NSF CAREER Award Expands Ecological Research for Kivlin Lab Associate Professor Stephanie Kivlin earned a 2024 National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award for her project proposal “Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Plant-Mycorrhizal Fungal Symbioses at Continental Scale.” The work will help build a… Read more: NSF CAREER Award Expands Ecological Research for Kivlin Lab

UT Faculty, Students Sharing Ecology Research Ecologists from around the world learned about research conducted at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, during the annual Ecological Society of America meeting this month. About 20 oral presentations plus poster sessions featured UT faculty… Read more: UT Faculty, Students Sharing Ecology Research

Animal behavior captivated Gordon Burghardt as a boy, and over more than half a century at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, his interdisciplinary research advanced ethology in areas including animal play, social behavior, communication, reptile behavior, enrichment, and animal cognitive abilities.… Read more: Burghardt honored by Animal Behavior Society

Simberloff Receives Honorary Doctorate by Amy Beth Miller Daniel Simberloff’s contributions to ecology and conservation biology as a researcher, educator, and mentor received recognition this spring from Tel Aviv University (TAU). Simberloff, the Gore Hunger Professor of Environmental Studies in the… Read more: Simberloff Receives Honorary Doctorate

Remembering Our Friends During the past few years, the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology has lost many members of our community. Here we recognize some of the staff and students who came through our program—including the zoology and botany programs… Read more: Remembering Our Friends

Greenhouses Grow More Than Plants Perhaps best known for showcasing Rotty Top—the huge, stinky, corpse flower that bloomed a few summers ago—the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Greenhouse is a remarkable asset and gem on the University of Tennessee’s Knoxville… Read more: Greenhouses Grow More Than Plants

Faculty Spotlight: Jessie Tanner Tree Frog Communication in Complex Environments Jessie Tanner joined the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in August 2022 as an assistant professor, dually appointed in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the Department of Psychology. An… Read more: Faculty Spotlight: Jessie Tanner

Faculty Spotlight: Sebastian Stockmaier Bat Behavior and Cross-Species Transmission Sebastian Stockmaier, who works at the intersection of behavioral and disease ecology, began as an assistant professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology in January 2023. He is interested in… Read more: Faculty Spotlight: Sebastian Stockmaier

New Faculty Spotlight: Claire Hemingway Bats, Bees, and Their Dining Decisions Claire Hemingway joined the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in August 2023 as an assistant professor with a dual appointment in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the Department… Read more: New Faculty Spotlight: Claire Hemingway

EEB Research Reaches Around the World The University of Tennessee’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology has a vibrant community of researchers exploring important ecological and evolutionary questions that enrich understanding of global issues, training students to think broadly, and helping… Read more: EEB Research Reaches Around the World

Message from the Department Head Scopes Centennial Celebrates Study of Evolution In 1925, high school teacher John T. Scopes was accused of violating Tennessee’s Butler Act, which prohibited the teaching of evolution. Scopes was unsure that he had taught evolution, but… Read more: Message from the Department Head

Multicultural Team Researching in West Africa In the Anthropocene, human activities can change the way species interact with each other and alter biodiversity. It is also important to train the next generation of scientists how to conduct complex research in the… Read more: Multicultural Team Researching in West Africa

Ferns and flowers bribe helpful ant defenders with nectar, but ferns developed this ability much later – our study shows why Ants foraging for nectar on a Bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum). Jacob S. Suissa, CC BY-ND Jacob S. Suissa, University of Tennessee… Read more: Jacob Suissa in ‘The Conversation’: “Ferns and flowers bribe helpful ant defenders with nectar, but ferns developed this ability much later – our study shows why”

Anthropomorphism, long considered a cardinal sin among researchers, is making a slow comeback.

Ecological Society of America Awards UT Researchers by Randall Brown Two Vol researchers from the UT Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB) earned honors in the 2024 Ecological Society of America (ESA) Awards. These awards recognize outstanding contributions to ecology… Read more: Ecological Society of America Awards UT Researchers

by Randall Brown Collaborations across research disciplines can lead to unexpected breakthroughs and discoveries. Collaborations across species lead to unexpected evolutionary paths of mutual benefit. For example, some plants have managed to recruit ant bodyguards. They produce sugary nectar on their… Read more: Suissa Study Has High Hopes For Plant-Ant Partnerships

UT Researchers Dig Up Good News For Microbial Studies by Randall Brown Post-doctoral researcher Joe Edwards and graduate student Sarah Love, both in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, published findings this spring that can save fellow researchers a lot… Read more: UT Researchers Dig Up Good News For Microbial Studies

Departmental Support Boosts NSF Awards For Graduate Students by Randall Brown An increasing number of Vols in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB) earned awards through the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). It marks a… Read more: Departmental Support Boosts NSF Awards For Graduate Students

In Water Canyon, New Mexico, there is a small, 18-mile-long, high-elevation area called the Magdalena Mountains, surrounded by desert. The isolated peaks host a scrubby collection of plants, including a tiny cluster of about 20 cottonwood trees. They are trapped, as… Read more: Love and Bailey published in Knowable Magazine

The award-winning National Parks magazine shares stories about our beloved and diverse National Park System.

Faculty Recognized for Excellence in Teaching, Service, and Academic Outreach During the 2023 UT College of Arts and Sciences faculty convocation, EEB faculty received awards for excellence in teaching, research, and academic outreach.  Benjamin Keck, Lecturer – Excellence in Teaching Awards:… Read more: Faculty Recognized for Excellence in Teaching, Service, and Academic Outreach

United States Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and US Geological Survey Director Dave Applegate joined students, scientists, and community partners affiliated with the Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center at NC State University in February for detailed conversations about climate adaptation. … Read more: Armsworth Discusses Climate Adaptation with US Interior Secretary Haaland

Kimberly Sheldon’s research on climate change effects on dung beetles was featured on CBS Saturday Morning, as part of a segment on insect declines in the Anthropocene.

Murderous mice attack and kill nesting albatrosses on Midway Atoll − scientists struggle to stop this gruesome new behavior Their ‘island naïveté’ means these seabirds are easy pickings when mice attack. USFWS – Pacific Region/Flickr, CC BY-NC Wieteke Holthuijzen, University of Tennessee… Read more: Graduate Student Wieteke Holthuijzen Published in ‘The Conversation’

https://www.tva.com/newsroom/articles/the-race-at-cutoff-reach

https://news.utk.edu/2023/12/14/six-ut-faculty-members-included-among-highly-cited-researchers/

Each year, the British Ecological Society (BES) recognizes 11 distinguished ecologists whose work has benefited the scientific community and society in general. Daniel Simberloff, the Gore Hunger Professor of Environmental Science in the UT Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, received… Read more: Simberloff Honored by British Ecological Society

Dr. Angela Chuang, formerly of the Riechert lab, was consulted for this NY Times article on Joro Spiders, and whether current research is in fact proving how shy the species can be.