by wpeeb
Prof. Gordon Burghardt’s research is highlighted in the cover story of the November 2016 issue of the Association for Psychological Science’s journal, Observer. The title of his subsection is “Can Turtles Play?” Read the article here.
http://www.psychologicalscience.org/publications/observer/2016/nov-16/science-on-the-wild-side.html
by wpeeb
Daniel Simberloff, the Gore Hunger Professor of Environmental Science, received the Honorable John C. Pritzlaff Conservation Award at the 2016 California Islands Symposium. The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden presents the award annually to a “global trailblazer in conservation.” For details about Simberloff’s dedication to conservation, read the full press release at Island Conservation. Congratulations, Dan!
by wpeeb
EEB graduate students know how to communicate their science! In Academic Year 2015-16, our 56 grad students published over 80 peer-reviewed journal articles, several book chapters, and one book! Below is a list of just some of the journals in which our students publish:
American Biology Teacher
American Naturalist
Animal Behavior
Applied Ecology
Biological Conservation
Biological Invasions
Botany
Conservation Letters
Current Zoology
Diversity and Distributions
Ecology
Ecosphere
Evolutionary Biology
Forest Ecology and Management
Frontiers in Plant Biology
Frontiers in Microbiology
Functional Ecology
Fungal Biology
General and Comparative Endocrinology
Global Change Biology
Journal of Biogeography
Journal of Vegetation Science
Molecular Ecology
Molecular Ecology Resources
Trends in Ecology and Evolution
Mycologia
Nature Communications
New Phytologist
Oecologia
PeerJ
PLoS One
Proceedings Royal Society, B
Restoration Ecology
Royal Society Open Science
Science
by wpeeb
A new paper by Gary McCracken and colleagues will be published online in the Royal Society journal Open Science on November 9, 2016:
RSOS-160398. Airplane tracking documents the fastest flight speeds recorded for bats. McCracken, G.F., K. Safi, T.H. Kunz, D.K.N. Dechmann, S.M. Swartz, M. Wikelski
This study reports new research demonstrating that Brazilian free-tailed bats achieve flight speeds that are faster than previously documented for any bat or bird. Using a novel airplane tracking method, we document that moderate flight speeds, which are consistent with existing literature, are punctuated by bouts of very rapid flight. Much current literature indicates that birds fly faster and more efficiently that bats. These unexpected flight abilities of bats will stimulate research into the interplay of phylogeny, adaptation, and physical constraints in determining the functional capabilities and structural architecture of animals. When most people think of animals moving at high speed, they envision cheetahs or swiftly diving raptors, but probably not small and unfamiliar nocturnal flying mammals. The mystery around bats ensures public fascination, and we anticipate that this study will improve public perceptions of bats.
by wpeeb
Did you know that 25% of our graduate students are self-funded? In Academic Year 2015-16, 14 of our 56 grad students brought in a combined total of over $300k in funding from the following sources:
by wpeeb
Austin Milt’s PhD (2015, Armsworth Lab) work is featured in a nice, one-page color spread in a new book by Craig Groves and Eddie Game: Conservation Planning: Informed Decisions for a Healthier Planet.
The book “will be very well-read within its field – likely the industry leading text for the next 5-6 years if recent history is anything to go by and widely read by grad students and conservation practitioners the world over,” said Milt’s former advisor, Paul Armsworth.
Read more of NIMBioS’s press release.
Milt is currently a Post Doc at the Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin, Madison.
by wpeeb
Graduate student Morgan Roche (Kalisz Lab) is one of Phipps Conservatory’s six current Botany in Action fellows. The fellows recently visited Phipps, in Pittsburgh, PA, for the Botany in Action program’s annual Science Engagement Week, which featured a series of diverse workshops to enhance the fellows’ scientific communication skills. The fellows explored different ways to communicate their research with those outside of their immediate fields—which included sharing their research with middle school and high school students on the very first day of their workshop!
by wpeeb
Beth Schussler is co-PI on a $2,887,974 collaborative NSF S-STEM grant, which will provide scholarships and research opportunities for four cohorts of STEM-focused students from rural Appalachia to attend UT, Knoxville, or UT, Chattanooga. Beth will be working with PI Erin Hardin (Psychology), and co-PIs Melinda Gibbons, Marisa Moazen, and Denise Gardner, to provide students with research opportunities and cohort-building support programs to increase their success rate in STEM.
by wpeeb
FWF alum Stephen Nelson appeared in an article in the Knoxville Mercury on September 21, 2016.
Nelson did research in the Fitzpatrick Lab as an undergraduate; he is now a herpetology keeper at Knoxville Zoo. The article focuses on what might be a new species of mudpuppy in the Hiwassee River.
by wpeeb
Asst. Prof. Jessica Budke will be sharing her vision for the UT Herbarium with the wider Knoxville community at the UT Science Forum:
Biodiversity Collections: A Record of the Past; A Resource for the Future
The talk will be 12-1pm on Friday, September 30, 2016, in the Thompson-Boling Arena Café.