Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

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Woody Plants of Kentucky and Tennessee

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Eugene Wofford has co-authored a new book called Woody Plants of Kentucky and Tennessee: The Complete Winter Guide to Their Identification and Use.  The guide enables people to identify trees, shrubs, and woody vines during the winter months, when the absence of leaves and fruit makes plants difficult to recognize.  It also provides notes on practical uses for the plants. The book features more than 400 species and is written for amateurs as well as professional botanists.  It was published in October by the University Press of Kentucky and is also available from Amazon.com.

Van Nuland et al. article in PLos One

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Michael Van Nuland, along with other EEB grad students and undergrads just published a paper in PLoS One resulting from a Field Ecology Project. View the paper here!

Title: Fire Promotes Pollinator Visitation: Implications for Ameliorating Declines of Pollination Services. 

Authors: Michael E. Van Nuland, Elliot N. Haag, Jessica A. M. Bryant, Quentin D. Read, Robert N. Klein, Morgan J. Douglas, Courtney E. Gorman, Trey D. Greenwell, Mark W. Busby, Jonathan Collins, Joseph T. LeRoy, George Schuchmann, Jennifer A. Schweitzer, Joseph K. Bailey.

Grad Student Achievements

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In 2012-2013, thirty-nine EEB grad students submitted progress reports (1st years do not submit a report).  This is what they self-reported:

  • 59 papers published since their last progress reports (in peer-reviewed, international journals, some very high profile; there is some overlap with multi-authored UT authors);
  • 93 presentations given at local, national and international conferences/workshops;
  • $334,796 in grants/fellowships awarded in 12-13 (not counting fellowships awarded in previous years but still funding their research);
  • 3.5 service/outreach activities each, on average (including judging science fairs, manuscript reviews for journals, local events-Darwin Days, Boo at Zoo, etc., talks to the public, press interviews-Knox News, WBIR, Daily Beacon, Today Show, Orlando News Sentinel, blogs, etc.).

We haven’t quantified service/outreach before and it looks like most of our students do something, some of them quite a lot!

It’s great to see our grad students succeeding on so many levels, and sharing their expertise with others.

 

E.O. Wilson to receive honorary degree

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E.O. Wilson will receive an Honorary Degree in Science and Letters in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UT’s Spring 2014 Commencement.

Wilson has had a long association with UT.  More information about his connections with UT and his career can be found in the Tennessee Today article below.

http://www.utk.edu/tntoday/2013/10/18/ant-expert-sociobiology-founder-receive-honorary-doctorate/?utm_source=tntoday&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2013-10-21

New Species Discovered

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A paper describing a new species of Clematis by EEB graduate student Aaron Floden appeared in the latest volume of the Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas.  The new species was discovered during biological survey work in the Ocoee River gorge (Polk Co., Tennessee) that is turning up previously unrecognized diversity in this geologically unique area not far from Knoxville.  The survey is being conducted by a team that includes UT graduates Joey Shaw (University of Tennessee, Chattanooga) and Dwayne Estes (Austin Peay University) and UT Herbarium Director Eugene Wofford.

Clematis vinacea

clematis

October Events for Health Professions Students

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Gaining Admission into Highly Competitive Graduate Programs
Wednesday October 2nd, 4:00-5:30
University Center Auditorium

All students, first year and beyond, considering graduate or professional school are invited to this presentation by nationally known author and speaker, Donald Asher. Learn the ins-and-outs of the graduate admissions process and steps you can take to set yourself apart. Mr. Asher has presented this topic at UT for nearly 20 years and students consistently find him both informative and engaging.   Co-sponsored by Career Services, Student Success Center, Arts and Sciences Advising Services, The College of Business Administration Undergraduate Programs and The College of Engineering.  Find additional graduate school resources and a video link to a prior Asher presentation at http://career.utk.edu/students/graduate-school/

US Army Forward Surgical Team Display
Monday, October 7,  9:00 am to 3:00 pm
University Center Brown Lounge

You are cordially invited to a special event showcasing the technology, advancement and flexibility of medicine in the military. From medical surgery and dental to health services and physical therapy, you’ll see first-hand what the military’s capabilities are in a variety of medical fields.  The event will feature the Army’s Forward Surgical Team display—a field medical tent recreating an actual emergency/operating room, complete with military experts, showing the equipment used by first responders in deployed locations or during natural emergencies.  Here’s your chance to learn more about the military’s capabilities and ask questions about how a medical or health-related education can lead to a military career as a physician, dentist, nurse or other medical professional.  You can also learn about scholarship and loan repayment opportunities.

Health Fair for Students Considering Careers in the Health Professions
Tuesday, October 15, 11-3
University Center Ballroom

On Tuesday, October 15, UTK is hosting several admissions representatives from health professions schools.  They are coming to campus to talk with pre-health students who are interested in their schools/programs.  You can come to talk with the representatives in the University Center Ballroom any time between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.  This will be a great opportunity for you to learn more about the schools, learn how you can become a more competitive applicant, and ask questions about the admissions process. The following programs will be represented:  Medicine, Osteopathic Medicine, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Physician Assistant, Optometry, Podiatry, Physical/Occupational Therapy, Clinical Laboratory Science, Graduate Health Sciences, and other allied health programs.

MED SCHOOL CLINIC
Tuesday, October 15, 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
University Center 223-224

To help pre-med students increase their knowledge about their medical career options and prepare to overcome the admissions hurdles ahead, UTK’s Alpha Epsilon Delta Pre-Health Honor Society and Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions will hold a free Medical School Clinic Event on Tuesday, October 15th.  The seminar will be from 4 pm to 5:30 pm in 223-224 University Center.  At this free event, attendees will engage with and listen to a panel discussion on practicing medicine, careers in medicine, and applying to medical school. Pre-med students will benefit from the lively exchange between practicing doctors, med school admissions officers, and current med students.  The panel members will provide an array of perspectives on the opportunities and the challenges specific to the medical field today.  We will help attendees reduce anxiety about preparing for the MCAT and completing applications by increasing their knowledge about the admissions process.  The panel will include representatives from University of Tennessee College of Medicine, Quillen College of Medicine and LMU-Debusk College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Complex Societies in PNAS

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Sergey Gavrilets has a new open-access paper in PNAS, which is getting a great deal of media attention in places like Nature (links below).  The paper is entitled, “War, space, and the evolution of Old World complex societies.”

Turchin, P; Currie, TE; Turner, EAL; Gavrilets, S.  2013.  War, space, and the evolution of Old World complex societies. PNAS. doi:10.1073/pnas.1308825110.

Significance: How did human societies evolve from small groups, integrated by face-to-face cooperation, to huge anonymous societies of today? Why is there so much variation in the ability of different human populations to construct viable states? We developed a model that uses cultural evolution mechanisms to predict where and when the largest-scale complex societies should have arisen in human history. The model was simulated within a realistic landscape of the Afroeurasian landmass, and its predictions were tested against real data. Overall, the model did an excellent job predicting empirical patterns. Our results suggest a possible explanation as to why a long history of statehood is positively correlated with political stability, institutional quality, and income per capita.

Press Coverage:

Austrian Tribune Nature
The Conversation Pacific Standard
El Mundo Popular Mechanics
Huffington Post Science World Report
Los Angeles Times Smithsonian
National Monitor Wired

Ocoee Rafting

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A group of EEB-ers (and friends) went rafting on the Ocoee last weekend.  The trip was organized by Zach Marion, a grad student in the Fitzpatrick lab who is also a raft guide for RaftOne (http://www.raft1.com/). Everyone who participated had an awesome time and are eager to do it again. A lot of first-year students came out, and last week’s departmental speaker (Eric Sotka) went, too.  Such trips are great for building cohort bonds and promoting future collaborations within the department.  May there be many more EEB/GREBE-organized trips like this in the future!

Schweitzer Awarded Technology Funds

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Jen Schweitzer was awarded over $145,000 in Technology Fee Funds from the University in May.  These funds are being used to purchase a suite of computer and environmental monitoring technologies.  These resources will

  1. Contribute to infrastructure and resources at the EEB Field Station,
  2. Be used in at least five upper division ecology courses which have significant field components (EEB 330, 405, 415, 421, 433),
  3. Be used in undergraduate teaching and research, including permanent field plots along Robert Whittaker’s historic elevational gradient in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (1952, 1956).

Technology is growing rapidly for field studies and giving our students access to these instruments, techniques, and skills will greatly advance and enhance their learning and future career opportunities.