News
October Science Café
Join us at Esselon Cafe on Monday, October 8th at 5:30 for “Forbidden Love: Crickets in the Hybrid Zone.” Guest speaker Dr. Charles Ross will wow the audience with a tale of ecology, reproductive isolation, and speciation starring crickets. The event begins at 5:30pm, with light snacks provided and drinks available for purchase. All Science Café events are free and designed for a general audience. For more information, please see oebsciencecafe.org.
Nina Veselka Thesis Defense
10:00 AM, Monday
September 24, 2012
OEB Seminar Room (319 Morrill II)
Thesis Title: Diet, feeding behaviour, and the evolution of thumb morphology in phyllostomid bats
Advisor: Betsy Dumont
Evolution Core Course website
Check the OEB Evolution Core Course website's Weekly Preparation Pages for information on readings and assignments.
Brown awarded NSF DDIG
OEB doctoral candidate Lexi Brown, who works with Ethan Clotfelter at Amherst College, was awarded a NSF DDIG for her project "The food matrix mediates carotenoid tradeoffs in a reverse-dimorphic cichlid." Congratulations Lexi!
September Science Café
The OEB Science Café kicks off their Fall series on Monday, September 10th at Esselon Café in Hadley, MA with “How to Build an Organism: a DIY Guide.” Dr. Craig Albertson from UMass will discuss some of his work exploring the design and diversification of the animal body form, proceeding from the genetic blueprint to principles of animal development. The event begins at 5:30pm, with light snacks provided and drinks available for purchase. All Science Café events are free and designed for a public audience. Please help us to spread the word and pass along this information to anyone you think would be interested. For more information, please see oebsciencecafe.org
The Science Café series is organized by graduate students in the Organismic and Evolutionary Biology (OEB) program at UMass. It is supported by the Society for the Study of Evolution, the Massachusetts Academy of Sciences, OEB, and the UMass Natural History Collections. We strive to bring engaging conversations about science to broad audiences by hosting Science Café events throughout the year.
OEB alum Susannah Lerman awarded NSF SEES Fellowship
2011 OEB alum Susannah Lerman was awarded a 3-year NSF Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability Fellowship for her project: Sustainability begins at home - Understanding linkages between stewardship, urban yards and biodiversity. She will be working with Keith Nislow and Erika Svendsen from the US Forest Service Northern Research Station (Amherst and New York City research stations) and Craig Nicolson from the Department of Environmental Conservation at UMass. Congratulations Susannah!
Ted Stankowich seminar: July 26
Spikes, Spines, Sprays, Shields and their Signals:
The Evolutionary Ecology of Antipredator Defenses in Mammals
12 noon
Thursday, July 26
222 Morrill II
Ted Stankowich, Darwin Fellow Emeritus, will present a seminar prior to his move to California to begin his new position as Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences, California State University, Long Beach. Pizza will be served before the seminar
Katie Kauffman Thesis Defense
Katie Kauffman, MS Thesis Defense
1:00 PM, Tuesday, July 10, 2012, OEB seminar room (319 Morrill II)
Thesis Title: Population Dynamics, Chick Diet, and Foraging Behavior of the Razorbill (Alca torda) at Matinicus Rock, Maine
Advisor: Paul Sievert
Kudos to OEB students
• Congratulations to Chi-Yun Kuo, who received one of only 9 University Fellowships for Continuing Students awarded for 2012/13
• And also to Patrick Green, who was awarded the 2011/2012 OEB TA Award for his outstanding work in the Honors Introductory Biology course (Biology 197).
Joe Chadwick Thesis Defense
Joe Chadwick, MS Thesis Defense
1:00 PM, Tuesday, May 15, 2012
319 Morrill II
Thesis Title: Temperature Effects on Growth and Stress Physiology of Brook Trout: Implications for Climate Change Impacts on an Iconic Cold-Water Fish