Biology graduate student Alexandra Gulick, with co-authors from the National Park Service and the UF Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research, recently published a paper in Ecology. Results of the study show that grazing by recovering green turtle populations stimulates seagrass productivity, and that grazing intensity has a relevant role in regulating the productivity […]
Dr. Kent Vliet, Coordinator of Introductory Laboratories for the Department of Biology, has published a new book with Johns Hopkins University Press (2020): Alligators: The Illustrated Guide to Their Biology, Behavior, and Conservation. Wonderfully illustrated with photographs by wildlife photographer Wayne Lynch, this authoritative book is fascinating reading for anyone interested in the ecology, behavior […]
Biology Professor Matthew Leibold has been awarded a 5-year grant from the National Science Foundation “Understanding the Rules of Life: Microbiome Theory and Mechanisms” initiative. The study, entitled “Searching for General Rules Governing Microbiome Dynamics Using Anaerobic Digesters as Model Systems,” is a collaborative effort with colleagues from the University of Oklahoma, UC-Davis and the […]
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Biology post-doctoral associate Gonzalo Quiroga Artigas and other members of the Schnitzler Lab have a new paper in Nature Scientific Reports. The study describes a new method (electroporation) for delivering short hairpin RNAs (shRNA) into fertilized eggs of a hydrozoan cnidarian (polyp). This experimental technique allows the researcher to target specific genes for knockdown (i.e. […]
Ayush Saxena, recent Ph.D. from the Baer Lab, has been awarded the “Best student paper of 2019” by the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution. The paper entitled “Evolution of the mutational process under relaxed selection in Caenorhabditis elegans” appeared in Molecular Biology and Evolution in 2018. For further information see https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/36/2/239/5184273
UF Biology Spring/Summer 2020 Newsletter is live! Click here to view it now!
Spring 2020 MFT Award winners: 1st place: Matei Caeleap 2nd runner up: David Adelhelm 3rd runner ups: Kayli Sieber & Dawson Houghtaling Winners by Topic category: Cell Biology: Matei Caeleap Molecular Biology & Genetics: Matei Caeleap & Sarah Nestler Organismal Biology: David Adelhelm Population Biology, Evolution, and Ecology: Cullen Smith, Morgan LaMarc, & Rachel Lotze […]
Biology assistant professor Amanda Subalusky won the 2020 Hynes Award for New Investigators from the Society for Freshwater Science. The Hynes Award recognizes the freshwater scientist who was senior author of an outstanding primary publication that appeared in print in the last three years. The award-winning publication was her 2017 Proceedings of the National Academy […]
Associate Professor Jeremy Lichstein coauthored two recent papers on forest dynamics in the journal Science. The first paper, titled “Demographic trade-offs predict tropical forest dynamics,” used data from a tropical forest in Panama and a computer simulation model to show that two ecological tradeoffs – one between growth and survivorship, and another between early reproduction […]
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Biology graduate student Annika Smith (Ph.D. student in the Soltis Laboratory of Molecular Systematics & Evolutionary Genetics) has received the 2020 Kaplan Award from the Botanical Society of America. The Donald R. Kaplan Award supports graduate student research in plant comparative morphology. This $10,000 prize will support Annika’s research entitled, “Vascular architecture and synorganization in […]
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Biology Assistant Professor Joe Ryan has been awarded the UF 2020 Graduate Education Diversity Champion Award. This award recognizes a faculty or staff member who has enhanced the graduate environment by promoting diversity and improving cross-cultural understanding and inclusivity. This commitment includes taking a leadership role in promoting diversity as Dr. Ryan has done in […]
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Teresa Mutahi, Biology Lecturer and Undergraduate Coordinator for the Biology Major, is the 2019-2020 University of Florida Adviser of the Year. This award is UF’s highest recognition for undergraduate advising. It is based on excellence in innovation, professional engagement and outreach for undergraduate advising. Congratulations Teresa!
Biology graduate student Leslie Kollar (McDaniel Lab) has been awarded a National Science Foundation Plant Genome Research Program Postdoctoral Fellowship. She will be working in the Department of Plant Biology at Michigan State University to study the function and evolution of regulatory elements in the development of different, locally adapted populations of the yellow monkeyflower (Mimulus […]
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Biology professor Ana Longo discussed One Health and research on the corona virus in a column for the Puerto Rican publication ENDI ElNuevoDia.com. Biology professors José Miguel Ponciano and Ana Longo co-authored an article for PlazaPublica on the corona virus pandemic in Guatemala: “Covid19: Origen, tendencias actuales y escenarios para Guatemala”. For more information see […]
Three Biology graduate students, Andre Naranjo (P. Soltis Lab), Jenna Moore (Paulay Lab) and Pat Milligan (Palmer Lab) have been awarded National Science Foundation grants to support their post-doctoral research. Andre Naranjo received his award from the NSF Interdisciplinary Research Using Biological Collections Program to study spatial, functional and phylogenetic diversity of vascular plants in […]
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A paper authored by Biology Department PhD student John Park and coauthored by two UF faculty (Jeremy Lichstein, Biology; Stephanie Bohlman, School of Forest Resources and Conservation) was selected as an “Editor’s Choice” by the journal Remote Sensing. The study used images acquired from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, or ‘drones’) and a machine-learning algorithm to […]
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Biology courtesy faculty member and former graduate student Dr. Joseph Pfaller from the Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research has published new evidence that sea turtles are attracted to plastics by their smell. Prior to this study it was assumed that sea turtles mistake plastics floating in the ocean for prey by using visual […]
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An important advance in understanding the population dynamics of infectious disease was published by Biology Associate Professor José Miguel Ponciano in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Using field collected data from Namibia on plains zebra and coalescence modeling, the study develops a new method for estimating the duration of anthrax infections and […]
Germ cells are the cells that create reproductive cells known as gametes (eggs and sperm) in animals. Somatic cells are all the cells not involved in reproduction, such as muscle cells, skin cells, or blood cells. In many animals, including flies, worms, and humans, the separation of germ cells from somatic cells is an irreversible, […]
Teresa Mutahi, Biology Lecturer and Undergraduate Coordinator for the UF Biology Major, has received the 2019-2020 Faculty Adviser of the Year award from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. This award recognizes excellence, innovation, and effectiveness in undergraduate advising. Congratulations Teresa!
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