… Save Our Pollinators, Save Our World. Dr. Juliana Rangel, director of the Texas A&M Honey Bee Lab, explains the large role these small insects and animals play in our food supply.
Spotlight – Alyson Brokaw
Alyson Brokaw is a Ph.D. candidate in the Smotherman Lab with an imminent dissertation defense scheduled for December 9th. Alyson joined the Smotherman Lab at the dawn of the EEB program following completion of her M.S. in the Szewczak lab at Humboldt State University where she began her academic journey studying bat sensory ecology, olfaction, neurophysiology, and bat behavior. Read more in the December NewsfEEB.
Latest Publications from EEB Core Faculty
Auto-updated
- Davis, SN, Klumker, SM, Mitchell, AA, Coppage, MA, Labonté, JM, Quigg, A et al.. Life in the PFAS lane: The impact of perfluoroalkyl substances on photosynthesis, cellular exudates, nutrient cycling, and composition of a marine microbial community. Sci Total Environ. 2024; :171977. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171977. PubMed PMID:38547969 .
- Barrett, M, Miranda, C, Veloso, IT, Flint, C, Perl, CD, Martinez, A et al.. Grinding as a slaughter method for farmed black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae: Empirical recommendations to achieve instantaneous killing. Anim Welf. 2024;33 :e16. doi: 10.1017/awf.2024.10. PubMed PMID:38510427 PubMed Central PMC10951668.
- Morales-Ramos, JA, Tomberlin, JK, Miranda, C, Rojas, MG. Rearing methods of four insect species intended as feed, food, and food ingredients: a review. J Econ Entomol. 2024; :. doi: 10.1093/jee/toae040. PubMed PMID:38501911 .
- Karimi, N, Krieg, CP, Spalink, D, Lemmon, AR, Lemmon, EM, Eifler, E et al.. Chromosomal evolution, environmental heterogeneity, and migration drive spatial patterns of species richness in Calochortus (Liliaceae). Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024;121 (10):e2305228121. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2305228121. PubMed PMID:38394215 PubMed Central PMC10927571.
- Salahuddin, M, Abdel-Wareth, AAA, Hiramatsu, K, Tomberlin, JK, Luza, D, Lohakare, J et al.. Flight toward Sustainability in Poultry Nutrition with Black Soldier Fly Larvae. Animals (Basel). 2024;14 (3):. doi: 10.3390/ani14030510. PubMed PMID:38338153 PubMed Central PMC10854853.
- Weinburd, J, Landsberg, J, Kravtsova, A, Lam, S, Sharma, T, Simpson, SJ et al.. Anisotropic interaction and motion states of locusts in a hopper band. Proc Biol Sci. 2024;291 (2015):20232121. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2121. PubMed PMID:38228175 PubMed Central PMC10791516.
- Smith, MD, Wilkins, KD, Holdrege, MC, Wilfahrt, P, Collins, SL, Knapp, AK et al.. Extreme drought impacts have been underestimated in grasslands and shrublands globally. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024;121 (4):e2309881120. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2309881120. PubMed PMID:38190514 PubMed Central PMC10823251.
- Nolen, RM, Prouse, A, Russell, ML, Bloodgood, J, Díaz Clark, C, Carmichael, RH et al.. Evaluation of fatty acids and carnitine as biomarkers of PFOS exposure in biota (fish and dolphin) from Galveston Bay and the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. Comp Biochem Physiol C Toxicol Pharmacol. 2024;276 :109817. doi: 10.1016/j.cbpc.2023.109817. PubMed PMID:38101762 .
- Martinez, V, Keith, KD, Grace, JK, Voelker, G. Avian haemosporidians of breeding birds in the Davis Mountains sky-islands of west Texas, USA. Parasitology. 2023;150 (14):1266-1276. doi: 10.1017/S0031182023001087. PubMed PMID:38072659 PubMed Central PMC10941211.
- Nagoshi, RN, Tessnow, AE, Carrière, Y, Bradshaw, J, Harrington, K, Sword, GA et al.. Using genetic comparisons of populations from Arizona, Mexico, and Texas to investigate fall armyworm migration in the American southwest. PLoS One. 2023;18 (11):e0289060. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0289060. PubMed PMID:38011106 PubMed Central PMC10681194.
- Elliott, TL, Spalink, D, Larridon, I, Zuntini, AR, Escudero, M, Hackel, J et al.. Global analysis of Poales diversification - parallel evolution in space and time into open and closed habitats. New Phytol. 2024;242 (2):727-743. doi: 10.1111/nph.19421. PubMed PMID:38009920 .
- Raszick, TJ, Perkin, LC, Godoy, A, Shirley, XA, Wright, K, Martin, PT et al.. A New qPCR Assay for the Rapid Diagnosis of Anthonomus grandis Subspecies. Insects. 2023;14 (11):. doi: 10.3390/insects14110845. PubMed PMID:37999044 PubMed Central PMC10671495.
- Nachman, MW, Beckman, EJ, Bowie, RC, Cicero, C, Conroy, CJ, Dudley, R et al.. Specimen collection is essential for modern science. PLoS Biol. 2023;21 (11):e3002318. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002318. PubMed PMID:37992027 PubMed Central PMC10664955.
- Cunha, JCS, Rivera Vega, LJ, Torres, JB, Suh, CPC, Sword, GA. Fungal seed treatments of cotton affect boll weevil development. Pest Manag Sci. 2024;80 (3):1566-1576. doi: 10.1002/ps.7890. PubMed PMID:37966378 .
- Das, S, McEwen, A, Prospero, J, Spalink, D, Chellam, S. Respirable Metals, Bacteria, and Fungi during a Saharan-Sahelian Dust Event in Houston, Texas. Environ Sci Technol. 2023;57 (48):19942-19955. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.3c04158. PubMed PMID:37943153 PubMed Central PMC10862556.
- Wright, CL, West, JB, de Lima, ALA, Souza, ES, Medeiros, M, Wilcox, BP et al.. Contrasting water-use strategies revealed by species-specific transpiration dynamics in the Caatinga dry forest. Tree Physiol. 2024;44 (1):. doi: 10.1093/treephys/tpad137. PubMed PMID:37935389 .
- Gebiola, M, Rodriguez, MV, Garcia, A, Garnica, A, Tomberlin, JK, Hopkins, FM et al.. Bokashi fermentation of brewery's spent grains positively affects larval performance of the black soldier fly Hermetia illucens while reducing gaseous nitrogen losses. Waste Manag. 2023;171 :411-420. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2023.09.033. PubMed PMID:37783136 .
- Fieseler, CM, Al-Mudaffar Fawzi, N, Helmuth, B, Leitão, A, Al Ainsi, M, Al Mukaimi, M et al.. Expanding ocean protection and peace: a window for science diplomacy in the Gulf. R Soc Open Sci. 2023;10 (9):230392. doi: 10.1098/rsos.230392. PubMed PMID:37771965 PubMed Central PMC10523068.
- Leite, PAM, Schmidt, LM, Rempe, DM, Olariu, HG, Walker, JW, McInnes, KJ et al.. Woody plant encroachment modifies carbonate bedrock: field evidence for enhanced weathering and permeability. Sci Rep. 2023;13 (1):15431. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-42226-7. PubMed PMID:37723242 PubMed Central PMC10507015.
- Luo, X, Fang, G, Chen, K, Song, Y, Lu, T, Tomberlin, JK et al.. A gut commensal bacterium promotes black soldier fly larval growth and development partly via modulation of intestinal protein metabolism. mBio. 2023;14 (5):e0117423. doi: 10.1128/mbio.01174-23. PubMed PMID:37706881 PubMed Central PMC10653789.
Spotlight – Owen Dorsey
EEB student Owen Dorsey graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 2014 with a BS in Biology. After graduation, he took a couple of years off, working as a laboratory technologist at the American Red Cross, before starting his MS work at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina. For his research, he investigated inbreeding avoidance and mate choice behavior in the invasive western mosquitofish (a close relative of swordtails!) using a combination of behavioral assays and genetic analyses.
Owen joined the Rosenthal lab in 2019 and is broadly interested in studying the fitness consequences of inbreeding and the evolution of pre- and post- copulatory mechanisms to avoid inbreeding. Owen plans to investigate the “cost-benefit” to inbreeding in swordtails.
Spotlight – MC Hannon
Her dissertation research focuses on the reproductive habits of a local species of polychaetes, the common clam worm. She is taking a four-pronged approach to get a comprehensive picture of what is occurring by using ecological, genetic, histological, and biomechanic tools.
In her spare time, MC is very active and enjoys playing Ultimate Frisbee and going to a Crossfit gym (when conditions are safe). Fun fact: MC is an ordained minister in the state of Texas and officiated her first wedding earlier this year!