The TAMU Ecology & Evolutionary Biology (EEB) Program made a huge impact at this year’s Southeast Texas Evolutionary Genetics and Genomics (STEGG) conference! Held on May 30 at Texas A&M. Organized by our own Dr. Heath Blackmon, STEGG brought together more than 130 evolutionary biologists from across the region and EEB was front and center.

Our students, postdocs, and faculty delivered a strong slate of talks and posters, sharing cutting-edge work on everything from genome evolution and speciation to behavioral ecology and biodiversity science. EEBers were everywhere, in the audience, at the podium, and leading discussions over coffee, and at the happy hour after the conference.

This year, STEGG also featured a special EEB swag giveaway for undergraduate and postbac attendees, made possible by generous contributions from the EEB Program. It’s just one example of how EEB is helping foster the next generation of evolutionary biologists.

And in a fun first for STEGG, the TAMU EEB community was even represented by a father-son duo! Dr. Luis Hurtado Sr. kicked off the conference with a talk on the population genetics of isopods, while later in the day, his son Luis Hurtado Jr.—an undergraduate researcher in Dr. Danial Spalink’s lab—presented his own research on using environmental DNA to detect endangered species.

This kind of turnout shows what makes EEB such a vibrant community: curiosity-driven science, strong support for students, and a deep commitment to growing the evolutionary biology community in Texas and beyond.

Huge thanks to all the EEB members who presented, attended, and helped organize this outstanding event. You represented the program brilliantly!

 

Dr. Erick Motta joined the EEB program Spring 2025. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Entomology.  His research work is primarily centered in the field of microbial ecology, in which he investigates organismal interactions in host-associated microbial communities and how environmental stressors play a role in such interactions. Dr. Motta currently uses the honey bee, Apis mellifera, as an experimental model to explore the processes governing the assembly of gut microbial communities and their impact on host biology. He also investigates how environmental stressors, such as agrochemicals and plant toxins, affect gut microbial communities and the consequences for host health.

Tabitha Olsen (Butler lab) had her work featured in the U.S. Geological Survey’s Notes from the Field series!

Check out “What’s on a sparrow’s dinner menu” to learn more about sparrows and the importance of bird banding.”

Oluwaseun Ajileye (Light lab) has published the first publication from his dissertation research!

Ajileye, O.D.*, G.G. Verocai, and J.E. Light. A review of filarial nematodes parasitizing tick vectors: unraveling global patterns in species diversity, host associations, and interactions with tick-borne pathogens. Parasites & Vectors 18: 50 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-025-06690-6

See also: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13071-025-06690-6

Congratulations Oluwaseun!

Ruby Mustill was awarded the Hagler Institute HEEP Fellowship for 2025. Ruby Mustill, second-year Ph.D. student, and her PI, Courtney Fitzpatrick, will collaborate with Hagler Fellow Susan Alberts. The area of study will be focused on life history theory and the evolution of adolescence as a life stage in primates. To read more about Susan Alberts and the Hagler Institute for Advanced Study at Texas A&M University, please visit https://hias.tamu.edu/fellow/dr-susan-c-alberts/.

Dr. Sheila Kitchen joined the EEB program Fall 2024. She is an Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University at Galveston in the Department of Marine Biology. As a trained molecular ecologist, she integrates field, laboratory and computational tools to address fundamental questions surrounding interspecies interactions and their persistence under climate change. Her goal is to transform these results into applied solutions for conservation. Her lab’s research is primarily focused on cnidarian (corals, sea anemones and jellyfish) – algal symbiosis and innate immunity of invertebrates. She is an active member of the Caribbean Coral Restoration Genetics Working Group as part of the Coral Restoration Consortium.