Seminars & Events

Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D., assistant research professor at the University of Connecticut, will give a talk titled “A Tale of Two Symbioses: Development and Maintenance of Bacterial Partnerships with the Hawaiian Bobtail Squid.”

McAnulty is a squid biologist and the executive director of the science communication nonprofit Skype a Scientist! In her talk, she will cover her research on the Hawaiian bobtail squid and its relationship with the bioluminescent bacterium Vibrio fischeri and how the immune system plays a role in these interactions. She will also speak on the symbiosis within the female squid’s reproductive system, the accessory nidamental gland. In addition to discussing her science, she will discuss the many ways that scientists can get involved in their communities, both local and online.

Kate Eisen '12
Ph.D. Candidate, Cornell University

Species interactions affect the distribution and evolution of multiple floral traits in California native wildflowers

Determining how ecological interactions and evolutionary trajectories vary across communities represents a fundamental goal of evolutionary ecology. In animal-pollinated flowering plants, pollinator sharing among co-occurring plants can shape the structure of ecological communities and the evolution of species' traits. My research examines patterns of species co-occurrence and the distribution and differentiation of traits across communities of annual wildflower species that are native to California in the genus Clarkia. My results from field and greenhouse studies indicate that species interactions may shape ecological communities on multiple levels and that a plant's local neighborhood can affect its evolutionary trajectory.