Department of Natural History Research Seminar Series
Fall 2022
September 16, 3p.m.:
Speaker: James Cahill
Institution: Environmental Engineering, University of Florida
Title: Using comparative genomics to identify the targets of selection underlying complex traits in songbirds and polar bears
Hosts: David Blackburn & Rob Guralnick
September 23, 3p.m.:
Postdoc Lightning Talks
Institution: Department of Natural History, Florida Museum, University of Florida
Hosts: María Vallejo-Pareja & Steve Manchester
Speakers:
Jaimi Gray
Division: Herpetology – Digital imaging division
PI: Dave Blackburn and Ed Stanley
Title: Vertebrate anatomy in 65 thousand shades of gray
Pathour Shashank Rajendra
Division: Lepidoptera
PI: Akito Kawahara
Title: Development of CRISPR-based diagnostics for invasive pest identification
Makenzie Mabry
Division: Molecular Systematics
PI: Pamela Soltis
Title: Crop wild relatives and the role of herbaria in future food crop security
Lucas De Freitas Bacci
Division: Herbarium
PI: Lucas Majure
Title: A phylogenomic approach to elucidate the evolution of one of the most diverse lineages within flowering plants.
Nicolas Del Sol
Division: Anthropology
PI: Charlie Cobb
Title: Misty of Puerto Real: A Story of Horses, Humans, and Ancient DNA in the Post-Columbian Americas.
September 27, 12p.m.:
McGuire Center “Expanding Horizons in Lepidoptera Research”
Speaker: Pável Matos-Maraví
Institution: Laboratory of Molecular Ecology and Phylogenetics, Biology Centre, CAS, Institute of Entomology, Branišovská, Czech Republic
Title: The origin and evolution of butterflies in tropical America
October 11, 12p.m.:
McGuire Center “Expanding Horizons in Lepidoptera Research”
Speaker: Oskar Brattström
Institution: School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
Title: Past and present responses in African butterflies to changing climates
October 14, 3p.m.:
Speaker: Juannan Zhou
Institution: Biology, University of Florida
Title: Modeling genetic interactions in genotype-phenotype maps for genes, proteins, and complex traits
Host: Gavin Naylor
October 21, 3p.m.:
Speaker: Sandra Goutte
Institution: NYU Abu Dhabi
Title: Coloring inside the lines: genomic architecture and evolution of widespread colors and patterns in anurans
Host: Dave Blackburn
October 25, 12p.m.:
McGuire Center “Expanding Horizons in Lepidoptera Research”
Speaker: Matt Forister
Institution: Department of Biology, University of Nevada, Reno, USA
Title: Finding their way through the Anthropocene: diverse stressors impacting the diverse butterfly fauna of western North America
October 28, 3p.m.:
Speakers: Ed Stanley & Zach Randall
Institution: Digital Imaging, Florida Museum, University of Florida
Title: Unlocked cabinets of curiosity: Digitization, Dissemination and Democratization of collections at the Florida Museum
Hosts: María Vallejo-Pareja & Steve Manchester
November 4, 3p.m.:
Speaker: Daren Card
Institution: Harvard University
Title: Comparative Genomics of Early Skink Genomes Supports Multiple Mechanisms of Limb Reduction in Squamate Reptiles
Host: Dave Blackburn
November 8, 12p.m.:
McGuire Center “Expanding Horizons in Lepidoptera Research”
Speaker: Pasi Sihvonen and Leidys Murillo Ramos
Institution: Finnish Museum of Natural History, Helsinki, Finland
Title: 24,000 reasons to study geometrid moths: an overview of diversity, phylogeny and classification
November 18, 3p.m.:
Graduate Student Lightning Talks
Institution: Department of Natural History, Florida Museum, University of Florida
Hosts: María Vallejo-Pareja and Gavin Naylor
Speakers:
Gabriel Somarriba
Division: Ichthyology
Advisor: Larry Page
Title: “Pao! A revision of an enigmatic genus of freshwater pufferfishes”
Shelly Gaynor
Division: Molecular Systematics
Advisor: Pamela Soltis
Title: Joint population dynamics of autotetraploids and their diploid progenitors
Mitchell Walters
Division: Ornithology
Advisors: Scott Robinson and Rob Guralnick
Title: Urbanization impacts vocal mimicry behavior but not song complexity in the Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
Lazaro Vinola Lopez
Division: Vertebrate Paleontology
Advisor: Jonathan Bloch
Title: The biogeography and extinction timing of endemic rodents on Hispaniola during the Holocene
Melanie Giangreco
Division: Museum Education
Advisor: Megan Ennes
Title: Building cultural capital through eco-civic engagement
November 29, 12p.m.:
McGuire Center “Expanding Horizons in Lepidoptera Research”
Speaker: David Lohman
Institution: Department of Biology, The City College of New York
Title: Island biogeography of mimetic butterflies in the Indo-Australian Archipelago
December 2, 3p.m.:
Speakers: Morgan Ernst & Ethan White
Institution: School of Forest Resources, University of Florida
Title: Monitoring Wading Birds at Scale Using Drones & Artificial Intelligence
Host: Gavin Naylor
December 6, 12p.m.:
Thomas C. Emmel Seminar Series
Speaker: Juliette Rubin
Institution: McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida
Title: Investigating the role of predation as an evolutionary driver of elaborate traits in insects
January 24, 12p.m.:
Thomas C. Emmel Seminar Series
Speaker: Joe Martinez
Institution: McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida
Title: Where do subfamilies end and families begin?