Category Archives: natural history

Introducing The Molecular Ecologist Podcast

Posted on 17 Mar, 2020 by Jeremy Yoder

The Molecular Ecologist is trying out a new medium for the first time since we launched: audio! That’s right, TME contributors, talking about the science we’ve been reading and writing about, recorded for easy listening on any internet-capable device. As … Continue reading →

Posted in community, housekeeping, microbiology, modest proposals, natural history, Science Communication, Science History, TME Podcast | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

FISHing for molecules, a link between form and function in animal–bacteria symbioses

Posted on 15 Mar, 2020 by Laetitia Wilkins

I am posting a blog post that was written by Benedikt Geier, a Ph.D. candidate who just handed in his Ph.D. thesis at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen, Germany. In my eyes, these last couple of … Continue reading →

Posted in Coevolution, community ecology, ecology, evolution, genomics, methods, microbiology, natural history, Symbiosis, transcriptomics | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Snapshots of Biodiversity: eDNA as a methodology for species detection

Posted on 14 Aug, 2019 by Stacy Krueger-Hadfield

Nicole Conner wrote this post as a project for Stacy Krueger-Hadfield’s Conservation Genetics course at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.  She is a Master’s student in Dr. Thane Wibbels’ lab where she is developing new protocol to detect diamondback terrapins off … Continue reading →

Posted in bioinformatics, blogging, citizen science, community, conservation, DNA barcoding, ecology, evolution, fieldwork, metagenomics, natural history | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Genetics of Returning Turtles

Posted on 7 Aug, 2019 by Stacy Krueger-Hadfield

Amy Bonka wrote this post as a project for Stacy Krueger-Hadfield’s Conservation Genetics course at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Amy grew up in Florida, completed a BS in Biology with a concentration in Marine Science and Chemistry as well … Continue reading →

Posted in blogging, citizen science, conservation, DNA barcoding, ecology, evolution, fieldwork, methods, natural history, Science Communication | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Go north, young salamander

Posted on 24 May, 2019 by Jeremy Yoder
Posted in natural history, population genetics | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Population genetics takes the "co" out of snake-newt coevolution (maybe)

Posted on 2 Apr, 2019 by Jeremy Yoder

A textbook example of predator-prey coevolution could need revision, if the conclusions of a recently posted pre-print hold up more broadly. The manuscript, lead-authored by Michael Hague with Amber Stokes, Chris Feldman, and Ed and “Butch” Brodie, calls into question … Continue reading →

Posted in Coevolution, natural history, population genetics, selection | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Kelp forests: the underwater woodlands

Posted on 16 Jan, 2019 by Stacy Krueger-Hadfield

Aisha O’ Connor wrote this post as a project for Stacy Krueger-Hadfield’s Conservation Genetics course at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She sat in on lectures while she was at UAB as part of a British Phycological Society Student Bursary … Continue reading →

Posted in blogging, ecology, evolution, fieldwork, haploid-diploid, natural history, population genetics, Science Communication | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Earth BioGenome: The launch of biology’s moonshot

Posted on 7 Dec, 2018 by Alex Twyford

The Earth BioGenome Project aims to sequence all currently described ~1.5 million eukaryotic species on earth (Lewin et al., 2018; Figure 1). The scale and scope are enormous, and it is hard to imagine a more ambitious but exciting goal. … Continue reading →

Posted in conservation, evolution, genomics, natural history, next generation sequencing, phylogenetics | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Conference catch-up: The many colors of snow

Posted on 3 Dec, 2018 by Stacy Krueger-Hadfield

Red snow … watermelon snow … green snow … did you know that snow came in so many different colors? I had never heard of watermelon ice (#🍉❄) until a talk given by Robin Kodner from Western Washington University at … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptation, bioinformatics, citizen science, community ecology, evolution, fieldwork, mating system, microbiology, natural history, phylogenetics, phylogeography, population genetics, selection, speciation, transcriptomics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Racing Against the Climate

Posted on 9 Oct, 2018 by Stacy Krueger-Hadfield

Sarah Livett wrote this post as a final project for Stacy Krueger-Hadfield’s Introduction to Evolutionary Processes course at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Sarah was a 5th year MS student at UAB in Dr. Thane Wibbel‘s lab. She worked … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptation, blogging, evolution, natural history, Science Communication, transcriptomics | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment