Congratulations
Congratulations to Christopher Gauthier (B.Sc. in Biology, 2007 after working in Dr. David Lesbarrère's research lab), whose paper entitled "Growth rate variation in captive species: the case of Leopard geckos, Eublepharis macularius" was accepted for publication in the journal Herpetological Conservation and Biology. This study mostly represents Christopher's 4th-year thesis in Biology. Breeding in captivity is becoming more and more common with the goal of species conservation and the eventual placement of the species back into the wild. However, this requires an increased knowledge of growth conditions to establish strict and effective protocols. To this end, Christopher studied the Leopard Gecko, as it is often the subject of captive farming and makes it easy to quantify life history traits. Raised in captivity, the animals were fed for 120 days on diets that varied in fat and protein to assess the impact of these different food sources (crickets, mealworms or a combination of both) on the phenotype of the individuals.
Volume I of a book co-edited by Dr. Joe Shorthouse was recently published by the Biological Survey of Canada. The book, entitled 'Arthropods of Canadian Grasslands, Volume I: Ecology and Interactions in Grassland Habitats' is the first of a planned three-volume series that will provide an overview of Canada's grasslands and its associated insects, mites, and their close relatives. More information is available at http://www.volumesdirect.com/detail.aspx?ID=4598. Well done!
Food security in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
A media release on October 14, 2010 by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) described how Laurentian University, through a project co-directed by Biology professor Dr. Kabwe Nkongolo, is helping with food security in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This release was timed with the approach of World Food Day on December 16. This release is available in pdf, or on the AUCC site at http://www.aucc.ca/publications/media/2010/food_security_dr_congo_10_15_e.html .
In addition, two books in this area in French were recently released by the Laurentian University Press. They are:
(1) Recherches agronomiques en milieu paysan pour une sécurité alimentaire durable en RD-Congo - Tome 1, edited by K. Nkongolo, R. Kizungu et A. Kalonji-Mbuyi (ISBN 978-09867757-0-3), and
(2) Contribution à la lutte contre l'insécurité alimentaire et la malnutrition en RD-Congo - Tome 2, by K. Nkongolo, R. Kizungu et A. Kalonji-Mbuyi (coordination scientifique), edited by K.K.C Nkongolo (978-0-9867757-1-0)
New Canada Research Chair in the Department of Biology
In November, Dr. Albrech Schulte-Hostedde was awarded the Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Applied Evolutionary Ecology. As CRC chair, Dr. Schulte-Hostedde's research encompasses areas of conservation interest, including the effects of domesticated populations on closely-related wild species, the effects of urbanization on selection in natural populations, and the integration of sexual selection in captive breeding protocols. Congratulations!
Theses defended
Congratulations to the following graduate students who successfully defended their theses:
Blake Dotta (M.Sc., 1 September) - Photon (energy) emission from biological systems: A dynamic approach to biochemical processes in humans and cell cultures (Supervised by Dr. Michael Persinger)
Angie Corson (M.Sc., 3 September) - Developing restoration protocols for disturbed peatlands in the Hudson Bay Lowland (Supervised by Dr. Daniel Campbell)
Katharine Yagi (M.Sc., September 10) - The effects of flooding on the spatial ecology and thermoregulation of spotted turtles (Clemmys guttata) in a southern Ontario population (Supervised by Dr. Jacqueline Litzgus)
Stephen Armstrong (M.Sc., 14 September) - Development and characterization of carboplatin, docetaxel, and combined carboplatin/docetaxel resistant ovarian cancer lines (Supervised by Drs. Carita Lanner and A. Parissenti)
Jesse Popp (M.Sc., 17 September) - Spatial ecology of the mealy mountain caribou herd of Labrador (Supervised by Drs. Frank Mallory and J. Schaefer)
Krista Gooderham (M.Sc., 6 October) - Impacts of macroparasites on the fitness of North American red squirrrels (Tamaisciurus hudsonicus) (Supervised by Dr. Albrecht Schulte-Hostedde)
Heather Peltsch (M.Sc., 26 October) - Regulation of cardiac phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase in genetic and fetal programming models of hypertension (Supervised by Dr. T.C. Tai)
Katherine George (M.Sc., 19 November) - Evaluation of morphological and biochemical changes of the thyroid gland in Rattus norvegicus (Supervised by Dr. Michael Persinger)
Jane Bulloch (M.Sc., 7 December) - Acute respiratory and systemic responses to diesel exhaust particle exposure (Supervised by Dr. Stacey Ritz)
Ramya Narendrula (M.Sc., 13 December) - Effect of interspecific hybridization and soil metal content on genetic variability in spruce (Supervised by Dr. Kabwe Nkongolo)
Seminars presented
Biology Seminar Series
September 17 - Dr. Christopher Wren (Technical Director, Risk Assessment, MIRARCO, Laurentian University) - The Sudbury Ecological Risk Assessment: Facts, Fallacies and Opportunities
October 8 - Dr. Leslie Sutherland (Cancer Research Scientist, Sudbury Regional Hospital; Associate Professor, Medical Sciences, NOSM; Cross-appointments - Departments of Biology, Chemistry & Biochemistry) - Regulation of Programmed Cell Death by the RNA Binding Protein RBM10
November 26 - M. Grant Gilchrist (Research Scientist, Marine Birds, Centre Natinal de la Recherche Faunique, Environment Canada, and adjunct professor, Carleton University) - Risk and Reward: Exploring the Conservation Biology of Eider Ducks in Canada's Arctic
December 3 - Mme. Erika Crispo (NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Toronto, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) - Factors Shaping Phenotypic Variation: Natural Selection, Gene Flow, and Plasticity
Other presentations
On December 14, 2010, in San Diego, California, Dr. Yves Alarie presented a paper entitled "Bridging Ecology and Systematics: 20 years of study of larval morphology of World Dytiscidae" that concluded the Entomological Society of America Section Symposium, "An Inordiante Neglect of Dytiscids: International Endeavors to Understand the Behavior, Ecology, and Systematics of Predaceious Diving Beetles" during the annual meeting of the Entomological Society of America. The website http://ocean.otr.usm.edu/~w777157/symposium2010_yee.html
lists the presenters, along with some information about their work, and links to recent papers on Dytiscids.
Publications
Edge, C.B., B.D. Steinberg, R.J. Brooks, and J.D. Litzgus. 2010. Habitat selection by Blanding’s Turtles (Emydoidea blandingii) in a relatively pristine landscape. Écoscience 17(1): 90-99.
Litzgus, J.D. and S.E. Smith. 2010. Geographic variation in sexual size dimorphism in Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta). Journal of Herpetology 44(2): 321-327.
Rasmussen, M.L. and J.D. Litzgus. 2010. Patterns of maternal investment in spotted turtles (Clemmys guttata): Implications of trade-offs, scales of analyses, and incubation substrates. Écoscience 17(1): 47-58.
García Alaníz N., E.J. Naranjo, and F.F. Mallory. 2010. Hair-snares: A noninvasive method for monitoring felid populations in the Selva Lacandona, Mexico. Tropical Conservation Science 3(4): 403-411.
Garcia Alaníz, N., E.J. Naranjo and F.F. Mallory.2010. Human-felid interactions in three mestizo communities of the Selva Lacandona, Chiapas, Mexico: benefits, conflicts and traditional uses of felid species. Human Ecology 38: 451-457.
Reid, N.R., S. Hird, A.I. Schulte-Hostedde, and J. Sullivan. 2010. Examination of nuclear loci across a zone of mitochondrial introgression between Tamias ruficaudus and T. amoenus. Journal of Mammalogy 91: 1389-1400.