November-December 2016
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Several manuscripts were accepted for publication in November/December including two papers from my PhD work in Tobago, which were accepted at Ecosphere and Zootaxa, and a paper from my post-doc work, which was accepted at Oecologia. Congrats to co-authors Jordan, Christina, and Qiu! Citations: Delvare, G., G.E. Heimpel, H. Baur, D.D. Chadee, R. Martinez, S.A. Knutie. Accepted. Description of Brachymeria philornisae sp. n. (Hymenoptera, Chalcididae), a parasitoid of the bird parasite Philornis trinitensis, with a review of the sibling Brachymeria species. Zootaxa. Knutie, S.A., J.M. Herman, J.P. Owen, D.H. Clayton. Accepted. Tri-trophic ecology of native parasitic nest flies of birds in Tobago. Ecosphere. Knutie, S.A., C.L. Wilkinson, Q.C. Wu, N. Ortega, J.R. Rohr. Accepted. Host tolerance and resistance of parasitic gut worms depend on resource availability. Oecologia. |
August 2016
Former field assistant Jordan Herman presents our work on the tri-trophic ecology of native Philornis files in Tobago at the North American Ornithological Conference (#NAOC2016) in Washington DC. Philornis is an introduced parasitic nest fly in the Galapagos Islands and is a huge problem for Darwin's finches. Studying the ecology of Philornis in its native range may give us insight into why it is widespread in the Galapagos. In this study we suggest that introduced P. downsi in the Galápagos is widespread, not because of a lack of host defenses, but because it has left its enemies behind. This manuscript is in press at Ecosphere. Jordan is currently a PhD student at the University of Utah.
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I presented my post-doctoral work at the Ecological Society of America conference (#ESA2016) in Fort Lauderdale, FL. My oral presentation entitled "Early-life disruption of host microbiota increases later-life susceptibility to infections" was in the Microbial Ecology section. I also presented my undergrad Lauren Shea's poster on the effect of tadpole cannibalism on gut microbiota and disease risk. Lauren is currently doing field work in the Red Sea and could not attend the meeting. In other news, I received honorable mention for the Disease Ecology Section Best Student Paper for my 2016 Ecology paper entitled, "Galapagos mockingbirds tolerate introduced parasites that affect Darwin’s finches". Such an honor! |
June 2016
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My research was featured on Jeopardy! on June 13, 2016. It was on the Double Jeopardy! round as the $2000 question in the category New in Science. The contestant even got it right! Click here to read more about the research in Current Biology. |
February 27, 2016
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Senior undergrad Lauren Shea presents our work at the Florida Undergraduate Research Conference in Tampa, Florida in February 2016. Her undergraduate research on the effect of tadpole cannibalism on their gut microbiome and parasite susceptibility was a big hit at the conference. She will also be presenting this work at the Ecological Society of America conference in Fort Lauderdale, FL in August. |
July 27, 2015
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Qiu Chang Wu presented her work at the end of her Leadership Alliance Summer Research Early Identification Program Fellowship in July 2015 at USF. Qiu pursued several projects during her fellowship, which included establishing an assay to quantify frogs' antibody response to parasitic gut worms and determining whether frogs have acquired resistance to the worms. |
July 6, 2015
I was invited to present my Galapagos work in the Arthropods and Wildlife Conservation: Synergy in Complex Biological Systems symposium at the Entomological Society of America Meeting in Minneapolis, MN. Co-authored with my PhD advisor, Dr. Dale Clayton, our talk was selected as a Premier Presentation, meaning that it will be featured in the Program Book and that I will be interviewed for a video promoting the conference.
June 17, 2015
The AAAS-Pacific Division meeting was held June 14-17, 2015 at San Francisco State University in California. Matthew James did a tremendous amount of work to organize an amazing 3-day Galapagos symposium. I presented my work on the effect of Philornis downsi on Darwin's finches and whether self-fumigation is a possible stop-gap method to control the parasite in bird nests. Great company, great scientists, great research.
See coverage on the symposium here:
http://www.galapagosdigital.com/2015/06/15/galapagos-issues-highlighted-at-san-francisco-science-conference/
See coverage on the symposium here:
http://www.galapagosdigital.com/2015/06/15/galapagos-issues-highlighted-at-san-francisco-science-conference/
May 8, 2014
Major press coverage on our Current Biology paper
"Darwin's finches combat introduced nest parasites with fumigated cotton"
Click text below to be redirected to websites
Science
Nature
Reuters
National Geographic
The Conversation
National Public Radio (NPR)
The Guardian
Duluth News Tribune (my hometown newspaper)
Salt Lake Tribune
"Darwin's finches combat introduced nest parasites with fumigated cotton"
Click text below to be redirected to websites
Science
Nature
Reuters
National Geographic
The Conversation
National Public Radio (NPR)
The Guardian
Duluth News Tribune (my hometown newspaper)
Salt Lake Tribune