Dept of Biology Ph.D. candidate Tim Colston recently helped discover and describe a new species of viper, Bitis harenna, on the west side of the Ethiopian Rift Valley.  Tim is working on research projects with associate professors Dr. Brice Noonan (Tim’s advisor) and Dr. Colin Jackson.  Tim’s work is featured in a recent article from the Graduate School.

“Fishermen unintentionally catch millions of sharks each year, and many don’t survive the physical stress of being reeled in, but biology professor Glenn Parsons is designing a device that could prevent sharks from ever being hooked. If his “entangling leader” device is successful, fishermen may not have to handle sharks, which have roamed the ocean mostly unchanged for 400 million years.” Click here for more.

Recent awards to Biology faculty will support research projects on flower development and cellular differentiation (Dr. Sarah Liljegren) and comparing cell cycle regulation in bacteria (Dr. Patrick Curtis). More information can be found here for Dr. Liljegren and here for Dr. Curtis.

Biology students Michelle Ha and Ann Rasmussen traveled to Poland this past summer with Dr. Jason Hoeksema working to unlock the potential of the forest’s ancient ecosystem. Click here to read the article.

The Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College at Ole Miss has established the Mississippi Water Security Institute (MWSI) to help students understand the delicate balance between promoting strong economic development and protecting natural resources.

For the full article click here.

The University of Mississippi is planning a new building on campus to house laboratory and classroom space for Biology and other science and engineering departments. Read more about this facility:

https://news.olemiss.edu/ford-foundation-ups-commitment-25-million-um-science-building/

Colvin Recipient Studies Nutrient Uptake in the Flood Plains of the Mississippi River

http://www.princeton.edu/pei/news/archive/?id=15082

J.P. Lawrence (Noonan Lab) is the recipient of a National Science Foundation East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes Fellowship for summer 2015. J.P. will spend the summer working on the Australian Brood Frogs (Pseudophryne) to better understand the purpose of the variety of color signals found in this genus. His work will help him discern how predators view and select particular colors that may promote or constrain their evolution. This is the first EAPSI Fellowship awarded to a member of the University of Mississippi Biology Department.

Congratulations to Matt Abbott (Ph.D. Student with Dr. Brewer) on his new publication in PLoS One – “Purple Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia rosea) Dieback and Partial Community Disassembly following Experimental Storm Surge in a Coastal Pitcher Plant Bog” http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0125475. This study, co-authored by Loretta Battaglia, was part of Matt’s masters thesis research at Southern Illinois. Using experimental addition of saline water to a coastal bog community (a freshwater wetland), they found that most plant species were resilient to the addition of saline water, but the purple pitcher plant was not and experienced significant dieback. Coastal pitcher plant bogs therefore may not be able to fully recover from storm surges that are expected to increase in frequency with climate change.

Matt has also been successful in getting funding for his current Ph.D. research on carnivorous plants, including $5000 from the Garden Club of America, $1000 from the Society for Wetland Scientists, and $700 from Sigma Xi. Keep up the good work, Matt!

Congratulations to Biology major Megan Smith! This Noonan lab member (and Taylor Medal winner) has just been awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. With this fellowship, Megan will pursue her PhD at Ohio State University where she will work with Dr. Bryan Carstens on projects exploring the evolution of terrestrial gastropods (snails) in the Pacific Northwest.