Tag Archives: Field Biology

Big things happen in small rodents: grasshopper mice as a model for the evolution of pain resistance

Posted on January 23, 2017 by hageyt

This post is written by MSU grad student Lauren Koenig Life in the desert is full of extremes. Daytime temperatures are scorching, monsoon rains are torrential, and plants are sparse and spiky. Yet many desert animals, such as grasshopper mice (Onychomys torridus) … Continue reading →

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Love is in the air (or maybe it’s just bacteria)

Posted on November 26, 2016 by hageyt

This post is written by BEACON managing director Danielle Whittaker When we fall in love with someone else, is it because they are our soul mates… or is it because we like the way their microbes smell? We think a lot … Continue reading →

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Better Together: Of Hyenas and Men

Posted on November 20, 2016 by hageyt

This post is written by MSU grad student Zachary M. Laubach “A guy needs somebody―to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s with you. I … Continue reading →

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Can evolution help us rebuild native habitats?

Posted on April 9, 2016 by hageyt

This post is by MSU graduate student Anna Groves. If you look at the lyrics of two of the most iconic songs in American history, you’ll find that both reveal the composers’ fondness for the wide open spaces of our … Continue reading →

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Introducing BEACON’s New Science Outreach and Communication Postdocs

Posted on April 3, 2016 by hageyt

This post is by MSU postdoc Alexa Warwick. Alexa Warwick is the new Evolution Education and Outreach Postdoc at BEACON working with Dr. Louise Mead. Alexa worked on her Ph.D. with Drs. Emily Lemmon and Joseph Travis at Florida State … Continue reading →

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How lemur social networks shape microbial transmission

Posted on March 14, 2016 by hageyt

This post is by UT Austin graduate student Amanda Perofsky. Primates exhibit diverse ecological and behavioral patterns, ranging from solitary foragers to several hundred individuals, as in the multi-level societies of hamadryas baboons [1]. Many wild primates live in social … Continue reading →

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Introducing BEACON’s New Science Outreach and Communication Postdocs

Posted on March 8, 2016 by hageyt

This post is by MSU postdoc Wendy Smythe. Dr. Wendy F. Smythe is an environmental scientist who came to BEACON from CMOP who looks at how microbes influence their environment, by examining geochemistry, microbial ecology, microbial diversity, and biomineralization of iron … Continue reading →

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Manipulating evolution to conserve species

Posted on February 22, 2016 by hageyt

This post is by MSU Postdoc Sarah Fitzpatrick working at the Kellogg Biological Station Consider a native fish population in a small headwater stream with low genetic diversity due to genetic drift and founder effect (loss of variation that occurs when … Continue reading →

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BEACON Researchers at Work: Searching for the Cradle of Life…

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Danielle Whittaker

This week’s blog post is by MSU faculty member Matt Schrenk (Dept. of Geological Sciences & Dept. of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics). … a kilometer beneath the sea. We set sail from Southampton, UK in late October aboard the RRS James … Continue reading →

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BEACON Researchers at Work: The grasshopper mouse versus venom

Posted on October 26, 2015 by Danielle Whittaker

This week’s BEACON Researchers at Work blog post is by MSU graduate student Abhijna Parigi. Of all the bizarre animals that live in the deserts, grasshopper mice are, objectively, the cutest. These cinnamon-colored rodents are small enough to fit in … Continue reading →

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