Dr. Tesla Monson | Monson Lab

BIO:

Dr. Tesla Monson is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Western Washington University where she runs the Primate Evolution Lab. Her lab’s research focuses on the evolution of skeletal variation, life history, and reproduction in extant and fossil mammals. Dr. Monson recently published the first methods for reconstructing prenatal growth rates in the fossil record, one of which relies exclusively on teeth. Dr. Monson earned her PhD in Integrative Biology at UC Berkeley (2017), which is where she first became interested in science communication and research. Since then, she has developed and hosted a series of sci-comm projects, ranging from a science talk radio program called The Graduates, to a Twitter series highlighting the influence of women in early Washington State history (Washington Women).

Abstract:

The vertebrate fossil record is comprised almost entirely of the remains of bones and teeth. It is thus a key goal for evolutionary biologists to extract as much information as possible from these anatomical remains through morphological investigation. My research has demonstrated that there are significant phenotypic correlations between many anatomical traits, as well as between craniodental morphology and life history. These correlations both constrain and enable evolution, leading to the morphological diversity and disparity that we see today. In this talk, I will discuss our new research using cranial and dental morphology to reconstruct prenatal growth rates in

the hominid fossil record. Prenatal growth, or how quickly a fetus grows in utero, varies widely across primate species with the highest rate in humans. We recently demonstrated that prenatal growth rates increased throughout the Pleistocene, reaching ‘human-like’ rates just under 1 million years ago, before the evolution of our species. Prenatal growth is also key to healthy pregnancy and delivery. I will end by presenting some of our ongoing and future research investigating prenatal growth, and the evolution of encephalization and body size in primates.

"Fossil teeth reveal how brains developed in utero over millions of years of human evolution-new research"

Watch the seminar here!

Dr. Tesla Monson | Monson Lab

BIO:

Dr. Tesla Monson is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Western Washington University where she runs the Primate Evolution Lab. Her lab’s research focuses on the evolution of skeletal variation, life history, and reproduction in extant and fossil mammals. Dr. Monson recently published the first methods for reconstructing prenatal growth rates in the fossil record, one of which relies exclusively on teeth. Dr. Monson earned her PhD in Integrative Biology at UC Berkeley (2017), which is where she first became interested in science communication and research. Since then, she has developed and hosted a series of sci-comm projects, ranging from a science talk radio program called The Graduates, to a Twitter series highlighting the influence of women in early Washington State history (Washington Women).

Abstract:

The vertebrate fossil record is comprised almost entirely of the remains of bones and teeth. It is thus a key goal for evolutionary biologists to extract as much information as possible from these anatomical remains through morphological investigation. My research has demonstrated that there are significant phenotypic correlations between many anatomical traits, as well as between craniodental morphology and life history. These correlations both constrain and enable evolution, leading to the morphological diversity and disparity that we see today. In this talk, I will discuss our new research using cranial and dental morphology to reconstruct prenatal growth rates in

the hominid fossil record. Prenatal growth, or how quickly a fetus grows in utero, varies widely across primate species with the highest rate in humans. We recently demonstrated that prenatal growth rates increased throughout the Pleistocene, reaching ‘human-like’ rates just under 1 million years ago, before the evolution of our species. Prenatal growth is also key to healthy pregnancy and delivery. I will end by presenting some of our ongoing and future research investigating prenatal growth, and the evolution of encephalization and body size in primates.

"Fossil teeth reveal how brains developed in utero over millions of years of human evolution-new research"

Watch the seminar here!

Nicholas Teets

Insect species distributions are tightly linked to winter conditions. Surviving winter requires adaptations to cope with low temperatures and limited food resources, and much of our lab’s work focuses on the underlying mechanisms used by insects to survive extreme winter conditions. In this talk, I will primarily discuss our recent work on survival mechanisms of the Antarctic midge, which is the world’s southernmost insect and the only species endemic to Antarctica. This species can survive freezing of its body fluids for up to nine months a year, but it must also cope with considerable spatial and temporal variability in Antarctica’s unpredictable environments. Here, I will summarize how this impressive beast survives internal freezing, as well as the consequences of microhabitat variability and winter climate warming.

Larvae (left) and adults (right) of the Antarctic midge

Fieldwork

Nicholas Teets

Insect species distributions are tightly linked to winter conditions. Surviving winter requires adaptations to cope with low temperatures and limited food resources, and much of our lab’s work focuses on the underlying mechanisms used by insects to survive extreme winter conditions. In this talk, I will primarily discuss our recent work on survival mechanisms of the Antarctic midge, which is the world’s southernmost insect and the only species endemic to Antarctica. This species can survive freezing of its body fluids for up to nine months a year, but it must also cope with considerable spatial and temporal variability in Antarctica’s unpredictable environments. Here, I will summarize how this impressive beast survives internal freezing, as well as the consequences of microhabitat variability and winter climate warming.

Larvae (left) and adults (right) of the Antarctic midge

Fieldwork

Nicholas Teets

Insect species distributions are tightly linked to winter conditions. Surviving winter requires adaptations to cope with low temperatures and limited food resources, and much of our lab’s work focuses on the underlying mechanisms used by insects to survive extreme winter conditions. In this talk, I will primarily discuss our recent work on survival mechanisms of the Antarctic midge, which is the world’s southernmost insect and the only species endemic to Antarctica. This species can survive freezing of its body fluids for up to nine months a year, but it must also cope with considerable spatial and temporal variability in Antarctica’s unpredictable environments. Here, I will summarize how this impressive beast survives internal freezing, as well as the consequences of microhabitat variability and winter climate warming.

Larvae (left) and adults (right) of the Antarctic midge

Fieldwork

 Erin Dolan

Abstract: A graduate student’s relationship with their research advisor is considered to be the single-most influential factor in the quality and outcomes of their graduate training experience. Indeed, effective mentorship by research advisors promotes the development and success of graduate mentees. Yet, mentoring relationships, like any prolonged relationship, can have negative elements. Little research has examined the problematic elements of graduate research mentoring, even though prior research on mentoring in workplace settings suggests that negative mentoring experiences are common. This seminar will present findings from research on the negative mentoring that graduate life science researchers experience, including how their experiences differ from negative mentoring experienced in workplace settings. The session will offer insights on how mentor behaviors may be experienced as harmful or unhelpful and on how mentees and mentors can identify, avoid, and mitigate the impacts of negative mentoring.

 Erin Dolan

Abstract: A graduate student’s relationship with their research advisor is considered to be the single-most influential factor in the quality and outcomes of their graduate training experience. Indeed, effective mentorship by research advisors promotes the development and success of graduate mentees. Yet, mentoring relationships, like any prolonged relationship, can have negative elements. Little research has examined the problematic elements of graduate research mentoring, even though prior research on mentoring in workplace settings suggests that negative mentoring experiences are common. This seminar will present findings from research on the negative mentoring that graduate life science researchers experience, including how their experiences differ from negative mentoring experienced in workplace settings. The session will offer insights on how mentor behaviors may be experienced as harmful or unhelpful and on how mentees and mentors can identify, avoid, and mitigate the impacts of negative mentoring.

 Erin Dolan

Abstract: A graduate student’s relationship with their research advisor is considered to be the single-most influential factor in the quality and outcomes of their graduate training experience. Indeed, effective mentorship by research advisors promotes the development and success of graduate mentees. Yet, mentoring relationships, like any prolonged relationship, can have negative elements. Little research has examined the problematic elements of graduate research mentoring, even though prior research on mentoring in workplace settings suggests that negative mentoring experiences are common. This seminar will present findings from research on the negative mentoring that graduate life science researchers experience, including how their experiences differ from negative mentoring experienced in workplace settings. The session will offer insights on how mentor behaviors may be experienced as harmful or unhelpful and on how mentees and mentors can identify, avoid, and mitigate the impacts of negative mentoring.

 Erin Dolan

Abstract: A graduate student’s relationship with their research advisor is considered to be the single-most influential factor in the quality and outcomes of their graduate training experience. Indeed, effective mentorship by research advisors promotes the development and success of graduate mentees. Yet, mentoring relationships, like any prolonged relationship, can have negative elements. Little research has examined the problematic elements of graduate research mentoring, even though prior research on mentoring in workplace settings suggests that negative mentoring experiences are common. This seminar will present findings from research on the negative mentoring that graduate life science researchers experience, including how their experiences differ from negative mentoring experienced in workplace settings. The session will offer insights on how mentor behaviors may be experienced as harmful or unhelpful and on how mentees and mentors can identify, avoid, and mitigate the impacts of negative mentoring.

Evangeline Ballerini Ballerini Lab

Evangeline Ballerini is an Assistant Professor in Biological Sciences at California State University, Sacramento. Evangeline’s research examines the evolutionary genetics and developmental biology of traits influencing ecological interactions between plants and pollinators with a focus on the genus Aquilegia. Evangeline earned a BA from the Integrative Biology department at the University of California, Berkeley and a PhD from the Organismic and Evolutionary Biology department at Harvard University and conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Georgia and the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Abstract: The genus Aquilegia, commonly known as columbine, represents a classic example of adaptive radiation following the evolution of a key innovation - floral nectar spurs. Nectar spurs, tubular outgrowths of floral tissue that produce and store nectar, are hypothesized to promote speciation through pollinator specialization. Variation in spur morphology, along with other floral features such as color and orientation, allows flowers to adapt to different animal pollinators, contributing to reproductive isolation. I will present work focused on understanding the genetic basis of trait evolution in the genus Aquilegia at multiple evolutionary timescales. To shed light on how nectar spurs evolved in the Aquilegia ancestral lineage, I will highlight studies in which I used a combination of genomic and transcriptomic analyses to identify a key gene regulating nectar spur development. Focusing on more recent evolutionary history, I will discuss work in which I use similar techniques to explore the genetic basis of several floral traits distinguishing closely related Aquilegia species adapted to different animal pollinators and examine the population genetic processes influencing the evolution of these traits important for ecological speciation in the genus.