News & Events

Wieteke A. Holthuijzen, a doctoral student in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, is first author on a new research study in PLOS on the diets of house mice and their conservation threat on islands. 

Read the article here: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0293092

From Plants to Prints: University of Tennessee Printmaking Artists Drawing from Herbarium Specimens

Margaret Oliver, collections manager at the UT Herbarium, wrote a piece for the Tennessee Conservationist about a collaboration between a printmaking class here at UT and the Herbarium. Read Margaret’s piece here: https://eeb.utk.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/The-Tennessee-Conservationist-_-Sept_Oct-2023_TENN_HerbariumArt.pdf

New study shows more species can be saved if policy-makers and private donors allow even a little more flexibility in where conservation funds can be spent

Paper by EEB Professor Dr. Paul Armsworth and colleagues “Multiplying the impact of conservation funding using spatial exchange rates” Read the paper here:  http://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2678

Important new work about invasive species by former EEB grad student, Martin Nunez

https://zenodo.org/record/8314303

Fruit flies may enjoy taking carousels for a spin

EEB Alumni Distinguished Service professor Dr. Gordon Burghardt comments on the first documented example of locomotor play in an invertebrate. Read the article here:  https://www.science.org/content/article/fruit-flies-may-enjoy-taking-carousels-spin   

UT Hosts Summer Camp for Local Middle Schoolers

https://tntribune.com/ut-hosts-summer-camp-for-local-middle-schoolers/

Simberloff Honored by British Ecological Society

Each year, the British Ecological Society (BES) recognizes 11 distinguished ecologists whose work has benefited the scientific community and society in general. Daniel Simberloff, the Gore Hunger Professor of Environmental Science in the UT Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, received an honorary membership – the Society’s highest honor – for his “exceptional contribution at the ...

Blum Named Associate Dean for Research and Creative Activity

https://artsci.utk.edu/blum-named-associate-dean-for-research-and-creative-activity/

UNDERstory Game is Award Finalist

Dr. Susan Kalisz, former head of the EEB department, along with Cary Staples of the School of Design and Tim Arment from the College of Architecture and Design have created the UNDERstory board game based on their long-term research. The game has received a lot of attention, and the creators are finalists for a 2023 ...

EEB Senior Receives Gilman Scholarship to Study Abroad

Hannah Alderman is one of thirteen UT students to receive a Gilman Scholarship. Read more about her plans to study abroad here: https://news.utk.edu/2023/05/31/13-students-offered-gilman-scholarships-to-study-abroad/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=collectively%20awarded%20%2442%2C000&utm_campaign=TN%20Today

American Academy of Microbiology Colloquium: Microbes in Models Final Report

EEB’s Dr. Stephanie Kivlin joins her collaborators in announcing the release of their new report, “Microbes in Models.” Climate change threatens all life on Earth. The report outlines top challenges to overcome to better incorporate microbial processes into Earth system models and improve model projections that inform climate change mitigation actions. Read more here: https://eeb.utk.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Microbes-in-Models-Report_FINAL.pdf 

Dr. Benjamin Keck et. al. Published in Science

Read Dr. Keck’s article “Erosion of heterogenous rock drives diversification of Appalachian fishes” here:  https://www.science.org/doi/epdf/10.1126/science.add9791

EEB Spring 2023 Awards Video

Faculty, staff and students from EEB gathered on May 18, 2023 to celebrate the end of the semester, recognize award-winners, and honor retirees. Check out this YouTube video to see all of the winners, along with some photos from the celebration. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzOlHjXd_pY

Tiny Fish Makes Big Splash

Read about Dr. David Etnier’s Snail Darter legacy here: https://higherground.utk.edu/snail-darter/

EEB Graduate Receives Fulbright Award

Spring 2023 EEB honors graduate Colton Adams received a Fulbright student award. Read about his plans here: https://news.utk.edu/2023/05/17/11-ut-students-receive-fulbright-awards/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=2023-24%20Fulbright%20student%20awards&utm_campaign=TN%20Today

EEB Department Alumnus Weighs in on Shy Spiders

Dr. Angela Chuang, formerly of the Riechert lab, was consulted for this NY Times article on Joro Spiders, and whether current research is in fact proving how shy the species can be.  https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/19/science/joro-spiders.html

EEB Graduate Student Maryrose Weatherton nominated for Cheek Graduate Student Medal of Excellence Award

The Jimmy and Ileen Cheek Graduate Student Medal of Excellence is awarded annually to an outstanding graduate student currently enrolled at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The award is given to a student pursuing a PhD and has completed at least four semesters of study. Nominees are considered for their high academic potential and achievement, ...

Studying Mysteries of the Microbiome – interview with Dr. Stephanie Kivlin

https://artsci.utk.edu/dialogue/studying-the-mysterious-of-the-microbiome/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=noopener%20noreferrer&utm_campaign=TN%20Today  

Dr. Lou Gross named Fellow of the Ecological Society of America

The Ecological Society of America is pleased to announce its 2023 Fellows. The Society’s fellowship program recognizes the many ways in which its members contribute to ecological research, communication, education, management and policy. This year, the ESA Governing Board has confirmed seven new Fellows and ten new Early Career Fellows. Fellows are members who have made ...

EEB Graduate Students Selected for US Fish & Wildlife Service Directorate Fellows Program

Grad students Lauren Lyon and Sebastian Espinoza have both been selected to take part in the US Fish & Wildlife Service’s Directorate Resource Assistant Fellows Program. (DFP) DFP is a special hiring program the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) uses to diversify their workforce. The DFP is for students interested in conservation careers and positions ...

EEB Graduate Student Django Grootmyers discusses “zombie” fungi on WVLT

Fungi have come to the cultural forefront with the new popular series, “The Last of Us” on HBO. The series, based upon the video game of the same name, is set in an alternate 2023, during which a mass fungal infection has caused societal breakdown. In this piece produced by CBS-affiliate WVLT, EEB graduate student ...

Rapid Plant Evolution May Make Coastal Wetlands More Susceptible to Sea Level Rise

https://research.utk.edu/oried/2023/03/02/rapid-plant-evolution-may-make-coastal-wetlands-more-susceptible-to-sea-level-rise/

EEB Faculty Awarded

Three of EEB’s own faculty members, Nina Fefferman, Orou Gaoue, and Xingli Giam, were honored with awards at the recent College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Awards Night.  Nina Fefferman was recognized with the Academic Outreach Award for Service – she was not able to attend the ceremony, as she was doing more of the pandemic ...

Graduate Student Wieteke Holthuijzen awarded at 50th Annual Meeting of the Pacific Seabird Group

EEB Graduate Student Wieteke Holthuijzen received the best PhD poster award at the 50th Annual Meeting of the Pacific Seabird Group and also received the Chairs Choice Award for assistance in organizing the conference. Per their website, “The Pacific Seabird Group (PSG) is a society of professional seabird researchers and managers dedicated to the study ...

Investigating New Digital Authorities – Dr. Sergey Gavrilets receives largest Templeton Foundation award in UT history

link to article

Investigating New Digital Authorities

In the years since social media became part of our daily lives, an increased number of individuals are self-organizing online around identity, social topics, and various other interests. This transition leads to a new type of cultural authority and one that researchers are investigating to understand how the online human world interacts with the offline ...

“Rapid Plant Trait Evolution Can Alter Coastal Wetland Resilience to Sea Level Rise” – paper co-authored by EEB’s Dr. Mike Blum published in Science magazine

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abq0595

Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Elisabeth Schussler

https://teaching.utk.edu/faculty-spotlight-dr-elisabeth-schussler/

Printmaking Students Create Herbarium Specimens Portfolio

https://art.utk.edu/printmaking-students-create-herbarium-specimens-portfolio/

Dr. Ben Fitzpatrick and his graduate student, Rebecca Smith are recipients of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation: Bring Back the Native Fish award

https://www.nfwf.org/media-center/press-releases/nfwf-announces-800000-grants-support-native-fish-species-conservation-concern  

Ecology Professor Receives NSF Grant to Research Global Change Affecting Ecosystems

Stephanie Kivlin, assistant professor in the UT Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB), and co-principal investigators, Susan Kalisz and Nick Smith, received a $3.58 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to fund collaborative research for their project “Defining the mechanisms and consequences of mutualism reorganization in the Anthropocene.” Kivlin and her colleague Kalisz, EEB professor, ...

EEB Adjunct Research Professor Dr. Richard Norby Among Most Highly Cited Researchers for 2022

https://news.utk.edu/2022/11/15/faculty-members-among-most-highly-cited-researchers-for-2022/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Highly%20Cited%20Researchers&utm_campaign=TN%20Today

In Their Own Words: Daniel Simberloff

In Their Own Words: Daniel Simberloff https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/72/10/945/6612801#no-access-message

Dung beetle mothers protect their offspring from a warming world by digging deeper

A road sign in Bursa, Turkey, warns drivers of the presence of dung beetles, stating ‘Attention! It may come out, don’t crush it please!’ Ugur Ulu/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Kimberly S. Sheldon, University of Tennessee If the TV series “Dirty Jobs” covered animals as well as humans, it would probably start with dung beetles. These hardworking critters ...

Sheldon Publishes Research on Dung Beetles and Climate Change

Assistant Professor Kimberly Sheldon published results from a recent study in Biology Letters that suggest adult dung beetles may be changing their behavior to partially buffer developing offspring from temperature changes related to climate change. “I developed mini-greenhouses that raised the temperature average and variance in experimental buckets,” Sheldon said. “We put beetles in the buckets ...

Russo Co-Authors Planting for Pollinators

Assistant Professor Laura Russo is part of a research team that published findings from an experiment to provide evidenced-based recommendations for pollinator-friendly native perennials in eastern Tennessee. Download the UT Institute of Agriculture Extension Publication: Planting for Pollinators in East Tennessee, authored by Virginia Sykes, Department of Plant Sciences, Karl McKim and Laura Russo, Department of ...

For the Love of Plants

As you walk on the UT campus, you may see the large glass greenhouses overlooking Neyland Stadium. The University of Tennessee Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology greenhouses were first built in 1934 and have gone through multiple renovations. There are still plants from the original collection that are almost 100 years old now. Recently, the ...

Darwin Day Highlights Evolution Education

This year, graduate students hosted Darwin Day UT, a series of events on campus to promote awareness of the importance of evolution to the study of biology and scientific research at UT and other institutions. Charles Darwin was born February 12, 1809. He is a critical figure in the history of evolutionary biology and during ...

Gross Investigates Relationship Between Climate Change Beliefs and Risk

Louis Gross, Chancellor’s Professor in the UT Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, recently co-authored an article, “Determinants of Emissions Pathways in the Coupled Climate-Social System” published in the journal Nature, which investigates whether or not there is a link between humans’ belief in climate change risk and the Earth’s changing climate.  “This research indicates that ...

Doctoral Student Lauren Lyon Publishes Chapters on Red Panda Conservation in East Tennessee

Millions of years ago, Red Pandas used to roam the hills of East Tennessee. Now, Zoo Knoxville  leads one of the most successful captive breeding programs of Red Pandas in the world. Lauren Lyon, a PhD candidate from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in collaboration with ETSU researchers, Steven Wallace and Andrew Joyner, recently published ...

Local University Joins Global 4-day Effort to Digitize Centuries of Data About Life on Earth

For centuries, scientists have explored and documented the natural  world, collecting the billions of specimens housed in museums, universities, and field  stations worldwide.  And now, the University of Tennessee and other institutions across the globe want to  help make that information available to the general public.  But they need your help.  The University of Tennessee Herbarium invites ...

Sheldon Receives NSF CAREER Award

Kimberly Sheldon, an assistant professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB), was awarded a highly-competitive Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The award is NSF’s most prestigious recognition for early-career faculty members and recognizes individuals “who have the potential to serve as academic role models in ...

Budke Receives NSF CAREER Award

Jessica Budke, an assistant professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB) and director of the UT Herbarium, received a highly-competitive Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). This multi-year, $1.4 million grant will support Budke’s work on parent-offspring conflict in mosses. “The conflict is a striking paradox where ...

Why Are Some Mushrooms Poisonous?

Poisonous or edible? Ekaterina Morozova/iStock via Getty Images Plus Karen Hughes, University of Tennessee Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com. Why are some mushrooms poisonous and some are not? – Alice T., age 11 You may have noticed that mushrooms ...

Pickled Fish Spawn Eco Clues

Pickled Fish Spawn Eco Clues

Tomato Production At Risk Due to Decrease in Buzz Pollinators

Tomatoes are the heart of many backyard gardens. Tomato crops are also an important economic revenue in North America. The vegetable we all know as the “T” of a great summer BLT, however, may be in jeopardy due to a decline in its pollinator species because of climate change. According to a study published in Ecological ...

Study Finds Protected Areas Vulnerable to Food Security Concerns

Protected areas are critical to mitigating extinction of species; however, they may also be in conflict with efforts to feed the growing human population. Paul Armsworth, professor of ecology and researcher with the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS) is the co-author of a new study showing croplands are prevalent in protected areas, which ...

Faculty Honored for Research, Teaching, and Service

Each year, Dean Theresa Lee and members of her cabinet, with help from department heads, recognize faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences for their excellence in teaching, research and creative activity, and lifetime achievements.  Due to the ongoing pandemic, however, we were unable to host the annual awards banquet in-person. Each faculty member received ...

Evolution of Tropical Biodiversity Hotspots

For decades, scientists have worked to understand the intricacies of biological diversity – from genetic and species diversity to ecological diversity. As scientists began to understand the depths of diversity across the planet, they noticed an interesting pattern. The number of species increases drastically from the Poles to the Equator. This phenomenon, known as the latitudinal ...

The Queen of Spiders Has Retired

She has been one of the leading scientists in the field of animal behavior for decades, and a role model for generations of young researchers. Her work with K-12 schools in Tennessee has touched thousands of students over the last 20 years, instilling a passion for biology and for the scientific process. And, as she ...

Congrats to Susan Riechert on her retirement!

Congrats to Susan Riechert on her retirement!

Missed the ‘EEB Orientation to the concentration’ workshop last week? Please watch the recording of the workshop for info or an update on EEB procedures and opportunities.

Missed the ‘EEB Orientation to the concentration’ workshop last week? Please watch the recording of the workshop for info or an update on EEB procedures and opportunities.

Missed the Grad School Worshop? Catch it Here.

Undergrads, if you missed the Grad School workshop earlier in the fall, you can catch it here and hear great advice from current EEB grad students. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yhGZXDMQa8

Singing in a Silent Spring

Birds respond to a half-century soundscape reversion during the COVID-19 shutdown When the novel coronavirus swept across the country, forcing most businesses to close their doors and people to stay home as a measure to stop the spread, people looked to the little things for signs of hope. For Elizabeth Derryberry, hope came in the form ...

Budke Receives NSF Collaboration Grant to Digitize Lichens and Bryophytes

Across the planet’s terrestrial surface lives a layer of organisms that cannot be seen with the naked eye. Lichens and bryophytes are hosts to these cryptobiotic communities that play a critical role in stabilizing soil, preventing erosion, absorbing rainfall, and providing nutrients for the growing plants around them. This hidden life creates a critical miniature ...

Kwit, Graduate Students’ Research Featured in Science

Charles Kwit, assistant professor of ecology, and his graduate students Chloe Lash and Chelsea Miller studied the microbial communities of seeds to discover what role ants play in seed dispersion. They looked at wild ginger, bloodroot, and twinleaf. Read more about their research and the role ants play in forest ecology in a recent Science article, ...

EEB Head’s statement on racism and police misconduct

Dear EEB community, The horrific issues of racism and police misconduct grabbing our attention lately are not news to the black members of our department, who experience it their entire lives. This racism, whether overt or unconscious, is present in our department, our field, and in our community. As Dean Lee stated in her message to the college, systemic changes ...

Kalisz, Heberling, and Collaborators Receive ESA’s Mercer Award

Susan Kalisz, professor and head of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and former post-doctoral fellow Mason Heberling, now assistant curator of botany at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, received the Ecological Society of America’s (ESA) George Mercer Award for their paper, “Phenological mismatch with trees reduces wildflower carbon budgets,” published in Ecology ...

McFarland Coauthors Paper on Spatially Separated Sexes and Extreme Sex Ratios in Hornwort

Kenneth McFarland, emeritus greenhouse manager and lecturer in the UT Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, recently co-authored a paper in Frontiers in Plant Science titled “Population Genomics and Phylogeography of a Clonal Bryophyte With Spatially Separated Sexes and Extreme Sex Ratios.” Sexual reproduction plays an essential role in species’ survival and maintenance. Clonality and other ...

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Announces 2020 Award Winners

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Announces 2020 Award Winners

Kalisz Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Susan Kalisz, the College of Arts and Sciences Excellence Professor and head of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, is a newly elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences class of 2020. “I am honored to join such a distinguished group of scholars and leaders in the arts and sciences,” Kalisz said. ...

Gavrilets Receives Army Research Grants

Sergey Gavrilets, a distinguished professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, has received more than $1.1 million in grants from the Army Research Office for study into societal resilience using evolutionary models and theories of revolution. Gavrilet’s research is funded by the Department of Defense’s Minerva Program, which is dedicated to predicting future socio-political ...

Kivlin Coauthors Article on Fungal Aerobiota

Stephanie Kivlin, an assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, coauthored a paper titled “Fungal aerobiota are not affected by time nor environment over a 13-y time series at the Mauna Loa Observatory,” published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers used 13 years of collected air samples from Mauna Loa Observatory ...

In Memory of Ed Clebesch

As snow blanketed the Smokies, Edward (Ed) Ernst Cooper Clebsch (June 6, 1929 – December 14, 2019) passed away in peace surrounded by his family. He was born in Clarksville, Tennessee, to Julia (Wilee) and Alfred Bernhard Clebsch, an immigrant from Bremen, Germany. Edward Clebsch, professor emeritus, spent most of his life living in Tennessee: Clarksville, ...

Faculty Honored at College Awards Banquet

The 2019 College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Awards banquet took place Thursday, December 5 at the Holiday Inn Downtown. From Diversity Leadership to awards in research, advising, and teaching, the annual awards banquet honors faculty excellence in all areas of the college mission. Elizabeth Derryberry, Charlie Kwit, and Beth Schussler received awards for their work in the Department ...

Harvey Publishes Article on Speciation

Mike Harvey, a postdoctoral fellow in the UT Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, published an article titled “Beyond Reproductive Isolation: Demographic Controls on the Speciation Process” in the Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics. The article is a review of the past method of determining the cause of speciation – the process of how new species form. ...

Gaoue Coauthors Article about Medicinal Jungle Plants

Ourou Gaoue, an assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, coauthored a paper titled “Non-random medicinal plants selection in the Kichwa community of the Ecuadorian Amazon,” published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology. Researchers analyzed data collected on indigenous people’s uses of non-random medicinal jungle plants at the local level, rather than at the national level. This is the first time ...

Budke Publishes Paper on Spore Dispersal of Fern

Jessica Budke, an assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and director of UT’s Herbarium, published a paper titled “Evolution of Perine Morphology in the Thelypteridaceae” in the International Journal of Plant Sciences, that looks at the dispersal of fern spores. Researchers focused their study on Thelypteridaceae, a family of ferns that includes more than 1,000 species. Their research focused on ...

Underground fungal relationships key to thriving plants

For a plant to thrive, it needs the help of a friendly fungus–preferably one that will dig its way deep into the cells of the plant’s roots. Plants live in symbiosis with root-associated, or mycorrhizal, fungi. The fungi provide up to 80 percent of the nutrients and water a plant needs to grow, and the plants produce up to 30 ...

Derryberry Recognized in Women of Ornithology Article

Elizabeth Derryberry, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, received recognition in a timeline of important female ornithologists in a Cornell Lab of Ornithology article, focusing on the achievements of female ornithologists and their role in determining the causes of evolutionary advancements in birds. Part of Derryberry’s research focuses on the how bird songs are shaped by urban environments. “One of the ...

Do I need to go to grad school and how do I apply?

Please join an EEB Undergraduate Brownbag Workshop aimed at answering your most pressing questions about graduate school! A panel of EEB faculty & current UT Grads will answer questions like: – Why grad school? – How to set yourself up for grad school – How to search for programs & advisers – How to apply – What we wish we ...

POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT

ISLAND CONSERVATION STUDY- GUAM KINGFISHER AND THE BROWN TREE SNAKE 1-2 Student Research Assistants will be hired ($15/hour) to work with a multidisciplinary team evaluating the likelihood of Guam kingfisher Todiramphus cinnamominus reintroduction success on the western Pacific island of Guam. STUDY DESCRIPTIONSince 1988, the critically endangered Guam kingfisher has survived solely in captivity. Now only ca. ...

New Study on Microbes and Plant Competition

A new study published in Ecology Letters suggests there is more to plant competition than ecologists initially thought. Plants interact with many biotic entities – from other plants and microorganisms to animals – but little is known about the relative influence each of these interactions has on determining plant growth and survival. Most plants compete with ...

2018 EEB Awards

The Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department had their annual awards ceremony on Friday, May 11, 2018. Congratulations to: o 2018 EEB Outstanding Master’s Thesis: Chad Stachowiak o 2018 EEB Jim Tanner Outstanding Dissertation: Sara Lipshutz o 2018 EEB Best Progress Toward Dissertation: Chloe Lash o 2018 EEB Sandy Echternacht Outstanding Teaching by a Graduate Student: Melqui Gamba-Rios o 2018 EEB Outstanding ...

Hollaender Fellowship for Lampley

Congratulations to Jayne Lampley (Schilling Lab), who has received a Hollaender Fellowship from the Division of Biology! This Fellowship recognizes an outstanding graduate student within the division, that shows outstanding academic qualifications, research accomplishments, and scientific/professional promise.

EUReCA award for Cahill

There were some amazing entries from EEB for the April 16-20 EUReCA (Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement) event! Congratulations to Samantha Cahill (Giam Lab) for winning an Arts & Sciences Award in EUReCA with her research Spatial Analysis of Mountaintop Mining’s Impact on Water Quality and Macroinvertebrates. Honorable mention went to Alexis Case’s (Hughes Lab) ...

Chancellor’s Award for Chen

Congratulations to Miranda Chen (Schussler Lab) for winning the 2018 Extraordinary Community Service Chancellor Award!

Plant Sale April 24-25

The EEB Greenhouses will be having a plant sale on Tuesday & Wednesday, April 24 & 25, from 11:00 – 1:00 in front of Hesler Biology Building. Plants for sale include Begonia, Ghost plant, Golden trumpet, Panda plant, Jewel orchid, Cape sundew and more. We will be accepting cash or check (no credit cards). Prices range ...

Fighting Invasives in Knoxville

Thirty volunteers came out to help remove invasive plants from Deans Woodlot (near Alcoa Highway, south of UT’s main campus) at the end of March.  Everyone had a great attitude and was eager to remove invasive plants! Below are a some pictures of before, after, and the mound of material removed.      

NSF Award and Recognition for EEB

EEB undergraduate Justin Baldwin and EEB graduate student Maggie Mamantov (Sheldon Lab) both received honorable mentions in the prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program. This program selects early career students with high potential in science. Amanda Wilson Carter (postdoc, Sheldon Lab) was awarded an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology! Using dung beetles, she ...

2018 Shipley-Swann Graduate School Fellowship

Congratulations to EEB graduate student Miranda Chen. Miranda was selected as a recipient of the 2018–2019 Shipley-Swann Graduate Fellowship. By receiving this fellowship, Miranda is being recognized as one of the most promising graduate and professional students at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

2018 Mini-Term Courses

We are pleased to offer three mini-term courses this year. We are confident that you will love each of these courses. Email kcoulte4@utk.edu to override pre-req Natural History of the Smokies – 70213 – CRN 461-001 “Natural History of the Great Smoky Mountains”. This course is a field ecology course that includes a one-week field trip. Course ...

Grad Student Senate Awards

The Graduate Student Senate Awards were held on April 4.  Check out all the winners from EEB! Graduate Research Mentor of the Year:  Associate Professor Elisabeth Schussler Excellence in Teaching:  Justin Hendy (Small Lab) Excellence in Research: Sara Lipshutz (Derryberry Lab) Excellence in Service: Alannie Grant (Kalisz Lab)  

EarthFest 2018

The 19th Annual Knoxville EarthFest will be held on Saturday, April 28 from 10am-5pm at the Knoxville Botanical Garden. There will be talks and activities like helping build bat boxes.  The GREBE (Graduate Students in Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution) Outreach Committee will have a booth. It’s going to be super fun, especially for kids, so plan to come out! Check out ...

Gross Receives SEC Award

Professor Louis Gross was honored with the 2018 SEC Faculty Achievement Award this week.  The award recognizes professors from the 14 Southeastern Conference schools who have outstanding records in teaching and scholarship. Honorees from each university receive an honorarium and become their university’s nominee for SEC Professor of the Year, to be awarded later this ...

Science as Poetry

At the heart of a liberal arts education is the intersection of science and art. In his new book, Elements of Chance, Art Stewart, adjunct professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, presents science-flavored poems for scientists. “Poetry and science are not at odds with one another,” Stewart says. “Rather, these two great constructs ...

Course Offerings Fall 2018

In addition to the regular course offerings this fall, the following new courses may be of interest!   Course Number Credits Schedule Course Title Instructor(s) Poster Psych 601 CRN 52384 Psych 482 CRN 51071  3 Fri, 9:05 am -12:05 pm Austin Peay 411 The Function, Evolution, and Neuroscience of Play Burghardt Psych601 FWF 325 3 Tu/Th 9:40 am – 12:25 pm 113 Plant Biotech Wildlife Vegetation and Habitat Kwit FWF325  

Kalisz & Fukami Elected to ASN Leadership

EEB Department Head Susan Kalisz has been elected as President 2020 of the American Society of Naturalists.  Congratulations! Alumnus Tadashi Fukami (PhD 2003) has also been elected to the leadership of ASN, as Secretary 2019-2021.  

Papes Seminar 3/29

EEB Assitant Professor Mona Papes will give a seminar in the Geography department on Thursday, March 29. Click here to view the poster. Why Geography Matters to Ecologists: Geographical Patterns of Biodiversity Thursday, March 29th in the Burchfiel Geography Building Room 301. Reception with cookies and coffee to start at 3:30, talk from 4:00-5:00. In this talk, I will provide an ...

I Will Make Tennessee Proud

Pre-eminent entomologist Carl Huffaker (’38, ’39) never forgot the kindness of a UT president. By Brooks Clark (’16) Among the pleasures of working in UT alumni relations are the occasions when long, lost alums or their families come back to campus and we get to revisit the old sights and introduce them to the new show. Last ...

New Plant Species and Habitat Near Knoxville

A paper describing the discovery of a new plant species, the Leatherleaf Tassel Rue (Trautvetteria fonticalcarea), was just published by recent UT graduate Aaron Floden (PhD 2017) in the Nordic Journal of Botany. Floden, writing with his PhD advisor Prof. Ed Schilling, also provided the first published description of the unique habitat in which this ...

Three Minute Thesis Competition

Two EEB grad students are competing in the 3-minute thesis competition next week: Jordan Bush (Simberloff Lab) and Sara Lipshutz (Derryberry Lab). This is a University-wide competition, so we are doing well to have two EEB-ers representing us! See pdf for details. Jordan and Sara are speaking on February 26, 2018 at 3:30 p.m. in room ...

Tewksbury Seminar 2/16

Josh Tewksbury, of Future Earth, is the EEB seminar speaker this Friday (Feb. 16), at 3:30 PM in 307 SERF.  This seminar is affiliated with the Haines Morris Endowment-funded seminar series, “Why Natural History Matters in the 21st Century.” The talk is entitled “Natural History’s place in Science and Society” (poster).  

Darwin Day 2018

Darwin Day at UT is hosting 2 events coming up this weekend and early next week! We have Darwin’s Birthday Party at the McClung Museum on Saturday, Feb. 10th from 1-4pm with cake, scavenger hunts, crafts, and Darwin himself. Monday, Feb. 12 at 7pm we have Dr. Nizar Ibrahim (discoverer of Spinosaurus, an aquatic dinosaur) coming to campus to give a lecture. For more information, ...

Simberloff Amongst Most Cited

Professor Daniel Simberloff is one of two UT faculty members who have earned the distinction of being among the most cited researchers in the world, according to Clarivate Analytics, formerly Thompson Reuters. It’s the second such recognition in a row for Simberloff. Those measurements came in relation to specific findings and papers rather than a cross-examination of ...

Center for the Dynamics of Social Complexity

UT is home to a new Center for the Dynamics of Social Complexity (DySoC), led by  Director Sergey Gavrilets.  Other EEB faculty involved in the center include Nina Fefferman and Lou Gross. “The goal of the Center is to promote connections and collaborations between different researchers focusing on various aspects and levels of human social behavior. ...

No Fortuitous Short-Cuts When Deciding Conservation Priorities

The Armsworth Lab has a new open-access publication out in Nature Communications: “Factoring economic costs into conservation planning may not improve agreement over priorities for protection.”  It is a collaboration between an interdisciplinary team of UT researchers with scientists at The Nature Conservancy and focuses on how best to identify candidate areas for establishing nature ...

Energy and Environment Forums, Spring 2018

The list of seminar speakers for the Spring 2018 Baker Center Energy and Environment Forums has been released!  Download the pdf here. Thursday, February 1—Laura Ogden, Energy and Environment Forum, 1–2:30 p.m., Toyota Auditorium. Ogden will present “Trace Impressions of Being: Loss, Change, and Wonder in the Fuegian Archipelago ” Dr. Ogden is an associate professor ...

Stachowiak Fellowship Finalist

Graduate Student Chad Stachowiak (Armsworth Lab), is a finalist for a 2018 Presidential Management Fellowship. “The PMF Program is a flagship leadership development program at the entry level for advanced degree candidates. It was created more than three decades ago by Executive Order and has gone through many changes over the years. The Program attracts and ...

Pierson Photography on Display

Graduate Student Todd Pierson (Fitzpatrick Lab) has some of his beautiful photography on display (and for sale) at Trailhead Beer Market in South Knoxville.  EEB uses some of his photos on the website.  Check it out!