Five members of the lab go to the first meeting of the recently resurrected SCP to give presentations. Kate presents a talk based on her previous cormorant research, Dan talks about the newly discovered ciliate pathogen of striped shore crabs, and three of our lab assistants (Nathan, Rachel, & Erik) also go to present posters on various aspects of estuarine bird parasitology.
Ryan gives talk at Penn State
Ryan is able to spend a few days meeting with colleagues at the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics at Penn State University. David Hughes (the “zombie ant guy)” is hosting him. Ryan will give his talk that focuses on how trematode parasitic castrators (body snatchers) can serve as tools to probe fundamental life history theory and as a new model system for the ecology and evolution of complex sociality.
Siri Riise visits
As the first part of our collaborative Euhaplorchis project, Oyvind Overli’s PhD student, Siri, arrives from Norway. She will spend three weeks here, studying behavior and brain chemistry of California killifish infected and not infected by Euhaplorchis californiensis.
New PhD student to join lab
Anai Novoa, who is already working with us, will start our PhD program next Fall. She plans to examine the biogeography of parasitism, particularly emphasizing species range expansions.
Bird collecting in Morro Bay
Ryan, Kate, and Andrew return from a successful few days at Morro Bay, where they collected birds for parasitology.