Biodiversity Blog
Hidden Greenhouse Gems
On the roof of the Patterson building (PAT) lives one of the world’s most diverse greenhouse collections of mainly neotropical vines from the large genus of Passiflora. Dr. Larry Gilbert, Director of the Brackenridge Field Lab, has been growing them for studies of coevolution, chemical ecology and biodiversity of the insect fauna that relies on the...
Meet Stengl-Wyer Fellow: Xinyi Yan
Tell us where you came from before UT, and what you studied then? I was born and raised in the Yangtze Delta region in China, where the lush nature started my interests in botany. In my undergrad, I studied Biology and Applied Math at UCLA, and did research with Gaurav Kandlikar in Nathan Kraft’s lab group. I integrated my training in math and ecol...
Meet Krushnamegh Kunte
Field work in the Andaman Islands Dr. Krushnamegh Kunte is Principal Investigator and Faculty Coordinator of the Biodiversity Research Collections in Bengaluru, India, where he is also Curator of Lepidoptera, Cicadas, and Odonata. He is also Associate Professor at the National Centre for Biological Sciences. Kunte received his PhD here from UT i...
New graduate student funds in biodiversity research
We are pleased to announce funding, supported by a generous gift from the Winkler Family Foundation to the Biodiversity Center, to support graduate student research in Biodiversity. The fund for UT graduate students will provide support for unanticipated research supplies and laboratory charges to help graduate students complete Dissertation Resear...
Talk with Krushnamegh Kunte on mimicry in swallowtail butterflies
We are pleased to have Dr. Krushnamegh Kunte from the National Centre for Biological Sciences in India to give a talk at UT! Title: Templates, Evolutionary Pathways and Biodiversity Revolutions: Tales of Mimicry in Swallowtails Date and time: 10 am, Friday, November 10th, 2023 Location: NHB 1.720 About the talk: The ea...
Meet Stengl-Wyer Fellow: Kristina Black
Diving on a healthy reef at Orpheus Island Research Station in Australia, 2019 (photo: Misha Matz) Kristina Black is one of our 2023 Stengl-Wyer Fellows. She is a PhD candidate in the lab of Dr. Misha Matz. Kristina talks here about her broad undergraduate research leading to her passion of researching genetic adaptation for coral restorati...
Animal Weapons
October's Science Under the Stars event features 2021 Stengl-Wyer Scholar Ummat Somjee in a talk titled: Animal Weapons: The evolution of horns, tusks, antlers and other signals Thursday, October 12th, 7 pm Brackenridge Field Lab, 2907 Lake Austin Blvd, Austin, TX 78703 Ummat studies the evolution of exaggerated sexually selected trai...
Meet Stengl-Wyer Scholar: Ed Basham
Ed fundraising for a Gabon expedition in 2022. Ed Basham is one of our 2023 Stengl-Wyer Scholars. He is an amphibian ecologist, researching the threats of climate change and chytrid fungus disease to rainforest frogs occupying different forest strata. As part of the Stengl Wyer Endowment, the Stengl Wyer Postdoctoral Scholars Program provid...
The Year After
Mosses appear post fire. A year ago, I was sitting in the bus on my way home, cursing the heat, staring out the window at the suffering plants when my phone started to buzz and buzz. Turns out, it wasn’t some bot spammer calling me from Valentine, Nebraska. I was getting news about a fire at one of our field stations: Stengl Lost Pines Bio...
Applications open for 2023-2024 Stengl-Wyer Graduate Fellowships
The College of Natural Sciences (CNS) is pleased to announce that it is now accepting applications for the 2024 Stengl-Wyer Graduate Fellowships competition! ABOUT THE AWARD The Stengl-Wyer Graduate Fellowships fund doctoral candidates pursuing dissertation research on the diversity of life and organisms in their natural environments, acr...
Science Under the Stars: the natural history of central Texas
Join us for our first Science Under the Stars talk of Fall 2023 featuring Callen Inman, a PhD candidate in the Department of Integrative Biology. He’ll delve into the captivating natural history of central Texas and unveil why it’s an exceptional hotspot for biodiversity. About the talk: Central Texas lacks the dense rainforest, ver...
Mongbay founder Rhett Butler to visit UT
Rhett Butler, founder of environmental journalism website Mongabay, is coming to UT Austin! Rhett will hold three public events on campus. On Tuesday, September 12th at 11:00 am in NHB 1.720, Rhett will give a talk on "Science communication lessons from 20+ years of running Mongabay." Then, on Wednesday night, September 1...
Careers in Conservation with Jeff Weigel
We are pleased to have Jeff Weigel, Director of Strategic Initiatives for The Nature Conservancy in Texas, give a talk for the series: Careers in Conservation. Jeff will talk about his career in conservation, his path to his current position, and the different kinds of jobs one can pursue. There will be plenty of time available for Q&A after. G...
Commemorating Black Agency at UT
Friday, September 15 from 2:30 to 4pm is a gathering event at the Gearing Hall Patio to celebrate the "Breaking Barriers: Black Agency at UT Austin" site activation for the Sweatt v. Painter Commemorative Project. The site activation is a temporary art installation that will take place on the north lawns of T.S. Painter Hall along 24...
Announcing the 2023 Stengl-Wyer Scholars, Fellows and Grant Awardees
Funded by the Stengl-Wyer Endowment, the Stengl-Wyer Scholars Program provides up to three years of independent support for talented postdoctoral researchers in the broad area of the diversity of life and/or organisms in their natural environments. The endowment also supports the Stengl-Wyer Fellowship Program, year-long fellowships for doctoral ca...
Learning about Central Texas Salamanders through eDNA
The word enigmatic may evoke images of mysterious individuals, things that lurk in the shadows, but not usually salamanders. However, if you ask members in the lab of David Hillis to describe the Eurycea salamanders of Central Texas, enigmatic is certainly appropriate. These creatures are native to aqueous regions of the Edwards-Trinity aquif...
History of UT Botany, Part 3: Curator Mary Sophie Young
This piece was originally published in January 2017 in the Dept. of Integrative Biology History Project. The third blog in our UT botany history series focuses on Marie Sophie Young. In 1912, Young became the first official curator of the relatively new herbarium at UT, when the university was only 29 years old. She was an early Texas STEM educator...
Applications open for 2023-2024 Stengl-Wyer Scholars Program
The College of Natural Sciences is pleased to announce that it is now accepting applications for the 2023-2024 Stengl-Wyer Scholars Competition! Recent PhDs are invited to apply for distinguished postdoctoral positions to study the diversity of life and/or organisms in their natural environments at The University of Texas at Austin (UT), ...
Faculty position open in Plant Biodiversity & Evolution
The Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Texas at Austin seeks to fill a faculty position in the area of Plant Biodiversity and Evolution at the level of Assistant or Associate Professor. Candidates' research accomplishments and aims should show evidence of originality and innovation in addressing significant questions i...
