Biodiversity Blog
Pets as Invasive Species: Dogs
Woof. (Photo: Andrea Stacks) Last in our series on pets as invasive species looks at “Man’s Best Friend.” Are pooches so perfect? First, let’s define what an invasive species is. We’ve got a great blog on it here, but to summarize: the National Invasive Species Information Center defines an invasive species as non-native to the ecosystem i...
Extra, extra, read all about it! Invasive Guinea grass research at BFL in the news
Invasive Guinea grass in South Texas forms dense stands that pose an intense fire hazard when dry. Dr. Aaron Rhodes conducts research into these impacts. When we think of an invasive species, we typically imagine the one we know best here in Texas: the Red Imported Fire Ant (Solenopsis invicta). Swarming, stinging, disrupting everything in its p...
Brackenridge Field Lab awarded Green Fund for community-based restoration of Schulle Creek
Permanent water in Schulle Creek at BFL (Photo: Larry Gilbert) The Schulle Creek Restoration Program at the Brackenridge Field Lab (BFL) has been funded by a Green Fund award from the Office of Sustainability at UT Austin. The funds will support an ambitious multi-year project to restore native biodiversity of the Schulle Creek area which has be...
Science Under the Stars: Mysteries from the Neotropics
The last Science Under the Stars talk of the season is Thursday, May 11th! This free event will be held outdoors at the Brackenridge Field Laboratory. Talk title: Mysteries from the Neotropics: Trees, lianas, and others About the talk: the Neotropics are covered in mysteries that fascinate us. Are trees and l...
Meet Stengl-Wyer Scholar: Chatura Vaidya
Chatura Vaidya is one of our 2022 Stengl-Wyer Scholars who is working with Dr. Shalene Jha and Dr. Amelia Wolf. As part of the Stengl-Wyer Endowment, the Stengl-Wyer Postdoctoral 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 i...
Restoring the Vanessa Butterfly Garden
CAMN member digging through rock soil to plant three red yuccas (Hesperaloe parviflora), a favorite for hummingbirds and night-pollinating moths. Not so long ago, there was a butterfly garden at the Brackenridge Field Laboratory, one of the field stations in UT’s growing field station network. This garden was initially created in 2012 with fundi...
Science Under the Stars: How Animals Adapt to Climate Change
We would like to invite you to attend our next Science Under the Stars talk of the season Thursday, April 13th! This will be an in-person event held outdoors at the Brackenridge Field Laboratory. Talk Title: How animals adapt to climate change, and how kids can help them About the talk: As our plan...
Armadillos to Ziziphus: David Hillis Talks About His New Book
Courtesy University of Texas Press 2023 With a state as big as Texas is, there is an extremely diverse ecology. From high altitude desert mountains in the west, to our vast coastline, to low-lying swamps in the east. Since most of the residents of the Lone Star State live in urban centers, sometimes it’s difficult to learn about the plants...
Postdoc job opening at Stengl Lost Pines
We have just posted an opening for a Postdoc to lead the post-fire research recovery effort at one of our field stations, Stengl Lost Pines. The postdoc will oversee a small crew with to update previous studies that were disrupted or damaged by a large fire that occurred last summer. The studies include surveys of the forest tree and understory com...
"Save the Insects, Save the Planet" with Dr. May Berenbaum
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED. Please stay tuned for a possible reschedule in the near future. Email nicole.elmer[at]austin.utexas.edu if you have any questions About the talk: With more than a million described species, the Class Insecta is the most species-rich group of multicellular organisms on Earth; insects can be found in...
History of UT Botany, Part 1: The Beginnings
Front and back of 1904 photo by HB Buck. (From Dolph Briscoe Center for American History). "Department of Botany U of T, Cooperia drummondii, Rain 'lilly', Campus U of T, April 20, '04. From HB Buck, 400 W. 38th St. Austin, TX." This blog starts off the new series for our Biodiversity Collections, with the focus on botany and what is now c...
Meet Stengl-Wyer Fellow: Sam Smith
Sam and singing mouse (Scotinomys teguina) caught in Costa Rica Sam Smith is one of our 2022 Stengl-Wyer Fellows. Sam studies rodent vocal mechanisms in the lab of Dr. Steven Phelps. In this blog, she talks about her wide interests in biology, the fascinating way rodent vocalizations work, and how her fellowship is assisting with her research. T...Job opening for Field Stations Managing Director
Students researching plant competition at Brackenridge Field Lab.
The University of Texas at Austin Field Station Network, operated by the Biodiversity Center, seeks a forward-looking Managing Director to develop and plan the operations and research activities across a growing network. While each field station provides significant researc... 
UT Spring Bee Competition 2023. We have a winner!
USDA Photo by Jack Dykinga We're pleased to announce we have a winner for the UT Spring Bee Competition! The winner is Caroline Chessher ('22) who collected a male Osmia on Mountain Laurel flowers on campus at 1:27pm, February 13th. She will win a free wall poster: “Back Yard Bees of North America”! The Entomology Collection holds a yearly...
The Next Frontier of Science is in your Backyard (with you and your smartphone)
Dr. Pauly's talk has been recorded and can be viewed by clicking here We are pleased to announce that Dr. Greg Pauly is the first spring semester speaker sponsored by the Biodiversity Center, and he will be talking about urban biodiversity. Talk title: The Next Frontier of Science is in your Backyard (with you and your sm...
Meet Stengl-Wyer Fellow: Erik Iverson
Erik and a painted bunting (Passerina ciris.) Erik Iverson is one of our 2022 Stengl-Wyer Fellows. Erik studies the influence of mitochondrial genetics and physiology on many aspects of biodiversity and conservation. His research interests and studies have taken him to very diverse places across the globe. In this blog, he talks about his ...
The Woods of 214
When you enter room 214 in the Biological Laboratories Building (BIO), the first thing that may strike you is the wood paneling. You may then dismiss the room as a relic from the 1970s when cheap and sometimes synthetic wood paneling was all the rage. (That along with linoleum and an over-abundant use of anything avocado colored.) But BIO 214 has a...
Meet Stengl-Wyer Scholar: Guillaume Dury
Guillaume Dury is one of our 2022 Stengl-Wyer Scholars who will be working in the lab of Dr. Brian Sedio. As part of the Stengl Wyer Endowment, the Stengl Wyer Postdoctoral 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 thei...
Diving Deep into Microbes
When you think of microbes, what are the first things that come to mind? Disease, pathogens, the same old boring things, but microbes are so much more than that! They produce the air that we breathe and the food that we eat. They live as high as our upper atmosphere and as low as the depths of the ocean, and everywhere in between. In this talk...
