Mentors and Research Programs Accepting REU Students
Mentors are recruited throughout the winter and spring. Check back for updates.
Please feel free to request a mentor or project in your application. Following acceptance, mentor assignment is based on student requests, mentor requests, and what we feel will be good matches.
Native Bee Pollinators of Blueberries (Ericaceae: Vaccinium spp.): Phenology of Floral Resource Use – Barbara Abraham (Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Hampton University). Although native pollinators of cultivated blueberries have been extensively studied in some areas e.g., Maine (Drummond 2003), the sequence of flowers they use before and after blueberry bloom has not been described in western Virginia. Knowing which plants native bees use when blueberries are not flowering is an important part of conserving both native pollinators and native plants. These plants provide essential resources for completion of the life cycle of many native bees, especially bumblebees (Vaughan and Black 2006; Delaplane and Mayer 2000). This research already has made valuable contributions to distribution and abundance records of native bees (D. Yanega, Dept. of Entomology Research Museum, UC Riverside on beemonitoring@yahoogroups.com, 24 Sept 2010), but more field seasons are necessary to complete a list of local bees. Petanidou et al. (2008) found few of the same species of pollinators and interactions between pollinators and plants in all four years of their study. The ranges of few species of native bees have been comprehensively mapped; almost any thorough study will find species “new” to the area. Population sizes of many native bees are thought to be declining, but population sizes are even less well known than ranges. Therefore, this study is expected to produce some much needed information on native bee distribution and abundance, as well as information on the phenology of their foraging. All of this is useful information for blueberry growers, wildlife managers, and conservation biologists who are interested in native plants and pollination networks (Kearns et al. 1998). This continuing research will: (1) add to poorly-known distribution and abundance data for native bees in the area; (2) add to our understanding of the abiotic variables determining native bee activity; (3) document floral visitation for both native and non-native bees, which will (4) help in determining possible competition between native and non-native bees in the area; and (5) assess the impact of non-native plant species on floral resource use by native bees. A new aspect of the project this year will be producing a “pollen library’ of pollen actually collected by bees so that actual pollination can be assessed, along with visitation.
Lack of Adaptation to an Extreme Environment – Hilary Edgington (PhD Student, University of Virginia Department of Biology). When species colonize an extreme habitat there is often a suite of morphological changes we can expect in response. Species that colonize cave habitats must adapt to conditions like lack of light and limited resources, and this has resulted in a classic cave morphology called troglomorphy, which includes traits like reduced pigmentation, loss of eye function, and enhanced extra-optic sensory structures. Facultative cave inhabitants, though the extent of their cave usage varies, generally do not gain the adaptations that we see in most cave-dwelling organisms. This research focuses on identifying constraints on adaptation in the Cave Salamander, Eurycea lucifuga. REU projects could involve behavioral experimentation in a lab setting or observational field studies of life history traits, among others.
Social Selection in the Forked Fungus Beetle – Vince Formica (Post-doctoral Researcher, Department of Biology, University of Virginia). Formica’s research focuses on a relatively new concept in the field of evolution called “social selection”. Social selection is the idea that the phenotypes of members of your own species can have important effects on the evolution of behaviors and other phenotypes. Building on previous ecological research at MLBS, Formica (in collaboration with Brodie) is exploring social selection in the forked fungus beetle (Bolitotherus cornutus). REU projects could investigate the evolutionary effects of a whole host of beetle behaviors including male-male combat, courtship, mating, and egg laying. An REU student could also examine how the social networks of this species affect the selective processes at work in this species.
Using Hormones to Study Adaptation and Constraint in Dark-eyed Juncos – Ellen Ketterson (Professor, Department of Biology, Indiana University), Dustin Reichard (Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Biology, Indiana University). With NSF support Ketterson and collaborators at MLBS explore the hormonal basis of phenotypic variation in mating and parental effort in a songbird, the dark-eyed junco. They assess gonadal responsiveness to hormonal stimulation and relate individual differences to performance and fitness. The goal is to learn how natural selection operates to produce animals whose parts work well together (phenotypic integration) and also to determine what happens when well adapted animals respond to changing environments The junco is highly variable geographically, having undergone rapid evolution in the past 10,000 years. Another goal of the research is to better understand the relationship between hormones and geographic differences in vocal behavior and plumage. Possible REU projects include (1) variation in testosterone and aggression in females (2) testosterone as a maternal effect, (3) population level differences in male vocal behavior.
Predicting Mammal Occurrence Across the Landscape Via Remote Detection – Marcella J. Kelly (Associate Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, Virginia Tech). Kelly’s work centers on estimating abundance and predicting occurrence/occupancy for low density, elusive species (e.g. usually carnivores). Passive, infrared remote camera photography can be used to “capture” species and individuals, and to build predictive models designed to gain insight into factors influencing occurrence and enabling co-existence among species. REU students will monitor large scale remote camera grids in the field, collect vegetation data, enter data on photo captures, and learn to model species abundance and occupancy in the computer lab. Focal species are mid to large carnivores and their potential prey.
The Ecology and Evolution of Plant Hybrid Systems – Eric Nagy (Associate Director, MLBS, Department of Biology, University of Virginia). Nagy's work explores the evolutionary dynamics of natural hybrid plant populations. Hybridization among populations or species can change the direction of evolution locally and has the potential to give rise to new ecotypes or even species very quickly. REU students will be involved in studies of genetic variation among and within populations and exploration of environment-specific selection on traits and character assemblages. Student projects involve a combination of population description, experimental manipulation in the field, greenhouse crossing studies, and molecular analysis.
Levels of Selection and the Evolution of the Sexes – Brian Sanderson (PhD Student, University of Virginia Department of Biology). My dissertation research concerns the evolution of sexual phenotypes in natural populations of a species of flowering plants called Silene vulgaris. This species maintains a sexual polymorphism between hermaphroditic individuals that possess both male and female reproductive structures, and so-called "male-steriles" that possess only functional female reproductive structures. This process involves genetic conflict between loci in the mitochondria and the nucleus. I propose to investigate how selection acts on these phenotypes on multiple levels: within an individual through cyto-nuclear conflict, among individuals within a population through sex allocation, and among populations through group-level selective processes. This project offers opportunities for undergraduate researchers involving field-based descriptive and manipulative experiments, molecular ecological genetics, and bioinformatics.
Herbivory by Deer as a Selective Force on Life History Traits – Janet Steven (Associate Professor, Department of Biology, Sweet Briar College). The rapid growth of white-tailed deer populations in Eastern forests has well-documented impacts on the abundance and diversity of understory wildflowers. Steven's research focuses on the potential evolutionary responses of plants to this recent increase in herbivory. In collaboration with Laura Galloway (University of Virginia and MLBS), she is studying the role of deer in altering patterns of selection in American Bellflower (Campanulastrum americanum). Plants that are eaten are more likely to die before flowering, and those that survive flower later. REU projects may involve identifying the traits that help a plant escape herbivory, and determining whether selection on plant traits differs between eaten and uneaten plants.
Parasite co-infection dynamics in Peromyscus mice – Courtney Thomason (PhD student, Texas Tech University). Thomason's work explores the dynamics between hosts and parasites in order to expand this framework to include the effects of multi-parasite co-infections. Most host-parasite research historically follows a one host-one parasite framework. However, we know now this is not realistic, and most hosts are infected by many parasites simultaneously, while many parasites can infect multiple hosts. The goal of this study is to use experimental manipulations to elucidate how natural parasite infections and co-infections interact in wild hosts (Peromyscus mice) and how these interactions can modulate and be modulated by the immune response. Student projects may involve study of parasite vector transmission dynamics, parasite recolonization, and host population dynamics and demography.
Forest Ecology – Becky Wilbur (Ph.D., Mountain Lake Biological Station) and Henry Wilbur (B.F.D. Runk Professor, Department of Biology and Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia). Henry and Becky Wilbur have been studying the dynamics of a second-growth mixed deciduous stand at Mountain Lake Biological Station starting in 1982. We have individually mapped all the woody stems on a hectare and have also tagged and measured, but not mapped, additional trees on several surrounding hectares. Our approach combines tree-ring analysis of growth, changes in size structure, species abundance, and mortality to understand how different species have responded to disturbance events, such as ice storms, fire, and hurricanes. The goal is to provide insight into how this forest may develop on decadal to centennial scales. In 2012 we plan to census all tagged trees to record three-year growth rates and mortality over the mild winter of 2011/2012. We will work with our REU as a team for the fieldwork. The REU will work with us to develop an individual project the uses these data, perhaps with supplemental field measurement, to study a question about forest dynamics on interest to her/him. We will have a list of suggestions to guide, but not dictate, this process.
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