On episode #18 I'm joined by Becca Clement (@beccasbugs) and Keylie Gibson (@gibsonkeylie) who are both PhD candidates at George Washington University's Computational Biology Institute. We begin by defining computational biology and then see how their research projects (related to Black Rhino conservation and the Australian termite diversity anomaly) both rely on analyzing huge amounts of data. If you are at the Ecological Society of America's annual meeting in Louisville this week check out their talks!

In this episode, I chat with Meredith Zettlemoyer a PhD candidate at Michigan State University who works at the Kellogg Biological Station. Meredith studies responses of prarie communities to different aspects of global change like nitrogen addition, deer herbivory and climate change. In this episode we chat about what it's like to have many different work experiences while being a student. Meredith's journey was shaped by jobs working with AmeriCorps and as a writer. I made sure to ask Meredith for lots of writing suggestions! She also listed this book by Chimamanda Adichie as her favorite and I'm excited to read it soon Half of a Yellow Sun Meredith's website Follow Meredith on twitter

In today's episode I talk with Gina Ramirez, a PhD candidate at Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste in La Paz, Mexico. Gina and I met just over a year ago when I was an instructor with the NGO Clubes de Ciencia. Gina is one of the amazingly dedicated staff members in La Paz and with the team there, she coordinates 1 week workshops for undergraduates in Mexico that are all about science! We also get to hear about Gina's exciting research that includes analzying data about fish communities in national parks and a National Geographic funded project involving an underwater ROV. Clubes de Ciencia  Gina's Research CIBNOR UABCS Alcoholes académicos

[update] Dr. Chelsea Little defended her PhD recently!! Congrats Dr. Little!! If you want to stream her defense talk, check it out here In this conversation I chat with Chelsea about the differences between PhD programs in the US and Europe. Chelsea is a PhD candidate in the Altermatt lab at the University of Zurich. Also, Chelsea was kind enough to survey a group of colleagues (N = 18) about their experiences in graduate school in Europe. See below for all the details. This is a treasure trove of cool information, so read on! Chelsea's website and twitter

In today's episode I chat with Manuel Lequerica, a PhD candidate at the University of Sydney.  We talk about the fascinating aspects of urban ecology including light pollution, human connection with nature and plant/insect interactions.  We also have fun discussions about what it's like to follow different passions for research and why it's OK to be fascinated by lots of different things.  Thanks to Manuel for this episode!! Also, thank you Alejandra Echeverri for introducing us.  If you haven't listened to the episode I recorded with Ale, you should! (It's episode number 13).   This is our lab website but it is terribly out of date (sorry!). I am also part of this research group, which focuses more on insect behaviour. You can find us on facebook as The Hochuli Lab and Invertebrate Behaviour and Ecology Lab, respectively.    My two papers about urban ecology are under review, so I can't really share them. Anyhow, I do have a blog (which covers a lot of ground, but is also a bit out of date). My Twitter handle is @M_Lequerica   Want to learn more about the research groups that Manuel is part of? Check out these publications: Arthropod responses to urbanisation: Environmental drivers of spider community composition at multiple scales along an urban gradient EC Lowe, CG Threlfall, SM Wilder, DF Hochuli Biodiversity and Conservation 27 (4), 829-852 Petrol exhaust pollution impairs honey bee learning and memory RJ Leonard, V Vergoz, N Proschogo, C McArthur, DF Hochuli Oikos Human wellbeing and urban greeenspaces: Wellbeing and urban living: nurtured by nature L Taylor, AK Hahs, DF Hochuli Urban Ecosystems 21 (1), 197-208 Defining greenspace: Multiple uses across multiple disciplines L Taylor, DF Hochuli Landscape and Urban Planning 158, 25-38 Insects and urban agriculture: Bee-friendly community gardens: Impact of environmental variables on the richness and abundance of exotic and native bees JC Makinson, CG Threlfall, T Latty Urban Ecosystems 20 (2), 463-476 Engaging urban stakeholders in the sustainable management of arthropod pests EC Lowe, T Latty, CE Webb, MEA Whitehouse, ME Saunders Journal of Pest Science, 1-16   We talked about other cool urban ecology studies.  Here are some of them:   London Underground mosquitos: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/london-underground-has-its-own-mosquito-subspecies-180958566/   Rats in NYC: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2018/06/05/as-cities-report-more-rats-than-ever-scientists-find-eastside-and-westside-rodents/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.2e0b79cf286e   Global urban evolution project: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/20/science/white-clover-evolution.html    

On today's podcast I chat with Alejandra Echeverri who is a Phd candidate at the University of British Columbia and environmental consultant.  Ale describes environmental consulting work and tells us about some of her past and current projects.  She describes ways to get involved in consulting as a way to engage with ecological research and as a potential career path.   website: https://alejandraecheverriochoa.wordpress.com/ twitter: @ornithoale

Anna's a PhD student at University of Connecticut.  She studies bat viruses which is super fascinating!  We talk a little about Anna's research, but in this discussion we focus on our strategies coping when things don't go as we envisioned in research or our overall grad school plans. Find Anna on social media here: Twitter: Anna_Rose_Sjodin Instagram: @lady_virus_hunter website: https://www.annarosesjodin.com/

So excited to be joined by Laura Abondano on this episode.  Laura and I started chatting about recording this show about a year ago.  I found Laura's work on the website 500 women scientists.  She studies woolly monkey reproductive behaviors and paternity patterns.  We hear all about Laura's research and what it's like studying primates in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest. Laura has a website with colleagues where they post awesome info about woolly monkeys. Find it here: https://monochorongo.wordpress.com/  

In this episode, I have a fun conversation with Dave Thomas from University of Oklahoma.  We walk about Dave's research in plant biology and biofuels.  We also hear about his strategies for using carnivorous plants to teach plant bio at his home institution!

In this episode I chat with Abbie Kropf a 2nd year PhD student at Iowa State University.  Abbie is in the department of entomology at Iowa State.  In this episode, we talk about how Abbie started in her Masters research in Costa Rica.  She spend multiple seasons in Costa Rica studying forest fragmentation with Dr. Mike Wasserman and Dr. Peter Beck.   We also have a great discussion about perserserverance in grad school and suggestions for finding grad school labs that will be a good fit. As a side note, Abbie was incredibly kind when my dog began barking mid-recording.  Thanks, Abbie!! Find more info on Abbie's research here: https://www.ent.iastate.edu/dept/faculty/gassmann/people/abigail-kropf