Departmental Seminar Series
Seminars are held Thursdays from 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m, in SSC 2315. All interested are welcome to attend.
Fall 2024
October 10, 2024 - Dr. Greg Gross, University of Alberta
Topic: Physiology of the Pacific hagfish: an extremophile extraordinaire!
Greg has established a large and multidimensional research program that connects individual responses to aquatic stressors through to watershed regulation and management, incorporating contemporary challenges of regional (e.g., fracking fluids) and global (e.g., aquatic acidification, nanoparticle and microplastic pollution) import. At the core of this broad and impactful research is a curious comparative physiologist; and so Greg’s seminar will highlight his contributions to understanding the novelties and wonders of hagfish physiology.
October 17, 2024 - Dr. Joe Kim, McMaster University
Topic: Evidence based practices in education
October 24, 2024 - Dr. Brent Patterson, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
Topic: Population ecology of canids and ungulates
October 31, 2024 - Dr. Katie Marshall, University of British Columbia
Topic: Thermal physiology of invertebrates
Katie is an Associate Professor at UBC. She works with a wide variety of species to try to understand the physiological mechanisms driving species ranges. Her work combines 'omics technology with more traditional physiological techniques and ecological modelling to understand the causes and consequences of low temperature and desiccation stress. A major focus includes using more ecologically relevant stressors that vary over time rather than the single exposures that are often used in physiological studies.
November 7 , 2024 - Dr. Jackie Goordial, University of Guelph
Topic: Microorganisms and nutrient biogeochemical cycling
"Left out in the cold: the microbial ecology of cryophilic life"
"Though considered to be “extremophiles”, microorganisms that are metabolically active and that can replicate at sub-zero temperatures exist in cryoenvironments nearly ubiquitously on our planet. Cryoenvironments on Earth represent a natural laboratory in which we can observe the natural constraints to microbial activity and survival at low temperature, understanding where life can, and cannot, persist under conditions known to be harsh to life. This talk will present recent work in both Arctic and Antarctic permafrost settings. I will discuss Canadian Arctic permafrost where cold-adapted microbiota are thriving, with potential implications for our entire planet. I will also discuss arid, Antarctic permafrost settings, where the limits of active microbial life are being encroached upon. Finally, I will touch on how an increased understanding of cryophilic lifestyles on Earth will also help inform how (and where) we look for potential microbial life on cold planetary bodies in our solar system such as Mars, Europa, and Enceladus."
November 14, 2024 - Dr. Alexandra Karl, University of Guelph
Topic: Darwinism, evolution, and art
Dr Karl will present published and unpublished material drawn from her graduate studies (Munich, Cambridge) in which she considered how German artists were impacted by the Darwinian revolution in the 19th Century. By imagining scenes from deep time and evolutionary scenarios, the resulting works on canvas displayed imagery so uncanny, that it not only surpassed the popular cartoons of the day, but also the oeuvres of their contemporaries in Europe. Moreover, their renderings of the "Tiermensch" (Germ. 'Animal-in-Man') and various other hybrids are unprecedented in the History of Art. More information can be found on her website.
November 21, 2024 - Keshia Talking Waters DeFreece Lawrence, Harvard University
Topic: Sovereign science & ecological kinship
November 28, 2024 - Alannah Grant & Jonathan Chu, University of Guelph
Topic: FREED: Field Research in Ecology and Evolution Diversified, time to put your money where your mouth is!
December 5, 2024 - Dr. Liana Zanette, Western University
Topic: Microorganisms and nutrient biogeochemical cycling
Winter 2025
TBA