July 2007

DEPARTMENTAL SEMINARS

Ralph Saporito (Major Advisor: Mo Donnelly) presented his Doctoral Dissertation Defense Seminar entitled “The relationship between alkaloid-based chemical defenses and diet in dendrobatid poison frogs” on 2 July 2007 at 2:00 pm in WC 130.

Bryan Delius (Major Advisor: Mike Heithaus) presented his Master’s Thesis Defense Seminar entitled “Distribution and consumer-mediated nutrient transport of juvenile bull sharks in an oligotrophic estuary” on 5 July 2007 in 10:00 am in Marine Biology 150 on the Biscayne Bay Campus.

Brian Sidoti (Major Advisor: Javier Francisco Ortega) presented his Master’s Thesis Defense Seminar entitled “A taxonomic revision of Tillandsia fasciculata Sw. (Bromeliaceae)” on 5 July 2007 at 3:00 pm in WC 130.

Travis Thyberg (Major Advisor: Jim Fourqurean) presented his Master’s Thesis Proposal Seminar entitled “Ecosystem metabolism and dissolved organic matter production by seagrass beds in Florida Bay” on 5 July 2007 at 3:00 pm in GC 276.

David Green (Major Advisor: Joel Trexler) presented his Master’s Thesis Defense Seminar entitled “Community structure and physiological stresses of oligohaline zone fishes in south Florida” on 6 July 2207 at 9:00 am in WC 130.

GRANTS & AWARDS

Robin Currey (Major Advisor: David Lee) received a $50,000 grant from Mercy Corps' Phoenix Fund in 2005. These funds provide seed capital to innovative and strategic economic development projects, encouraging high-risk, high-reward ventures in the world's poorest communities. These monies supported publication of “Apples in Home Gardens.” Recently, she obtained $50,000 for the expansion project from Mercy Corps' Phoenix Fund and an additional $75,000 from our implementing partner: Kompanion Financial Group, a micro credit financial institution in the Kyrgyz Republic. Congratulations Robin!

PRESENTATIONS

Several FIU students presented papers at the 2007 Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in St. Louis, Missouri (12-16 July 2007):

Bryan Delius (Major Advisor: Mike Heithaus) presented a co-authored oral paper: Delius, B. and M. Heithaus. Do bull sharks mediate upstream nutrient transport in the Florida coastal Everglades?

Vivian Maccachero (Major Advisor: Mo Donnelly) presetend a co-authored poster: Maccachero, V., R. Saporito, C. Guyer, and M. Donnelly. Amphibian and reptile species composition in two tropical swamps.

Ralph Saporito (Major Advisor: Mo Donnelly) presented a co-authored oral paper: Saporito, R., R. Zuercher, R. Marcus, K. Gerow, and M. Donnelly. Experimental evidence for aposematism in the dendrobatid poison frog Oophaga pumilio.

Steven Whitfield (Major Advisor: Mo Donnelly) presented a co-authored oral paper: Whitfield, S. and M. Donnelly. Amphibian and reptile declines at La Selva, Costa Rica: Patterns and processes in a collapsing tropical herpetofauna.

PUBLICATIONS

Robin Currey (Major Advisor: David Lee) recently published “Apples in in Home Gardens, Southern Shore, Lake Issyk-kul, Kyrgyz Republic.” The book is an identification handbook that contains color photographs and brief descriptions of nearly sixty different apple varieties that are currently being grown in home gardens, or small agricultural plots near households, along the south shore of Lake-Issyk-kul, Kyrgyz Republic. The book is available in Kyrgyz, Russian and English. Congratulations Robin!

MOVING ON

Jed Redwine (Major Advisor: Suzanne Koptur) recently accepted a job with PBS&J based in Jacksonville, Florida. Jed will work on the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration program (CERP) as part of his job. Congratulations Jed!

FORMER STUDENTS

Emmanuel M. Vera Cruz (Major Advisor: Chris Brown) recently published a paper from his dissertation: Vera Cruz, E.M. and C.L. Brown. 2007. The influence of social status on the rate of growth, eye color pattern, and insulin-like growth factor-I gene expression in Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus. Hormones and Behavior: 51:611-619.

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