Meeting » Biodiversity in Focus Blog

ESA 2011 – The Plan

Entomology, Life as a Grad Student, Meeting, Travel 7 Responses »

Nov 082011

As I mentioned yesterday on Tuesday Tunes, I’m heading West this weekend to partake in the Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting in Reno, Nevada. Besides marking my first time in the Pacific Time Zone, this conference will also be the first time I’ve given a triplet of talks at a conference, as I’ve been invited to give 3 talks in 3 different symposia! Chronologically, here’s my talk schedule:

Sunday Nov. 13 — Citizen Scientists in Entomology Research (Room A2, First Floor)

11:35-11:55 — “CJAI & citizen science – putting the “public” in publication” – M.D. Jackson & S.A. Marshall

Abstract: The Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification (CJAI) is dedicated to providing high- quality, peer-reviewed identification aids to allow naturalists of all levels access to North America’s biodiversity. With papers published by both funded and unfunded professionals and shared online as 100% open access, CJAI has been referenced by scientists around the world, and has assisted countless “amateurs” in identifying specimens and photos. In the information age, CJAI unlocks the gate to biodiversity and democratizes the identification of insects and arthropods around us. Examples of published and upcoming publications and the impact they are expected to have will be presented.

Here’s a little announcement for you; I’m the new Technical Editor for the Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification, where I’ll be taking over from Dave Cheung as he moves on to a new job in Copenhagen! He’s left some pretty big shoes to fill, but I’m really looking forward to contributing to the running of the journal, and will be discussing how CJAI is a great resource for citizen science projects. Also, expect plenty more info on CJAI coming up in the near future here on the blog!

Sunday Nov. 13 — Myths, Misconceptions, and Mental Modifications: Identify, Clarify and Speak Out about Entomology (Room A13, First Floor)

14:50-15:05 — “The Social Entomologist: How connecting with social media can benefit your research program” – M.D. Jackson

This is a similar talk to the one I gave at the Entomological Society of Ontario AGM a few weeks ago (which was a great meeting and something I’ll write about soon), where I’ll be discussing the power of social media for entomology research and discussing how you can incorporate social media into your project. This is a topic which I find really interesting, and hope to do a week-long series of posts shortly after my return from Reno to share and expand on some ideas I have!

Wednesday Nov. 16 — Biosurveillance: Using a Native Wasp Cerceris fumipennis to Find Emerald Ash Borer and Other Species of Buprestidae (Room A12, First Floor)

16:30-16:50 — “A Field Guide to Northeastern Jewel Beetles: Identifying the prey of Cerceris fumipennis including both native and invasive species of Buprestidae” – M.D. Jackson, S.M. Paiero, & A. Jewiss-Gaines

This is a project I’ve been working on for over a year now and which I’ve been unable to publicly discuss until now. Myself, Steve Paiero and Adam Jewiss-Gaines, in collaboration with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, are putting the final touches on a massive field guide to the Buprestidae of Northeastern North America, which should be in print in early 2012! With over 450 pages of colour illustrations, this field guide is designed to allow forestry professionals, border inspection agents, researchers and naturalists alike to recognize these beautiful yet economically important beetles, and features some stunning images and identification resources which I’m very proud to be a part of! Again, I’ll be sharing plenty more information here on the blog regarding the field guide, and hope to start showcasing some of these beautiful beetles which are found in our own backyards!

Between my talks I’ll be running around like a mad man trying to take in as many presentations, posters and other events as I can. Here are a couple I’m especially looking forward to:

Mon. Nov. 14 – 11:03-11:15 — Descriptions of Glyphidops flavifrons (Bigot) (Diptera: Neriidae) – Charity G. Owings

Tue. Nov. 15 – 9:40-10:00 — Design and development of web-based identification tools for wood boring beetles: a case study – Eugenio H. Nearns

Tue. Nov. 15 – 10:00-10:20 — A traditional taxonomists view on modern web-based insect identification — Charles O’Brien

Tue. Nov. 15 – 15:35-15:50 — Sharing the wonderful world of insects via the internet – Brett R. Blaauw

Tue. Nov. 15 – 17:05-17:20 — Operation global insect media domination: the adventures of Bug Girl – Bug G. Membracid

When I find a moment to breathe I’ll be checking on the multiple poster sessions (there are a bunch of Guelph students sharing their work this year) as well as scoping out the vendors, job bank and pretty well anything else I happen to wander into! And guess what! I’m taking you all with me, digitally speaking. I’ll be doing much the same as I did for my trip to Costa Rica last summer, providing a nightly report of the day’s activities, but I also hope to tweet my way through the conference as well, sharing all sorts of interesting insect news and science with you! If you’ve considered joining Twitter, perhaps this would be a good time to do so, just don’t forget to follow me @BioInFocus!

After the meeting concludes, a friend and I are going to take a mini road trip to do some exploring, so hopefully I’ll have plenty of new photos to share on my return.

It’s shaping up to be a crazy week, but I’m excited to take it all in, and I if you’ll be in Reno make sure to say hello!

What Wasp Art Thou?

Cool Science, Entomology, General Information, Meeting, Taxonomy, Workshop 6 Responses »

Jul 092011

What’s this antlered little wasp you may be asking yourself? To be honest, I have no clue! Probably something in the Chalcidoidea, but really, I have no idea.

What I do know is there’s somewhere I could go to learn all about these endearing little wasps, as well as their larger yet equally diverse parasitic brethren. That place? The HYM Course, offered by a collaboration of top hymenopterists from around the USA. This course was designed to teach you how to identify parasitic Hymenoptera, and provide information on the phylogenetic relationships between groups, as well as the behaviour, biology and host interactions which make these wasps fascinating.

The course is being held August 14-20 at the Humboldt Field Research Institute in beautiful coastal Maine, and looks to be a good time, with lessons taught in the field, in the lab, and in the classroom. The enrollment is limited to 14 people (with 5 instructors, that promises plenty of 1-on-1 interaction), and there are still several spaces available from what I’ve been told. If you’re a naturalist, insect photographer, graduate student or professional entomologist who wants or needs to learn more about parasitic Hymenoptera, then this course is a steal for gaining valuable knowledge and making important connections with some of the world’s leading taxonomists!
For more information, and to find out how you can enroll and begin exploring the Parasitica, check out the promotional PDF. Contact any of the instructors listed at the bottom of the flyer to enroll or to receive additional details!

ESO 2010 Recap

Entomology, Meeting, Trip Report 3 Responses »

Jan 192011

As they say, better late than never, but man, this one is really late. The annual general meeting of the Entomological Society of Ontario was held October 15-17 2010 and as usual, it was a great meeting!

I look forward to the ESO meeting every fall, as it gives me a chance to catch up with other grad students from around the province, learn something new, and become inspired going into the dark winter months! The diversity of entomological graduate research being done throughout Ontario never ceases to amaze me, with students presenting on topics ranging from agricultural pest control to freeze-tolerance biology, and from taxonomy to forest ecology, representing 6 Ontario universities. I’ll come back to the student talks a little later, but they were certainly one of the highlights.

Before the official start of the meeting, I attended my first board meeting for the Society as the new webmaster. This was quite the experience, and provided my first look into the inner workings of how things get done in academia. Plenty of lively debate and many great ideas for the future of the society made the 5 hour meeting a breeze!

Following the board meeting was the obligatory ESO Mixer, a chance for students and researchers to meet, greet, and enjoy a beverage or two before the meeting gets underway!

The next morning started with the plenary session, featuring talks by Dr. Sherah VanLaerhoven of the University of Windsor and Dr. Amanda Moehring from the University of Western Ontario. Dr. VanLaerhoven is a forensic entomologist, making this the second time this year I’ve been faced with graphic imagery from depressing stories less than an hour after breakfast. Sherah related her work on the Steven Truscott case, and this being a scientific conference, held nothing back about the case, displaying actual crime scene and autopsy photos while explaining the significance of the entomological evidence gathered by the coroner. It’s hard to remain objective and detached when shown photos of an abused and murdered young girl, and I commend all those in law enforcement who deal with these sights in person; it’s certainly not a job that I could do. The mood was considerably lightened by Dr. Moehring’s talk on sex and genetics in Drosophila, and everyone was well prepared for the beginning of the student talks following her energetic presentation.

As I mentioned earlier, the student talks are the real highlight of ESO, and this year didn’t disappoint. A wide diversity of topics kept the audience mentally on edge as they heard all about the breakthroughs made by Ontario students. Although all of the talks were well presented and full of excellent research, I personally found blog-reader Miles Zhang’s talk on host shifts in gall wasps (Cynipidae) and their associated parasitoids from a native rose to a recently introduced rose to be one of the most exciting discoveries. A textbook example of the evolutionary pressures imposed by parasitism and the way hosts are constantly looking for an edge! I hope that he’ll agree to share this fantastic story here once he’s published his findings (hint, hint)! Check out the ESO Meeting program for a full list of student presentations, and the President’s Prize winners are listed on the ESO Website.

As part of the meeting package, all the food was provided, and that included the excellent banquet on Saturday night. With plenty of food, wine and fellowship, everyone appeared to be having a great time. Dr. Nusha Keyghobadi shared her research in the field of Lepidopteran landscape genetics during dessert, and after a couple of trips to the pie cart, the grad students organized an impromptu student mixer! It was a great chance to unwind after presentations and discuss some of the shared issues of grad work and life, and carried on well into the night.

Sunday saw the final student talks, and a few regular member talks before the awarding of ESO Fellowships and the passing of the “Roach & Gavel” to the incoming president.

Overall, ESO 2010 was a great success, and more than enough to get me through until the spring and fresh insects! If you’re in the area next year, ESO 2011 will be hosted by Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario; mark your calendar and start getting that data analyzed!

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