"Mean seeds" and their role in grass awn migration disease in sporting dogs

Grass awn migration disease that affects sporting dogs is thought to have increased over the past few decades.

Short bristles found at the end of the grass seeds, especially in unmoved and natural grasslands, can infect sport dogs and at times they can be fatal.

Sharp pointed part of the barbed seed can travel into the dog's body and lodge themselves in many vital organs causing serious infections resulting in its death.

Dr. William Lauenroth received a grant from the Canine Health Foundation to assess the impact of this disease and also create a list of the problem green seeds and their planting frequency in the marginal croplands of the US.

Canada wild rye (photo courtesy: US Fish & Wildlife Service
http://www.fws.gov/lacreek/photo_gallery/pages/Canada%20wild%20rye_jpg.htm)

Listen to Dr. Lauenroth talk about this disease, challenges associated with diagnosing it, and planting patterns of Canada wild rye, a grass with sharp pointed seed with awn in the marginal croplands in the US Midwest.

Access the podcast at the Canine Health Foundation's website - http://www.akcchf.org/news-events/multimedia/podcasts/grass-awn-migration-disease.html

Training at UW leads to faculty positions for two researchers

Zach Gompert (UW Ph.D. 2012, Program in Ecology) and Tom Parchman (postdoctoral research 2008-2013) recently accepted assistant professorships at universities in the western U.S.  Zach was hired as an evolutionary biologist at Utah State University and Tom was hired as a genome biologist at the University of Nevada-Reno.  Both were very successful in their research while in Alex Buerkle's lab in Botany, where they developed their research expertise in computational biology and evolutionary genetics.

Zach (pictured above) plans to continue his research on butterfly evolution in Wyoming and for years to come is likely to be a regular research visitor to the UW-National Park Service Research at AMK Ranch in Grand Teton National Park.

Tom (pictured above) will continue to work on bird-pine coevolution and lodgepole population genetics, as well as population genetics of fish species that are threatened by hybridization with non-native species.

To learn more about the research conducted by Alex Buerkle and his team, please visit his lab's website.

--- Contributed by Dr. Alex Buerkle

Christopher Deaderick talked about regrowth following Mountain Pine Beetle infestation in conifer forests

For the past decade, Mountain Pine beetles (MPB) have invaded millions of hectares of forest in Colorado and Wyoming, causing extensive conifer mortality.

While it is commonly believed that growth rates of subcanopy trees increase following removal of overstory trees, limited empirical data exist to confirm this.

Tree ring data can provide insights into such growth releases, as well as chronological occurrence of past climate and disturbance events and the severity and frequency of these events.

Christopher Deaderick, majoring in Biology and Environment and Natural Resources (ENR), was selected for the 2013 McNair Scholar. His research focused on examining the magnitude and timing of growth release of subcanopy trees following MPB-induced overstory mortality, with the objective of estimating the differences in growth release among cohorts (vertical tree canopy layers) and among tree species.

Christopher presented his research in the 21st annual McNair Scholars Research Symposium in UW Wyoming Union on July 29, 2013. McNair Scholars program prepares undergraduate students to pursue graduate studies by providing opportunities to define goals, engage in research, and develop the skills and student/faculty mentor relationships critical to success at the doctoral level.”

Dr. Daniel Tinker (Associate Professor, Botany Department) was Christopher’s research mentor. Dr. Tinker’s research focuses on forest & fire ecology.  For further information visit his lab’s website.

--- Contributed by Christopher Deaderick

Adam Grasmick presents his Research Work in the 21st Annual McNair Scholars Research Symposium

Adam Grasmick, Botany major, described his research on leaf anatomy and morphology of Tillandsia complanata, a widespread epiphytic species from the Bromeliaceae. Very little is known about leaf structure differences in bromeliads in relation to light exposure, and his research is one of the first studies to address this question.

Bromeliads are ecologically important epiphytic and terrestrial monocots in the New World tropics and subtropics and play an important role in sustaining the biodiversity. These specimens were collected from the Cloud forest in the Napo Province, Ecuador.

Adam’s presentation was one of the twelve talks delivered in the 21st annual McNair Scholars Research Symposium in UW Wyoming Union on Monday, July 29, 2013. McNair Scholars program prepares undergraduate students “to pursue graduate studies by providing opportunities to define goals, engage in research, and develop the skills and student/faculty mentor relationships critical to success at the doctoral level.”  Dr. Greg Brown (Chair, Botany Department) is serving as Adam’s mentor for this research project.

--- Contributed by Adam Grasmick