Biological Sciences, Tarleton State University

Position opening - Invertebrate Ecologist

2011-11-30T10:29:00.000-06:00

Assistant Professor – Invertebrate Ecologist

Tarleton State University’s Department of Biological Sciences is accepting applications for a full-time (9 month) tenure track assistant professor beginning September 1, 2012. This position has a normal teaching load of 12 or more credit hours per semester to include introductory biology, invertebrate zoology and other undergraduate and/or graduate courses as assigned. Additionally, an active research program, supervision of undergraduate and graduate student research and professional service is required as outlined in the Tarleton State University Handbook for Faculty and Administrative Staff available at www.tarleton.edu.

Minimum Requirements: Ph.D. in Invertebrate Zoology and/or Invertebrate Ecology. ABD’s will be considered but must be completed by Sept. 1, 2012.

Preferred Experience: Invertebrate Ecology teaching and/or research experience.

Apply online at jobs.tarleton.edu. Resume and transcripts, official or unofficial, are required for consideration. Attach online to application or mail to:

Tarleton State University
Dr. John Calahan
Dept. of Biological Sciences
Box T-0100
Stephenville, TX 76402

Tarleton State University, an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and Educator, is committed to excellence through diversity.

Kelly Reyna, Biological Sciences alumnus, studies declining quail populations

2011-11-17T18:55:00.002-06:00

http://www.ntdaily.com/?p=60308

http://www.biology.unt.edu/Reyna

Stephanie Painter successfully defends thesis

2011-11-09T11:14:00.000-06:00

Stephanie Painter, Master's degree candidate, successfully defended her thesis November 2nd. Her project was entitled "Using quantitative PCR (qPCR)to investigate a potential correlation between populations of the pathogenic amoeba Naegleria fowleri and the bacterium Escherichia coli within Lake Granbury, Texas". Congratulations Stephanie!

Blacktail shiner X red shiner?

2011-08-24T20:47:00.000-05:00

Allison shows off her blacktail shiner (Cyprinella venusta). Her thesis project is to use genetic markers to determine if the red shiner is hybridizing with the blacktail shiner in the Bosque and Paluxy rivers. If they are, the effects of environmental conditions on patterns of hybridization will be examined. If they're not? Well, then we'll know they're not! That in itself will be interesting because they've been reported to hybridize elsewhere.

Spotted bass

2011-08-24T20:40:00.002-05:00

Dr. Higgins shows us a spotted bass (Micropterus punctulatus) from the Paluxy river.

Students collect specimens for thesis projects

2011-08-24T20:37:00.001-05:00

Dr. Higgins (center) helps grad students Allison Love and Jeremy Munz collect specimens for their thesis project.

Paper published in Canadian Journal of Zoology

2011-08-11T14:09:00.000-05:00

Thompson CW, Pfau RS, Choate JR, Genoways HH, Finck EJ. 2011. Identification and characterization of the contact zone between two species of Short-Tailed Shrew (Blarina) in Iowa and Missouri. Canadian Journal of Zoology.

Karla Stone defends thesis

2011-06-29T13:59:00.000-05:00

Graduate student Karla Stone successfully defended her thesis June 27th. Her thesis was entitled "Spatial and temporal variation in fish assemblage structure along the Paluxy River, Texas". Congratulations Karla!

Search for rare plant

2010-04-29T16:26:00.001-05:00

The North Texas Plant Conservation Alliance (NTPCA; an organization associated with the Department of Biological Sciences at Tarleton and dedicated to rare plant conservation and restoration of plant communities) begins its first project involving a rare plant known only from North Texas, Dalea reverchonii. Bob O’Kennon from the Botanical Research Institute of Texas in Ft. Worth has worked over the past 25 years to document existing populations of Reverchon dalea in Parker Hood, and Wise counties. Reverchon dalea is often found associated with Walnut Clay geologic strata and NTPCA volunteers will use geologic maps to search areas in this strata west and south of the known localities. If the NTPCA volunteers discover new populations, they will record localities and collect data on the new populations. If this sounds like a great way to spend a Saturday in May, when Reverchon dalea is in bloom, join up with the NTPCA by contacting Allan Nelson by email (nelson@tarleton.edu) or by phone (254-968-9158).

Tarleton Science Teachers Association

2010-04-29T13:06:00.000-05:00

The Tarleton Science Teachers Association (TSTA) has been active this semester by helping the university in outreach efforts for middle and high school students interested in science. Officers and members have helped faculty members in the department during two contests this semester. These include the ecology contest at the Regional Science Olympiad and a practice University Interscholastic League (UIL) contest. At the Regional Science Olympiad, TSTA members graded contestant papers and helped contest directors Dr. Chris Higgins and Dr. Allan Nelson prepare and administer the contest. During the contest, middle and high school students answered questions on ecology and interpreted scientific data from ecosystems. TSTA members also helped administer and grade high school Science University UIL tests. Members served as graders and monitors to assist the contest director. Students involved in these activities include officers of TSTA, Jeanette Rogers (president), from Waldorf, Maryland, Robin Oppie (vice-president) from Weatherford, Jillian Haschke (treasurer) from Junction, Hayle Smith (secretary) from Liberty Hill, and Michael Andrade (reporter) from Comanche. TSTA is sponsored by Dr. Allan Nelson in the Department of Biological Sciences.

Presentation: Natural history meets developmental physiology: thermal stress during pre-incubation induces developmental plasticity in Northern Bobwhites

2010-04-19T14:58:00.000-05:00

Kelly S. Reyna, PhD candidate at University of North Texas, will be returning to Tarleton to present his dissertation research. His presentation is entitled, “Natural history meets developmental physiology: thermal stress during pre-incubation induces developmental plasticity in Northern Bobwhites”.

Kelly received his B. S. in Biology at Tarleton and M.S in Wildlife & Fisheries Sciences at Texas A&M.

Kelly’s research “integrates developmental physiology with evolutionary and wildlife biology—fields not commonly joined—to understand how vertebrates respond to environmental stressors and how natural selection fashions physiological phenotypes for developmental, survival, and reproduction…”. His presentation will focus on his current research which is to investigate how animals respond to drought conditions and global warming by examining the developmental response of bobwhite quail embryos to thermal stress.

Noon – 12:45
Room 105 Science building

We’ll be taking Kelly out to lunch immediately after. Any interested students or professors are encouraged to come along.

Visit Kelly's website here

David Davis thesis defense

2010-03-26T10:43:00.000-05:00

Mr. David Davis will present his thesis research on Monday, March 29th at 1:00 in room 112 of the Science Building. Everyone is welcome to attend.

The title of David’s thesis is “Effect of Blood Sampling on Fledging Success in White-eyed Vireo (Vireo griseus) Nestlings.”

Position Announcement--Microbiology Assistant Professor

2010-02-25T21:40:00.000-06:00

The Department of Biological Sciences at Tarleton State University is accepting applications for Assistant Professor, tenure track. PhD in Microbiology required. ABDs will be considered but must be completed by Sept. 1, 2010. Medical microbiology teaching and/or research experience preferred. Teaching duties will be primarily in microbiology. Normal teaching load of 12 or more credit hours per semester to include microbiology, immunology, pathogenic microbiology and other undergraduate and/or graduate courses as assigned. Active research program, supervision of student research and professional service activities required in addition to teaching. Resume and transcripts, official or unofficial, required for consideration. Attach to online application or mail to Dr. John Calahan, Box T-0100, Stephenville, Texas 76402.

More information

Collaborative study published

2010-02-25T19:31:00.000-06:00

A collaboration between students and faculty of Tarleton and the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) has resulted in a paper being accepted for publication in the Journal of Mammalogy. This represents the culmination of several years of field work in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas followed by lab work sequencing DNA from the specimens collected. The paper, entitled "A dynamic demographic history and incomplete lineage sorting obscure population genetic structure of the Texas mouse (Peromyscus attwateri)" uncovers the population history of this species over the past several thousand years by analyzing the genetic differences among individuals and populations. The authors are graduate student Justin Lack and Dr. Gregory Wilson of UCO and Dr. Russell Pfau of Tarleton.

Boyle, Keith, and Pfau publish paper

2010-02-25T19:26:00.000-06:00

T.J. Boyle (former graduate student), Dr. Russell Pfau, and Dr. Don Keith recently had a paper accepted for publication in the international journal Crustaceana. The paper is entitled "Occurrence, Reproduction, and Population Genetics af the Estuarine Mud Crab, Rhithropanopeus harrisii (Gould) (Decapoda, Panopidae) in Texas Freshwater Reservoirs" and is to be published later this year. Congratulations T.J., Don and Russell!

Texas Academy of Science meeting

2010-01-25T13:18:00.000-06:00

Tarleton will host the 2010 meeting of the Texas Academy of Science March 4th through 6th. Faculty and students of the College of Science and Technology are working to provide an exciting and pleasant meeting for up to 450 attendees from around the state.

Hospitality page

Texas Academy of Science

Jessica Castaneda-Gill successfully defends thesis

2009-07-21T10:52:00.000-05:00

Biology graduate student, Jessica Castaneda-Gill, presented her thesis research Monday : "Multilocus Melt Typing of Xylella fastidiosa Subspecies using Real-time PCR". Her thesis research focused on using a genetic technique to quickly identify variants of a bacteria that infects grapes and other plants. Jessica will be entering the Cell and Molecular Biology PhD program at the University of Texas San Antonio in August. Congratulations Jessica, and good luck!

Successful field trip

2009-06-19T12:36:00.000-05:00

Dr. Pfau, three undergrads, and an alum recently returned from a field trip in Arkansas. Their goal was to collect specimens of cotton rats and gophers so that DNA could be obtained for genetic studies. Despite some things being stolen from their campsite, the trip was enjoyable and successful. Now to the lab to extract DNA!

Dr. Keith publishes article

2009-02-18T00:31:00.000-06:00

Dr. Donald Keith wrote an article for 'The Bay Islands VOICE' about his experiences at the Swan Islands off the coast of Honduras.

Keith, Donald E. 2008. Islands of the Swan. The Bay Islands VOICE. 6(12): 12-17.

Faculty/students publish paper

2009-02-05T19:06:00.000-06:00

Dr. Nelson and undergraduate students Elizabeth Watson and Mark Nelson (along with colleague Dr. Goetze at Laredo Community College) are pleased to announce that their research on the state threatened Texas kangaroo rat has been accepted for publication.

Nelson, A. D. , J. R. Goetze, E. Watson, and Mark Nelson. 2009. Changes in vegetation patterns and its effect on Texas kangaroo rats (Dipodomys elator). Texas Journal of Science.

Where are they now?

2009-02-05T19:04:00.000-06:00

Sara Harsley has just started a job with Texas Parks & Wildlife (TPWD) at the Possum Kingdom Fish Hatchery. She will be conducting algae counts and assessing water quality. Sara graduated December with a MS in Biology. Sunni Taylor finished her Masters degree at Texas State University and is now working towards a PhD there. She is studying hybrid speciation in irises that occur in Louisiana. Cassie Cox took a position as a park interpreter at Ray Roberts Lake State Park for TPWD. Cassie graduated in 2008 with a BS in Biology.

Alum returns to give presentation

2008-11-21T19:15:00.000-06:00

Lin Huffman, a PhD candidate at University of Texas and alum of the Tarleton Biology program, presented her research in a seminar Friday, hosted by the Tarleton chapter of Sigma Xi. Her presentation was entitled “From dud to stud: African cichlid fish as a model of social transition". [Some may remember her as Lin Winton.]

Students/faculty attend conference, one receives award

2008-02-25T19:18:00.000-06:00

Faculty and students from the Department of Biological Sciences at Tarleton State University attended the 26th Annual Meeting of the Texas Society of Mammalogists at Junction, Texas on February 22-24.

Two graduate students, Sam Kieschnick and Terry Johnson gave oral presentations at the meeting. Sam’s paper entitled “Assessing population genetic structure of Baird’s pockect gopher with AFLP was coauthored by Dr. Russell Pfau and Dr. Philip Sudman from Tarleton.

Terry’s presentation entitled “Population genetics of the Texas mouse” was coauthored by Dr. Russell Pfau from Tarleton and Dr. Gregory M. Wilson from the University of Central Oklahoma. Four undergraduate students also made presentations at the meeting.

Cassie Cox presented “Influence of woody vegetation on small mammals in shortgrass prairie” coauthored with Dr. Raymond Matlack from West Texas A&M University. Cassie received the Rollin H. Baker Award for her presentation. This award is presented for the best overall oral presentation by an undergraduate student. [Way to go Cassie!]

Elizabeth Watson presented a poster entitled “An analysis of the ecological preferences of the Texas kangaroo rat”. Coauthors for this poster included Tarleton undergraduate Mark Nelson, graduate student Danielle Breed, Dr. Jim Goetze from Laredo Community College, and Dr. Allan Nelson from Tarleton.

NSTA members help with contests

2008-02-05T19:13:00.001-06:00

The Tarleton Chapter of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), sponsored by Dr. Allan Nelson in the Department of Biological Sciences, has had an active semester. Officers and members have helped faculty members in the department during three contests this semester. These include the ecology contest at the Regional Science Olympiad and University Interscholastic League (UIL) contests. At the Regional Science Olympiad, NSTA members graded contestant papers and helped contest directors Dr. Chris Higgins and Dr. Allan Nelson during the contest where middle and high school students answered questions on ecology and interpreted scientific data from desert and forest ecosystems. NSTA members also helped administer and grade high school Science University Interscholastic League (UIL) tests at a practice meet and the regional 2A contest. Members served as graders and monitors to assist the contest director, Dr. Allan Nelson.

Students involved in these activities include officers of NSTA, Aaron Manous (president), from Aledo, Hunter Hughes (vice-president) from Grapevine, and Jeanette Rogers (secretary), from Waldorf, Maryland. Members involved in the three activities include Jennifer Douglas (Flower Mound), Kymberlee Trnka (Caldwell), Lauren Hatton (Eastland), and Jamie Whitehead (Weatherford).

NSTA members help with contests

2007-03-07T19:23:00.000-06:00

Officers and members of the Tarleton State University Chapter of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) readily volunteered their services in three recent interscholastic competitions. The NSTA is sponsored by Dr. Russell Pfau and Dr. Allan Nelson, professors in the Department of Biological Sciences.

The first competition NSTA members helped in was the ecology contest at the Regional Science Olympiad and University Interscholastic League (UIL) contests. At the Regional Science Olympiad, Tarleton students graded contestant papers and helped contest directors Dr. Chris Higgins and Dr. Allan Nelson during the contest. This competition required middle and high school students to answer questions on ecology and to interpret scientific data from aquatic and forest ecosystems.

At the regional 2A contest and practice meet, NSTA members helped administer and grade high school science UIL tests. Members also served as graders and monitors in assisting contest director Dr. Allan Nelson.

Tarleton students involved in these activities included NSTA officers Vanessa Pugh, president, from Glen Rose, Texas; Shari Flanigan, vice-president, from Weatherford, Texas; and Juanita Britton, secretary, from Weatherford. Other NSTA members involved in the three activities include Casie Davis from Brownwood, Texas; John Epps from Georgetown, Texas; Courtney Greene from Early, Texas; Kale Haschke from Junction, Texas; Ben Kunze from Lagovista,
Texas; Taylor Reed from Bedford, Texas; Cassandra Thompson from Big Spring, Texas; and Amy Wilson from Grapevine, Texas.

Three students awarded TxCETP scholarship

2007-03-07T19:21:00.000-06:00

Three students from Tarleton State University‚s biological sciences department have been named as recipients of the Texas Collaborative for Excellence in Teacher Preparation (TxCETP) $1,000 scholarship for the spring 2007 semester. All three recipients, Juanita Britton and Shari Flanigan, both of Weatherford, Texas; and Hannah Elkins, of Springtown, Texas, plan to become life sciences teachers after graduation.

TxCETP is a collaborative endeavor involving faculty and students from the departments of science, mathematics, engineering and education from 10 partner institutions including the Texas A&M System campuses, Texas Woman's University and Angelo State University, along with associated community colleges and pre-kindergarten through grade 12 teachers.

"The three students that received the scholarship are all very deserving and are going to be fine science teachers," said Dr. Allan Nelson, associate professor of biological sciences at Tarleton and the TxCETP campus leader for life sciences.

TxCETP is funded by the National Science Foundation and is committed to the recruitment, education and retention of the next generation of science and mathematics teachers.

Students present research at conference, one receives award

2007-02-19T19:25:00.000-06:00

Terry Johnson and Sam Kieshnick, both graduate students, presented their research at this weekend's meeting of the Texas Society of Mammalogists. Both did exceptionally well, and Sam received the best presentation award in his category--he was recognized during the award presentations following the banquet. Our students were in competition with Master's and PhD students from Texas Tech and Purdue University. Overall, Tarleton students and faculty represented over 10% of the people attending the meeting (15 out of 134).

Terry and Sam are studying genetic variation in Texas mice (Peromyscus attwateri) and pocket gophers (Geomys), respectively.

Kim Fehlis ranks in top 2% on MCAT

2007-01-09T19:19:00.000-06:00

Kim Fehlis, Biomedical Science major, ranked in the top 2% of the nation on the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). With a score of 37, she holds the new record high score for Tarleton, beating the old record of 34. 45 is the highest score possible. Kim is double majoring in Biomedical Science and Spanish and plans to attend medical school to become a bilingual pediatrician. Congrats Kim!

For the full story, follow the link below:

http://media.www.thejtac.com/media/storage/paper1248/news/2007/09/27/News/madHatter.Has.Medicine.Skills-2996837.shtml