Faculty Name
Faculty Primary Campus
Corvallis Campus
College of Science
Integrative Biology
# of Students
1
Faculty Email
Position Description
The student will be part of small research team working on species discovery and delimitation in a group of ground beetles. They will be involved in many aspects of the research, including field work, microscope work looking at morphological differences, genomic sequencing, bioinformatics involved in processing genomic data, leading to species delimitation analysis and exploring evidence of introgression.
The research team will include faculty member David Maddison, a graduate student, and the Honors student. The research is planned in such a way that it can be the basis of an Honors thesis. The Honors student will be mentored by Dr. Maddison, who will also participate in the field and lab research.
As the work will focus on genomic data, an interest in genetics is ideal. The work will involve quite a bit of bioinformatic investigation, and thus there would be a preference for someone who feels comfortable with computers, including programming in Python and other languages, or has the desire the learn those skills.
The lab has a tradition of combining science and art in our work, and encourage lab members to explore the ArtSci world. This by no means is a requirement for this position, but might be an opportunity for those so inclined.
The research team will include faculty member David Maddison, a graduate student, and the Honors student. The research is planned in such a way that it can be the basis of an Honors thesis. The Honors student will be mentored by Dr. Maddison, who will also participate in the field and lab research.
As the work will focus on genomic data, an interest in genetics is ideal. The work will involve quite a bit of bioinformatic investigation, and thus there would be a preference for someone who feels comfortable with computers, including programming in Python and other languages, or has the desire the learn those skills.
The lab has a tradition of combining science and art in our work, and encourage lab members to explore the ArtSci world. This by no means is a requirement for this position, but might be an opportunity for those so inclined.
Project Description
This project furthers our understanding about the species boundaries and phylogenetic relationships of Bembidion subgenus Trepanedoris. This is follow-up project to the research done by the Discovering Insect Species class here at OSU, which resulted in the discovery of two new species, as documented in the recently published article at https://ssbbulletin.org/article/id/5809/. The story of that class will be told in a graphic novel, a preview of which is presented at https://ssbbulletin.org/article/id/6994/
There are two species complexes that were not fully resolved in that work, and which require additional research to more deeply understand the patterns of gene flow and thus species boundaries. One of these species complexes will be studied by the Honors student, and the other by the graduate student.
This is an opportunity for an Honors student to participate in exploratory research that seeks to understand the evolutionary history and phylogenetic structure of beetles, through which the student will gain experience in many aspects of modern biodiversity research, in the field and lab, and gain skills in molecular methods, microscopy, bioinformatics, and visualization. There will be a mixture of independent and collaborative research.
There are two species complexes that were not fully resolved in that work, and which require additional research to more deeply understand the patterns of gene flow and thus species boundaries. One of these species complexes will be studied by the Honors student, and the other by the graduate student.
This is an opportunity for an Honors student to participate in exploratory research that seeks to understand the evolutionary history and phylogenetic structure of beetles, through which the student will gain experience in many aspects of modern biodiversity research, in the field and lab, and gain skills in molecular methods, microscopy, bioinformatics, and visualization. There will be a mixture of independent and collaborative research.
Remote Student
No
Campus
Corvallis Campus Only
This offer closes at the date below.
Close Date