Two Earley Lab Undergraduate Students Honored by Randall Outstanding Research Award Program3/14/2013
Ryan Jones and Robertson Pierce were among Six College of Arts and Sciences students were recognized recently for their undergraduate research with UA’s Randall Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award Program. Ryan Jones, a junior from Madison majoring in biological sciences, studied a small species of fish known as mangrove rivulus that is found along the east coast of North, Central, and South America. His aim was to identify factors, such as an organism’s size, that will determine whether the organism is an aggressor in a fight scenario. Using 3D printed models of the fish, he exposed actual mangrove rivulus to 3D printed models of the fish to determine how it might behave in a fight. Jones, who has a background as an artist, sought to integrate the new technology of 3D printing with research already being done in the lab of assistant professor of biological sciences Dr. Ryan Earley, who nominated him for this recognition. After graduation, Jones hopes to pursue graduate studies in marine science. Robertson Pearce, a recent graduate from Birmingham who is majoring in biological sciences, used fluorescent dye to tag mangrove rivulus in the wild. Pearce pioneered a technique that does not harm the fish and provides a color system that gives each fish its own unique marker. These fish can be tracked and researchers can gain valuable information about their behavior, the dynamics of the fish population, and their relationship with other species in their environment. Pearce worked closely with Earley, who nominated him for this award. Pearce, who will attend medical school at UAB, said the problem-solving aspect of this research prepared him for his future role as a physician. Read the full story at www.as.ua.edu... Dr. Ryan Earley ANT 150 Lecture featured on Storify. Ryan Earley uses ethological approach & animal models to understand human psychology & studies endocrinology of hermaphroditic fish. #ant150 cheaters only do well when they're rare; negative-frequency dependent selection. #ant150 plainfin midshipman cheater males are small like females but have huge testes (cheating & sperm competition) #ant150 earley: cheaters reap transient benefits, not long-term rewards (red queen hypothesis) #ant150 ryan: fish change color to demonstrate they lost so as not to be beat on more (can they fake it?) #ant150 earley: female benefits from seep calling b/c males need to guard against eavesdropping males Read the story at Storify.com. |
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