Congratulations to PhD student Liz Harp, who was awarded a three year Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation to support her work on immunogenetic responses of Black-tailed prairie dogs to their parasites and pathogens.

Congratulations to Professor Greg Florant for winning the 2007 Multi-Ethnic Distinguished Service Award at Colorado State University. Dr. Florant is very active promoting science education and graduate research with under-represented groups at both the local and national level. The award will be made during the Celebrating Colorado State Luncheon, scheduled for April 26, 2007.

Ami L. Wangeline successfully defended her dissertation on March 23, entitled "Fungi from Seleniferous Habitats and the Relation of Selenium to Fungal Oxidative Stress. Congratulations to Dr. Wangeline and her major advisor Emeritus Professor Brent Reeves.

Paul Covey successfully defended this M.S. thesis entitled "Tomato Pollen Growth Regulation". Congratulations to Paul and his major advisor Professor Pat Bedinger.

Prof. Don Mykles was awarded Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) supplements to his NSF grants to support two undergraduate students, Audrey McDonald and Casey Ehlinger, on research projects this summer. Also, Brandon Bader will be supported this summer on a Beckman Scholarship.

Special Assistant Professor Joe von Fischer received an REU supplement to his NSF award.

Prof. Don Mykles visits UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory March 28-April 4 for a collaborative research project on lobster endocrinology.

Assistant Professor Cameron Ghalambor's Lab has been busy doing field work of late. Cameron spent two weeks on the California Channel Islands with graduate students Jongmin Yoon and Helen Sofaer studying the endemic race of the orange-crowned warbler. Helen and Jongmin will remain on the islands until May, after which they will go up to Fairbanks, Alaska to study a northern population of the same species. Meanwhile, graduate students Meribeth Huizinga and Corey Handlesman with assistance from Julia McCarthy (Poff Lab) spent two weeks in Mexico working on the Goldbreast Splitfin, a freshwater fish that exhibits striking sympatric polymorphisms in several traits. Despite some problems of trying to fly with live fish, everyone eventually made it back alright with good sun tans.

Naug D, Arathi HS. 2007. Sampling and decision rules used by honey bees in a foraging arena. Anim. Cogn. 10:117-124. (Dhruba Naug and Arathi Seshadri are Assistant and Special Assitant Professors in Biology).

PhD student Ami Wangeline discovered two new fungi, described in the latest issue of Mycotaxon Vol 99, 83-89: "Two new Alternaria species from selenium-rich habitats in the Rocky Mountain Front Range" Her adviser, Professor Brent Reeves, is co-author.

Special Assistant Professor Joe von Fischer published a temperature record of the North American Great Plains for the last 12,000 years, based on the relative abundance of C3 vs. C4 plants. The paper appeared in the February issue of Geology. Nordt, L., J. von Fischer and L. Tieszen (2007) “Late Quaternary temperature record from buried soils of the North American Great Plains .” Geology 35:159-162.