Departmental Seminar

SPEAKER: Dr. Sara Biddle, UT Marine Science Institute
TITLE: Worms of Wisdom: Using Modern and Ancient Worm Burrows to Understand Earth’s History

Since the evolution of complex life, ocean floors have been home to soft-bodied animals such as marine worms. These organisms leave traces in sediment much like footprints in sand. Over time, these traces become preserved in rock as trace fossils. This talk explores how these seemingly simple fossil markings reveal detailed insights into ancient animal behavior and the environments in which they lived.

SPEAKER: Dr. Christopher Peterson, UT Marine Science Institute
TITLE: The Dynamics and Consequences of a Long-Term Forest Pest Outbreak in Alaska

Outbreaks of insect herbivores are a major source of disturbance in forest ecosystems worldwide. In boreal forests, these outbreaks can interact with rising temperatures, drought, wildfire, and other consequences of climate change to drive large-scale ecosystem change. Trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) has experienced an ongoing outbreak of aspen leaf miner (Phyllocnistis populiella) since 2000 in Interior Alaska and the Yukon. Using 18 years of survey data and hierarchical Bayesian models, this research examines the biological and environmental drivers of leaf mining damage. Results show that intrinsic population dynamics play the dominant role, with environmental factors having more limited influence. These findings highlight the importance of species-specific life history information for understanding and managing forest pest outbreaks.