Dear Friends and Colleagues:

Welcome to the 9th edition of CECB Update, which briefly highlights CECB activities and events during the calendar years 2006 and 2007. As you will learn from the accompanying articles, CECB faculty associates and their graduate students have been very ac-tive on numerous fronts, including several new research initiatives,

publications, awards, program developments, and progress on the construction of a new laboratory building at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station. In addition, funds from the National Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates, Boston University’s Research Opportunities for Undergraduates, and BU’s Tropical Ecology Program in Ecuador continue to provide exceptional opportunities for undergraduates to gain hands-on field and laboratory experiences. New research initiatives led by CECB faculty associate Les Kaufman, on marine conservation, and Richard Primack, on global climate change, highlight the increasing interest and importance of domain scientists address-ing current environmental issues. Other important research initiatives highlighted in this issue include ongoing studies to document the incredible biodiversity of ants in the Ecuadorian rainforest (James Traniello’s lab), efforts to characterize the genomic evolution of sea anemones in coastal waters (John Finnerty’s lab), research on the effects of increased soil frost on forest productivity and health (Pamela Templer’s lab), and assessing the impacts of wind energy development on bat and bird populations (Tom Kunz’s lab). With a new cohort of recently trained undergraduate and graduate students having broad interests and expertise in ecology, behavior, evolution, conservation biology, statistics and computer sciences, CECB and affili-ated faculty from departments of Biology, Computer Science, Earth Sciences, Geography and Environment, In-ternational Relations, Mathematics, and Philosophy in the College of Arts and Science, and the departments of Elec-trical and Computer Engineering and Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering in the College of Engineering, are poised to address many of today’s environmen-tal problems with new cross-disciplinary research programs. From global climate change, air and water pollution, degradation of natural resources, and associated loss of biodiversity and the ravages of emerging diseases, ecologists and environmental scientists stand at the forefront to help address these concerns. We welcome your continued financial and moral sup-port in the coming year to help us meet these challenges.

Best wishes for a happy and prosperous New Year, Thomas H. Kunz

Marine Monitoring on a Global Scale

A large-scale collaborative effort between Boston University and Conservation International is currently underway worldwide, as ecological monitoring projects led by CECB faculty associ-ate Les Kaufman have recently commenced in Brazil, Fiji, Belize, and the tropical Eastern Pacific. The “Marine Management Area Science” (MMAS) program was created in 2005 with an initial 4 years of funding from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. The project aims to advance the science and implementation of adaptive management across a global network of nearshore tropical ecosystems.

Kaufman’s graduate students Jean-Francois Bertrand and Bur-ton Shank have begun work in Fiji and Belize, respectively, where they lead research in two of the project’s 4 nodes. The initial focus of the project has been on coral reefs, but begin-ning in 2008 the research will branch out to include the dynamic interactions among reef, mangrove, and inter-reefal habitats. CECB faculty associates Phil Lobel, John Finnerty, Paul Barber, and Suchi Gopal are all involved in various aspects of this wide-ranging study.

GREETINGS FROM THE DIRECTOR

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Modern-Day Thoreau’s CECB faculty associate Richard Primack was featured in recent issues of National Wildlife and Smithsonian Magazine. His long-term study based in Concord, MA - Thoreau’s old stomping grounds - consisted of re-cording spring flowering times and cataloguing plant species. Working along with former graduate student Abe Miller-Rushing, Primack spent countless hours in the field collecting data; he was then able to compare their findings with Thoreau’s detailed records from the 1850’s. It was evident that a rise in temperature due to global warming and increased urban activity is causing many spring flowers to blooming upwards of one month earlier than they did in Thoreau’s day. This could have catastrophic affects for bird species that time their annual migration to coincide with the presence of particular food sources, as they may arrive weeks too late. Primack and Miller-Rushing were fortunate to have Thoreau’s meticulous observations as well those of several local naturalists who kept their own records through the years. Primack believes there is great poten-tial for members of the public to collaborate with researchers by recording data such as first flowering times and migrating birds’ arrival and departure dates. The more pairs of eyes, the better!

Nitrogen Fixation in Madagascar’s Lagoons and Reefs

CECB faculty associate Dr. Stjepko Golubic recently participated in a French expedition investigating nitrogen fluxes in tropical lagoons. The Institute of Research for the Development (IRD, http://www.com.univ-mrs.fr/IRD/cyroco/) organized and funded the study. The research team, comprised of hydrologists, chemists, sedimentologists and biolo-gists, was engaged in identifying principal cyanobacterial contributors to benthic nitrogen fixation in coral reefs and adjacent lagoons, the rates of nitrogen fixation, and contribution to the nutrient budget of the environment. In the fall of 2007, this research was conducted on the reef and lagoon of Tulear, Madagascar; the previous year the ex-pedition examined the reefs and lagoons of Mayotte, Comoro Islands, northwest of Madagascar.

Cyanobacteria are oxygenic phototrophic bacteria that perform the same job as plants and algae in aquatic environment. In addition to being carbon fixers and primary producers, they also have the ability to fix nitrogen, a property reserved for prokaryotes such as bacteria. Nitrogen is a limiting nutrient in most of the oceans, and it is critical for marine production of organic matter.

CECB faculty associate Stjepko Golubic collecting nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria

Tropical Ecology Scholarship FundThe CECB, in collaboration with the Office of Development and the Of-fice of Sponsored Programs, con-tinues its fund-raising campaign to support scholarships for conduct-ing research in ecology and con-servation biology.

The CECB wishes to acknowledge and thank the following individuals and organizations for supporting us in 2006 and 2007:

STRATOSPHERE CLUB (>$50,000): National Science FoundationLubee Bat Conservancy

ECOSPHERE CLUB ($10,000-$49,999):Resolve Inc.The Chiles FoundationU.S. Fish and Wildlife

CANOPY CLUB ($5,000-$9,999):Dr. Christopher Reaske DIRECTOR’S CLUB ($2,500-$4,999)

RAINFOREST CLUB ($1,000-2,499):Blind Brook Ridge St. PTA FRIENDS OF CECB (Up to $999):Todd & Anne KlippJohn Rizzo Barbara MatteucciDr. Farouk El-Baz

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Ecological Impacts of Wind Energy Development on Bats In a recently published article in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, CECB Director Thom-as Kunz led a group of academic, government, and non-government scientists to evaluate the ecological impacts of utility scale wind energy development on bats. This article was prepared in response to a growing concern over the large number of bat fatalities observed at some utility scale wind energy facilities in North America. With the rising costs and long-term environmental impacts of the use of fossil fuels, wind energy has become an increasingly important sector of the electrical power industry, largely because it has been promoted as being emission-free and is supported by large government subsidies and tax credits. However, unprecedented numbers of bats are killed at utility-scale wind energy facilities in North America and Europe, especially along forested ridge tops in the eastern United States. These fatalities raise important concerns about cumulative impacts of proposed wind energy develop-ment on bat populations. Kunz and his colleagues review and summarize evidence of bat fatalities at wind energy facilities in North America, make projections of cumulative fatalities of bats in the Mid-Atlantic Highlands in the eastern U.S., raise questions to identify research needs, and to better inform researchers, developers, decision mak-ers, and other stakeholders about how to minimize adverse effects of wind energy development. The substance of this article was incorporated into a recent book, also co-authored by Kunz and others, and published by the National Research Council on “Environmental Impacts of Wind Energy Development.”

Bat fatalities reported in the U.S. have been the highest at wind energy facilities along forested ridge tops in the eastern U.S. Kunz and his colleagues argue that future research should focus effort in regions and at sites where available information suggests the greatest potential for adverse affects. Improved documentation, with emphasis on evaluation of causes and cumulative impacts, should be a high priority. There is an urgent need to estimate popu-lation sizes of bat species most at risk, especially migrating, tree-roosting species. Kunz and colleagues argue that an important challenge to policy and decision makers is to ensure that owners and developers of wind energy and other energy-generating facilities be required, as part of the permitting process, to fund qualified researchers to conduct studies assessing impacts of these facilities on bats and other wildlife.

Kunz and his colleagues identified several questions, research needs, and hypotheses that will require the cooperation of scientists, the wind energy industry, regulatory agencies, and other stakeholders to address a loom-ing threat to the well-being of migratory bats. In order to avoid or minimize environmental impacts of wind energy development, it will be essential to learn where, when, how, and why bats are being killed at these facilities. Im-proved methods are needed to assess both current and cumulative impacts of wind energy facilities on bats at local, regional, and continental scales. Kunz and colleagues also recently published an article in the Journal of Wildlife CONTINUEDONPAGE5..........

The Bat Corner

Highlights• Three bat species (eastern red bats, hoary bats, and silver-haired bats) that migrate long distances are those most commonly killed at utility-scale wind energy facili-ties in the North America.• Future research and monitoring should emphasize re-gions and sites with the highest potential for adverse en-vironmental impacts on bats.• Multi-year monitoring and hypothesis-based research are needed to address these concerns.• A policy framework that requires owners and develop-ers of wind farms to provide full access to publicly sup-ported wind energy facilities should be implemented, and should include funds for research and monitoring at sites proposed for development. Images of bats by Merlin D. Tuttle, wind turbines by Edward B. Arnett,

and design by Jason Huerta, Bat Conservation International.

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Harp Traps and Emerging Bats: Two Undergrads in Texas By Caitlin Casey and Lauren Gonzalez “Whoa! It’s a snake! A rattlesnake, I think – do you guys see that?” Jon Reichard was leaning far over the steering wheel of the dusty, cow-pie spattered blue Ford Explorer that we would soon come to know as the “Mo-bile Bat Lab,” peering into a dust cloud the Explorer had kicked up on the dirt road all around us. It was almost midnight, and we were heading home from our first night of field work, rolling through the ranch land around Davis Cave, when Jon hit the brakes at the sight of something on the road. When the dust started to settle, he looked at us, his two new undergraduate as-sistants, as we peered at the long, dark shadow a few meters in front of the truck, still obscure despite the glare of the headlights – “Well? Let’s go check it out!” he exclaimed, unbuckling his seat belt. As we fumbled with our belts, grabbed our cameras and hurriedly climbed out of the Explorer, we grinned, thinking that this was definitely the right choice for our summer job. We spent this summer doing field research, learning more than ei-ther of us ever had in a classroom. We’d both applied for grants to study under Tom Kunz, as undergraduate assistants to Ph.D. students Jon Reichard and Louise Allen, overseen by post-doctoral researcher Nick Hristov. We had jumped at the prospect of real hands-on science in the field – studying bat ecology in the beautiful Texas Hill Country was too good an opportunity to pass up. As the summer wore on, we did not regret our decision. Our ongo-ing responsibility was to collect colony composition data on cave colonies of Tadarida brasiliensis, so every week we could be found outside a cave catching bats as they emerged, and arguing (as Jon laughed in the background) about the angle the harp trap should stay at and who was twisting which end the wrong way. We would assess the reproductive status of these bats before releasing them to forage for the night, collecting data we would eventually analyze to determine how the emergence composition of the colony changed over the course of the night and over the course of the summer. Simultaneously, we were helping graduate students with several projects; we learned how to census a nightly bat emergence using an IR thermal camera so the emerging bats could later be tracked and counted with a computer. Jon taught us to collect wing and hair samples and how to measure water loss through the tissue of the wings and tail membranes. Later in the summer, Louise taught us how to take blood samples from bats and how to rehydrate them after hormone injections – those nights were always exciting because we had to race back and forth between catching bats and taking their blood to make sure we stayed on schedule for our blood samples. Sure, some nights were uncomfortable, like the all-night marathons of fecal collection, when we would take turns dragging ourselves out of bed at 3 and 5 am to collect bat guano in Styrofoam cups, or the several nights we spent camping in the field

to take water loss measurements at emergence (8:30 p.m.) and return (5:30 a.m.). For much of the summer we became as nocturnal as our topic of interest. But, we couldn’t get enough. We spent the summer competing for added responsibility and more new, exciting ex-periences. We were both ecstatic to be surrounded by people who shared our zealous enthusiasm for science – people who wouldn’t balk at the sight of a snake, but leap out of the car to “go check it out!” -or people who would stop in the mid-dle of a trail to examine some scat and see what was inside. We definitely agree that this summer job was the best we’ve ever had, and we’re both looking forward to working together again this spring in BU’s Tropical Ecology Program in Ecuador; South America is bound to be even more fun than Texas, since there won’t be a harp trap to argue over!

Undergraduate researchers Caitlin Casey and Lauren Gonzalez (photo by L. Gonzalez)

Bats emerging from Frio Cave in Texas (photo by L. Gonzalez)

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Subterranean Ant Diversity at Tiput iniCECB faculty associate James Traniello’s graduate students Amy Mertl and Kari Ryder-Wilkie recently had their research on subterranean ant biodiversity published in Naturwissenschaften. The two conducted field research at Tiputini Biodiversity Station in Ecuador during the summer of 2004, and established a novel method for study-ing ants underground. Because of the difficulty of obtaining accurate faunal samples in soil, there have been few studies aimed at monitoring subterranean ants, despite the fact that these ants are an important factor in ecosystem health. Armed with a new ant probe that solves many of the problems typically involved with sub-terranean sampling, Mertl and Ryder-Wilkie were able to collect hundreds of ants, and to examine ant diversity

and distribution at various soil depths. They also employed more traditional sampling methods, such as surface baiting, to investigate the similarity of the ants collected us-ing several different techniques.

Baited probes were placed at 50 loca-tions in Tiputini. The probes are fairly simple; they’re constructed from two plastic cylinders, one with a slightly smaller diameter so it can fit snugly in-side the other. The cylinders are divided into four separate compartments, de-fined by soil depth.

Forty-seven different species of ants were collected using probes, and nine of these species were found in probe

samples only. The number of species sampled was substantially increased by the use of the probes. Several rare ant species were collected (including at least nine that were never previously re-corded at Tiputini!) and many species that were commonly found in probes were rarely collected using other sampling methods.

The ant probes are relatively easy to install, and more accurate for subterranean use than labor intensive, intru-sive methods such as soil-core sampling. Additionally, other invertebrates (for example, termites) were often found in the probes, suggesting that future studies unrelated to ants could benefit greatly by using the methods developed and employed by Mertl and Ryder-Wilkie.

Owing to the difficulties of studying subterranean fauna, and the lack of a universal technique for this type of sampling, the advent of a new method for conducting underground surveys is exciting and promising. Subter-ranean ant fauna (along with other below ground fauna) remain largely unknown, and the new ant probe devel-oped in Mertl and Ryder-Wilkie’s research may help paint a more complete picture of biodiversity and sociobiol-ogy of ants and other soil inhabitants.

CONTINUEDFROMPAGE3....Management that establishes standards for researchers, the wind industry, and decision makers on how best to investigate impacts of wind energy development to nocturnally active birds and bats.

Future developments of wind energy facilities, and expected impacts on bats, depend upon complex in-teractions of economic factors, technological development, regulatory changes, political forces, and other fac-tors that cannot be easily or accurately predicted at this time. The projections of cumulative fatalities of bats made by Kunz and his colleagues for the Mid-Atlantic Highlands are likely to be unrealistically low, especially as larger and increasing numbers of wind turbines are installed. Reliable data on bat fatalities and estimates of effective population size for species at risk are needed from all regions of North America to fully understand continental-scale impacts of wind energy development. Until such time, current and projected cumulative fatalities should provide an important wake-up call to decision makers and developers.

Amy Mertl using the ant probe at Tiputini (photo by Scott Appleby)

Pheidole fimbriata (major side view) (photo by A. Mertl)

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Frost isn’t usually the first word that comes to mind when one hears the phrase ‘global warming,’ but CECB faculty associate Pamela Templer and her graduate student Annie Socci are planning to study just that – the effects of

soil frost on forest productivity. There has been a documented reduction in snowpack in recent years due to global climate change. The resulting lack of insulation can cause soil to freeze for longer periods, at greater depths - even when air temperature is getting warmer.

Consequences of soil frost include root mortality and a decrease in root vitality. Templer and Socci hypothesize that this leads to less plant nutrient uptake and a reduction in forest productivity. As of yet, there has been no proven link between an increase in soil frost and a deterioration in general forest health and productivity. This study aims to determine whether that link exists, while examining the year round effects of soil frost on two prevalent tree species –sugar maple and red spruce.

Funded by Templer’s Andrew W. Mellon Foundation grant, as well as the USDA Northern Forest Scholars Program, Socci has been busy collecting baseline data at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (HBEF) in New Hampshire. The HBEF has soil frost records dating back to 1956, providing a strong historical database for the project’s long-term goals. In addition, HBEF offers a large research area with reliable snow cover, which is ideal for studying the effects of shifting winter dynamics.

Although snow-removal trials in the winter are at the heart of the project, the study encompasses fieldwork in every season. Tree growth measurements and leaf litter assays are conducted in the fall, and root growth, fine root turnover, and nutrient uptake will be measured in the spring and summer. This winter, Templer and Socci are gathering vital data on soil frost depth, soil temperature and mois-ture, and snow depth. Ultimately, snow removal trials will allow them to compare productivity and health in trees that have spent the winter with elevated levels of soil frost versus those that have remained well insulated by snow.

Past studies have shown that sugar maple does not tolerate elevated soil freezing as well as other dominant hardwoods. Because maple is a major resource in New

England, Templer and Socci’s findings may be of important economic value for the area. Red spruce, which is most abundant at higher elevations in New England, is already susceptible to the detrimental impacts of acid deposition, which is caused by human activities. A negative interaction between acid deposition and climate change may have enormous implications for the future of spruce in this area. The many effects of global warming on our forest ecosys-tems are only beginning to be understood, and this study allows Templer and Socci to look at several aspects of forest health, and to assess the impact of climate change in a very tangible way.

Effects of Winter Climate Change in New Hampshire Forests

Field technician Bethel Steele measures soil frost depth (photo by A. Socci)

UPCOMING RESEARCH PROJECTS

Concentrations of mercury in the environment have increased multi-fold in the last 500 years due to extensive anthropogenic activities, including the

burning of fossil fuels and various manufacturing processes. Research has shown that mercury poses a severe environmental threat to humans and wildlife, causing neurological disorders and affecting immune function in vertebrates. Ph.D. student Marianne Moore plans to investigate tissue concentrations of mercury in bats, and the biological effects of mercury in temperate bat species in order to assess the role of the environmental contami-nant on their health and conservation status. Using measures of mercury concentrations, stable isotope analysis, tests of immune function and stress responses from bats in both contaminated and relatively pollution-free habi-tats, Moore will compare two common species, the big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) and the little brown myotis (Myotis lucifugus), that differ markedly in diet and foraging behavior. Bats are ideal mammals to investigate the impact of mercury contamination for a number of reasons; they have wide geographic distributions, and can be found in both pristine and urbanized areas. These bats are relatively long-lived, which makes them susceptible to bioaccumulation. Moreover, their high trophic levels make them vulnerable to biomagnification. Bats also may be particularly suitable as indicator species and therefore extremely valuable for ecological risk assessment.

Mercury Rising

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Michael Sorenson was recently awarded an NSF grant for $446,000: ‘Multilocus Analyses of Speciation, Hybridization, and Population Structure in Brood Parasitic Indigobirds.’ The grant will fund field work in Tanzania and extensive genetic analyses of the evolutionary history of indigobird populations.

Paul Barber, in collaboration with Old Dominion University and Duke University, received a 2.5 million dollar NSF grant in the Partnership for International Research and Education (PIRE) program.

Cutler Cleveland received the Adelman/Frankel award from the United States Association for En-ergy Economics “in recognition of his unique and innovative contributions to the field.”

Pamela Templer was awarded the Andrew W. Mel-lon Foundation’s Junior Faculty Research Grant. The $300,000 grant will fund graduate student Annie Socci’s Ph.D. work on the impacts of climate change on forest nutrient uptake and retention.

James Traniello received a four-year $480,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, BehavioralNeuroscience Program, to study the social organi-zation, behavioral development and functionalneuroplasticity in the ant genus Pheidole.

Recent ly Graduated Ph.D. StudentsHeidi Fisher - Lobel Lab Ryan Harrigan - Sorenson Lab Jason Horn - Kunz Lab Maureen Mazza - Finnerty Lab Abraham Miller-Rushing - Primack Lab Kevin Njabo - Sorenson LabWilliam Ojwang - Kaufman LabMarco Pie - Traniello LabAdam Reitzel - Finnerty LabBen Rinehart - Kunz Lab Vicki Rodgers - Finzi LabJim Sullivan - Finnerty Lab

Master’s StudentsBenita Chick - Barber LabMegan Mach - Barber LabShinta Pardede - Barber LabRecent Grants & Awards

received by CECB Faculty Associates

‘Frankie the Free-tailed Bat’ A bilingual children’s book based on CECB director Tom Kunz’s research in Texas was released during the summer of 2007. ‘Frankie the Free-tailed Bat’ raises awareness about the ecological benefits of bats, and has been distributed throughout the U.S. and Mexico. Funded by the National Science Foundation, and written by Nyta Hensley and Patri-cia Morton, the book is both entertaining and informative. Stop by the CECB office for a free copy - it’s a great holiday gift for a young friend or family member.

Overlooking the Galápagos landscape

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Sea Anemone Genome Full of Surprises

The recent sequencing of the starlet sea anemone (Nematostella vincensis) genome has surprising evolu-tionary implications; it turns out that humans have a lot in common with the “simple” organism. CECB faculty associate John Finnerty co-authored a paper (Science, 6 July 2007) that reported on the early findings of the sequencing. The starlet sea anemone is a basal animal that lacks a through-gut, has no centralized nervous system, and possesses only two tissue layers, but it shares a large proportion of its genes with more morpho-logically complex bilaterians. More surprising is the comparison of sea anemone and human genes. Nema-tostella has blocks of DNA with gene linkages identical to those found in humans. This degree of conserved synteny is not the case in either the fruit fly or the nematode, two model systems that are more closely related to humans than is the sea anemone by ~100 million years.

These findings suggest that Nematostella and its ancestors have undergone a slow rate of sequence and genome evolution relative to the more rapidly evolving protostome animals (i.e., fruit fly and nematode). Almost 1300 genes have been “lost” in the fruit fly and nematode when compared to Nematostel-la. Despite the fact that ~700 million years have passed since the cnidarians and bilaterians diverged, humans have retained much of the genetic makeup still found in the sea anemone. Finnerty interprets these results as signifying that “Nematostella’s genome may provide more insights into the functional evolution of human genes than many far more closely related animals.”

Finnerty’s graduate student Jim Sullivan has been analyzing medically relevant genes in the anemone and has created a tool for biomedical researchers to search for invertebrate mod-els. The fruit fly and nematode are used frequently in genetic and pharmaceutical research, due partly to the ease of ma-nipulation and maintenance in a laboratory setting. However, Nematostella is also easy to culture, and possesses the added ability to undergo complete bidirectional regeneration.

In investigating the sea anemone genome, looking specifically at 283 known human disease-causing genes, Sullivan found that eighty percent of human genes associated with disease are present in Nematostella. Sul-livan also discovered multiple cases where human disease gene homologs are found in the fruit fly, nema-tode, and sea anemone; in many cases the human gene was most similar to the anemone gene. Perhaps the most notable example is the breast cancer susceptibility gene. In addition, conservative estimates in-dicate that ~8% of human disease genes that are absent in the fruit fly or nematode are present in Nema-tostella.

The sea anemone may be able to provide a number of medically important findings. Because Nematostella is easy to maintain and propagate, and its genome is now fully sequenced, the sea anemone is becoming a popular model system in a range of developmental, molecular, and ecological research. The medical and evolutionary insights that have arisen from the sequencing of the sea anemone genome are multifold, and research on the ancient creature promises to continue to surprise.

Calling All Travelers! In early March 2008, CECB director Tom Kunz is traveling to Ecua-dor along with a group of interested scientists and adventurers. The group will first arrive in the capital city of Quito, where they explore the ‘old section’ of town, take excursions to a nearby market village and visit the high Andes. Next up: several days at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station, featuring climbs to the top of the canopy tower and guided rainforest walks. From the Amazon, the group will head to the Galápagos Islands, where guests will sleep aboard the Galápagos Explorer II after snorkeling and exploring these amazing isles. All slots have been filled for the trip in March ‘08, but keep a similar excursion in mind for spring ‘09!

A three-headed starlet sea anemone, Nematostel-la vincensis (photo by J. Sullivan)

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-Jessie Muhlin (TEP Spring, ‘00) defended her Ph.D. in Ma-rine Biology from the University of Maine in April, 2007 and is currently an assistant professor of Marine Biology at Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, Maine.

-Logan Hennessy (TEP Spring ‘95) re-ceived a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, and recently be-gan a faculty position at San Francis-co State University. He has a chapter in an upcoming book on “Contentious Geographies: Environmental Knowl-edge, Meaning, and Scale,” to be pub-lished in April, 2008. It is written on the struggles over Huaorani territory, an interest of his since meeting Numbi on the banks of the Tiputini in 1995.

-Keith Heyward (TEP Fall ‘05) graduated from Brown Uni-versity with a B.Sc. Degree in Biology and a focus in Ecol-ogy in May 2007. He has since been working as a research assistant in a plant genetics lab at Brown.

-Ania Majewska (TEP Fall ‘03) was recently in Venezuela working on a project researching ‘Geographic variation in avian life history traits.’ Upon completion of the 2007 field season, she was invited to join the PI’s lab at the University of Montana. She currently manages data col-lected in Venezuela and supervises a laboratory of 25+ personnel. For the 2008 field season she will be the prin-cipal field supervisor on the Venezuela project.

-Laura Jones (TEP Spring ‘98) has worked in conservation and management with the Massachusetts Audubon So-ciety and the U.S. Forest Service in New Hampshire. In November 2007 she completed her master’s degree in

Where Are They Now?

biology at the University of Southern Maine, where her research focused on succession patterns and seed dispersal in restored salt marshes.

-Nathan Kraft (TEP Spring ‘01) is currently com-pleting a Ph.D. at Berkeley on tropical forest ecol-ogy; he has been working in Ecuador upstream from the Tiputini Biodiversity Station at the Yasuni Scientific Station.

-Shannon Gustafson (TEP Spring ‘99) has traveled extensively since graduating from BU, including to Cameroon with the U.S. Peace Corps. She is cur-rently teaching 7th grade life science in Southbor-ough, MA.

-Kristine Faloon (TEP Spring ‘01) is currently com-pleting a Masters in Environmental Science and Management at the UC Santa Barbara, where she is concentrating on coastal resource management.

-Lydia Munger (TEP Spring ‘99) is working at the National Institutes of Health in the Neurology Institute. Her work focuses on “translating” basic sci-ence research into safe and effec-tive drugs and other therapies for neurological disorders.

-Drew Wolfe (TEP Fall ‘03) is pres-ently involved in winegrape re-search, development, and pro-duction in Monterey, California. His role as a viticulturalist is to

monitor the health and wellness of all of the vine-yards, pinpoint diseases, pests, or other problems, and to accumulate historical data with respect to phases of vine growth and physiology.

-Emily Lindsey (TEP Spring ‘01) has conducted ex-tensive field research, including a study on krill in Antarctica, dive-based marine ecology research in Rhode Island, and archaeology/paleontology studies in Patagonia. She is currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program at UC Berkeley Department of In-tegrative Biology, with a focus on late Quaternary mammal paleoecology in South America.

-Sean Dixon (TEP Spring ‘03) is currently at Yale’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, working on a Master of Environmental Manage-ment Degree (in a joint-degree program with Pace Law). His research focuses on climate change and living marine resources.

Catching up with Tropical Ecology Program Alumni

Photo by Scott Appleby

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CONTACT CECB Mail: Center for Ecology and Conservation Biology Boston University 5 Cummington St. Boston, MA 02215Phone: 617-353-6982 Fax: 617-353-5383 E-mail: cecb@bu.edu Web site: http://www.bu.edu/cecb

With support from a National Science Foundation grant, major renovations are currently underway at Tiputini, as a modern lab facility is being constructed for a spring 2008 completion. The newly designed two-story labora-tory building, with over 3,000 sq. ft. of space, will nearly triple the size of the existing laboratory facility. This new laboratory will include common lab facilities for Tropical Ecology Program courses, air-conditioned research labo-ratories for long-term researchers, lecture rooms, an air-conditioned computer room and library (with a satellite link to the Internet), and storage for field equipment.

Other improvements to the Tiputini Biodiversity Station include several new cabins that were completed in late 2006. Each cabin includes two complete units, fitted with modern bathrooms and two or four beds, depending on user demands.

NEWS FROM ECUADOR:Tiputini Biodiversity Station

TEP T-SHIRTS ON SALEThe CECB continues to offer T-shirts to promote and commemorate the Tropical Ecology Program in Ecuador. T-shirts are currently on sale for $20 (includes shipping and handling).

To purchase a T-shirt, please send a check payable to CECB to 5 Cummington St., Bos-ton MA 02215. All pro-ceeds go to support the Tropical Ecology Program.

TROPICAL ECUADOR ON DVDProduced in collaboration with the Office of Development, International Programs, and BU’s Media Group, the CECB has released a 22-minute DVD entitled Boston University, Tropical Ecuador: An Invitation to the Tropics. This instruc-tional DVD, filmed entirely on location in Ecuador and the

Tiputini Biodiversity Station, highlights the extraordinary biodiversity found in Ecuador’s many habitats.

The CECB also offers a 13-minute DVD high-lighting the Tropical Ecology Program. This DVD is used in promoting the TEP to interested students, and it features several of the program’s

past students, along with TEP director Kelly Swing, and CECB director Tom Kunz.

Individuals who wish to purchase a copy of either DVD should contact the CECB adminis-trator at cecb@bu.edu.

SUPPORT CECBYour donations help CECB continue the training of undergraduate and graduate students in the fields of ecology and conservation biology, and fund critical environmental re-search.

To donate, send a check payable to ‘Boston University - Center for Ecol-ogy and Conservation Biology’ to the address below.