Krista Ehlert, who is currently finishing her PhD at Montana State University will join our program later this year in August. She will replace Cameron who has been our McKenna Meredith (’48) postdoctoral fellow for the past three years and will move on t – oops I am not allowed to tell you quite yet.

After reading through over 50 amazing applications it turned out that we settled for another weed scientist, which means we don’t even have to change the sign on Krista’s lab (Krista, you haven’t seen it yet, but it’s awesome).

Krista’s research includes both field (see above) and laboratory (see below) experiments as she works on management plans for areas affected by invasive plants. So, if you ever wanted to know what garlic mustard (Allaria petiolata) or  hairy jointgrass (Arthraxon hispidus) look like then you might want to consider doing research with Krista. If you have already graduated or are already doing plenty of research you can just come back for a visit, or simply google it :-).

I have to warn you though: here is what she had to say about the picture below (after I asked why she sent me pictures of dead bugs):

“They are SO cool!!!! Those are seeds infected with Pyrenophora semeniperda, (the “black fingers of death” or “BFOD” for short) a fungal pathogen that I’m using to control cheatgrass, an invasive annual grass. It kills the seeds, so you have the potential to limit propagule pressure from the seedbank. So you can see the black fingers poking out of the seeds in that one picture, and the picture of the petri dishes is the BFOD growing on agar. – I then harvest it off of the plates to make an inoculum to infect the seeds with.”

Which might also explain what these guys are…

Welcome Krista – we can’t wait to have you in Hartford!

P.S. Happy Earth Day! Originally I wanted to celebrate by posting a picture of our students out on the main quad where they gathered signatures for a petition to end the sale of bottled water on campus. Yesterday, in bright sunshine, they were eager to stay until Sunday – and then the forecast changed to “chance of showers” and off they went. No pics, no post, no glory. :-(

Amber Pitt

One thing that kept us all busy during the first weeks of the semester was the search for a new conservation biologist. After reading many, many applications, coming up with short-lists, checking them once, checking them twice, meeting lots of candidates via Skype and in person, we made our decision and offered the position to Amber who gladly accepted.

Just in case you wondered what a “hellbender” looks like.

Amber is currently an assistant professor of biology at Bloomsburg State University in Pennsylvania, where she studies amphibians, especially hellbender salamanders. This Fall she will teach a non majors course on conservation biology and co-teach our methods with Joan Morrison.

As many of you may know, Joan Morrison is on phased retirement and will only teach a few more courses for us. So, if you ever wanted to take conservation biology with Joan: Don’t delay, sign up today (OK, once course registration opens).