The award serves to promote the study of unexplored aspects of natural history of insect pests. Due to their success in the competition with humans, these insect groups are often condemned as harmful, while their remarkable qualities and peculiarities remain unnoticed. The “Teddy Bear” ambrosia beetle, whose discovery by our team and name auctioning in 2010 by the TREE foundation made this award possible, is a prime example. These wood boring Ambrosia beetles are becoming synonymous with tree death and destruction. Yet the vast majority of the 7,500 species are not pests; instead, they are fascinating organisms, ranging from cute to bizarre, living extraordinary lifestyles, and barely known to humans. The same discrepancy holds for many other insect groups. The main purpose of the award is to foster communication between fundamental and applied young entomologists, and increase their appreciation for each other’s study organisms and research methods.
The award
$500 awarded annually to a single recipient
Who is eligible
University students regardless of their geographic location (must be in student status at the time of submission of the competing manuscript)
Due date
Beginning in 2012, applications are due each year by October 1st
Selection criteria and conditions
The selection committee will award $500 to the student who in the given year publishes the most interesting and inspiring research paper on insects which are usually regarded as pests. There are three conditions for consideration:
1) the work may address any aspect of insect pest systematics, diversity, ecology, and other areas, but its main focus must not be consequences of such species to humans or pest management.
2) the study must be at least “in press” in a peer-reviewed journal by the annual deadline of the award,
3) the awardee must be a student at the time of the application submission.
The award is supported by the TREE foundation in Sarasota, FL, and conferred by the Ambrosia Symbiosis Research Group (Jiri Hulcr, Rob R. Dunn, and Andrea Lucky at North Carolina State University, and Anthony I. Cognato at Michigan State University).
Tree Foundation teamed up with leading global research and acadmeic instituions to launch a collaborative research project on the impact of climate change on Lake Tana and the Blue Nile region in Ethiopia. The project will, specifically, investigate The impact of climate driven water variability on three political economies, namely; rain-fed agriculture, irrigated agriculture and hydro power generation.
The research team consists of experts drawn from social and natural science disciplines working at University of Connecticut(UCONN), University of Nebraska-Lincholn (UNL), University of Edinbrough (UEDO), University of Denver (DU), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA/NSSL), Oklhanoma State University (OU), Addis Ababa University (AAU), Boston University (BU), Korea Economic Institute(KEI) and United States Geological Survey (USGS). The project has already been preselected by NSF/PIRE and submisison of full proposal invited.
Along this line,the first workshop was held from March 12-13 at UCONN, Storrs, CT to refine research methodlogy, set project proposal deadline and duration of the project. Following an engaging discussion and cross fertilization of ideas, the workshop was concluded reaching to a consunsus to meet the May 2012 proposal submission deadline. If the project is approved, the 5 year project will commence in 2014 and researchers will start data collection in summer season of the same year.
In these global research partnership scientists as well as students get involved and expected to gain considerable expriential learning and implement their findings to develop regorous policy support tool that is helpful in improving the livlihood and wellbing of the communities in the Blue Nile area.
Tree Foundation has already launched “Saving Ethiopian Orthodox Church Forests Project” in the prposed project area and welcomes this global collaborative research partnership and seizes the opportunity to fulfill its mission in the area of Research, Education and exploration.
By Worku Mulat, PhD, Tree Foundation Research Associate
Working Title: Consequences of urban and global warming for plant-animal interactions.
Work Location: Gardner Hall, Lab of Steve Frank in the Department of Entomology at North Carolina State University
In collaboration with: Rob Dunn (Department of Biology), Meg Lowman (Nature Research Center), Nick Haddad (Department of Biology), Nadia Singh (Department of Genetics)
FTE: 1.0
Length of appointment: Job opens January 1, 2012. Review of applications will begin November 10, 2011 though applications will be accepted until a suitable candidate is found. Position appointment will last for one year from starting date, with possibility of renewal based on performance and funding.
Salary: $36,000
Departmental Required Skills:
A valid driver’s license is required. NC Driver’s license required within 60 days of hire.
Essential Job Duties: One postdoctoral position will be available beginning as soon as January 2012 to work in the lab of Steve Frank in the Department of Entomology at North Carolina State University in potential collaboration with labs in the Department of Biology, the Nature Research Center and the Department of Genetics. Funding will be partially or fully to work on a project that examines the consequences of urban heat islands and global climate change for arthropods of societal or economic importance. The warmest parts of Raleigh, North Carolina and Manhattan, two of the current study areas, are already as much as 5 degrees C warmer than adjacent natural areas. The study design will include both large observational studies (across cities) and controlled experimental manipulation in large-scale outdoor climate chambers to uncover ecological phenomena and the mechanisms behind them. The project may include work to compare arthropod responses in urban environments to in large experimental warming chambers in the forest understory of Duke Forest. Study organisms can be selected to accommodate goals of the project and expertise of successful the candidate. Ongoing work in the group includes research on scale insects, butterflies, ants, flies and crickets.
Cover letter should include a description of research interests and experience and a separate proposal (<600 words) of research they would like to complete in the framework outlined above. Depending upon early results, a genetic component to this study is also possible (in collaboration with Nadia Singh in the Department of Genetics) as would be a modeling and/or macrecological component (with Rob Dunn and Nick Haddad in the Dept. of Biology). Opportunities also exist for collaborative outreach through the southeastern Climate Science Center (http://www.theglobalchangeforum.org/) and the Nature Research Center (http://naturalsciences.org/nature-research-center), both of which expanding through hires in the next years.
Minimum Experience Education: Ph.D. in ecology, evolution, biology, entomology or related fields. The applicant’s CV should indicate evidence of strong scholarship, including peer-reviewed publications in high ranked journals.
Preferred Experience, Skills, & Training:
Expertise in arthropods, urban ecology, or climate change of particular interest. A background in genetics is also of potential value, depending on the direction of the project. The applicant’s CV should indicate evidence of strong scholarship, including peer-reviewed publications, particularly in high ranked journals. The successful candidate must be able to interact with a diverse group of researchers and students and benefit from new and established intra- and inter-institution collaborations. The candidate should show strong evidence of the ability to finish projects.
Other Work/Responsibilities:
Application Procedure: Submit a CV, cover letter, names and email addresses of three references to the NCSU website at http://jobs.ncsu.edu/. Proper documentation of identity and employability will be required.
North Carolina State University is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, veteran status, or disability. In addition, NC State welcomes all persons without regard to sexual orientation. The University strongly encourages all qualified applicants to apply. Individuals with disabilities desiring accommodations in the application process should contact Steven Frank sdfrank@ncsu.edu or (919) 280-8623.
A look at the new wall and latrines that have been build at Zhara Church Rainforest in Ethiopia. Thanks to efforts from scientists, donors, and the TREE Foundation.
TREE Foundation is thrilled to announce that 2 new species of mites have been named after 2 thoughtful conservation donors, so now our new-naming fund totals $15,000! These new mites will have gorgeous illustrations forthcoming, along with their names — but for now, the specimens are residing in Russia where the world’s foremost mite expert is drawing/writing/analyzing their place in the Tree of Life! These rudimentary illustrations are just the beginning of their taxonomic pathway to the official naming process in the world of mites! Our team of scientists have many new species to describe — please contact TREE Foundation if you are interested in purchasing the name of a new species to save the forests of Ethiopia.
This video of Pygmy Sloths of Escudo Island was provided by Julia Heckathorn, author of the Search for the Hidden Clover children’s books. To find out more visit the Search for the Hidden Clover website: http://www.searchforthehiddenclover.com
TREE Foundation has generated countrywide inspiration by priests to conserve their church forests. Our team presented information in ecosystem services at this meeting of 700+ religious leaders in Ethiopia. A WIN for the trees!
Our biodiversity team just attended a workshop of the Coptic (Christian Orthodox) priest leadership in Debra Tabor, Ethiopia — chaired by my local colleague, Dr. Alemayehu Wassie Eshete, and myself. I presented a visual lecture (with a very challenging electricity situation where we actually taped the wires together — my laptop may never survive this experience!). The priests TOTALLY get the ecological issues at stake — if their forests shrink beyond recovery, they will suffer amazing problems including lack of fresh water, no pollinators, absence (and extinction) of biodiversity, flooding and other episodes, and essentially a lack of the spiritual links between religion and trees (which they view as essential).
Here are some images of our partnership between religion and science. the outcomes include building stone walls around critical church forests (donations on this website!), hosting workshops to educate the religious community about the ecosystem services that church forests provide, and linking to some international organizations that can fund these walls in a timely fashion (Gates Foundation? UN? USAID? etc).
workshop with Coptic priest leadership in Northeast Ethiopia, to discuss conserving the last remaining forests which are located in the church yards (called "church forests")
workshop attendees, including the Arch-bishop of the Gondor district and also some of our team of biodiversity scientists (front row, kneeling).
Monday, January 8 – Today we started sampling at our largest church forest site — Gelawdios — which is 100 hectares in size and dates back to 1500. We met with the head priest of this district, who cares passionately about conserving their church forests. He also is concerned about the increase of eucalypt planting; although everyone needs firewood, he sees the native tree species declining and the water table shrinking. He is a perceptive church leader! We conducted biodiversity surveys at the edge and also the interior of this site. Flies RULE! Our Diptera expert, Erica McAlister from the London Museum of Natural History, is in heaven. We also had a generous smattering of Coleoptera for our beetle team, including a tree totally consumed by an outbreak.
Meeting with the Priest (including a video session for our film crew, translated by Alemayehu Wassie Eshete)
The Priest visited our field sampling sites in the forest
My photo (from the canopy) of our intrepid team, back on the ground (including Priest with his umbrella)
The award serves to promote the study of unexplored aspects of natural history of insect pests. Due to their success in the competition with humans, these insect groups are often condemned as harmful, while their remarkable qualities and peculiarities remain unnoticed. The “Teddy Bear” ambrosia beetle, whose discovery by our team and name auctioning in 2010 by the TREE foundation made this award possible, is a prime example. These wood boring Ambrosia beetles are becoming synonymous with tree death and destruction. Yet the vast majority of the 7,500 species are not pests; instead, they are fascinating organisms, ranging from cute to bizarre, living extraordinary lifestyles, and barely known to humans. The same discrepancy holds for many other insect groups. The main purpose of the award is to foster communication between fundamental and applied young entomologists, and increase their appreciation for each other’s study organisms and research methods.
