Difference between revisions of "Colin Carlson"

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[[Category:EEB People]]
 
[[Category:EEB People]]
  
[[Image:Anysberg.jpg|300px|left]]
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I am a seventh semester University Scholar in EEB, with an additional major in Environmental Studies. I'm currently studying plasticity in the genus ''Pelargonium'', for which I was awarded a '''[http://act.org/goldwater/sch-2011.html 2011 Goldwater Scholarship]'''. I was also named a '''[http://udall.gov/OurPrograms/MKUScholarship/MKUScholarship.aspx 2010 Udall Scholar]''' and a '''[http://truman.gov/meet-our-scholars/meet-our-scholars-detail?ScholarUserId=c0224ca5-ed75-4c1a-b66e-574db4b54d24 2011 Truman Scholar]''' for my environmental work on and off campus.  
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I am Master's student in EEB. In 2012, I graduated from UConn with a B.S. in EEB and a B.A. in Environmental Studies. I'm currently studying plasticity in the genus ''Pelargonium'', for which I was awarded a '''[http://act.org/goldwater/sch-2011.html 2011 Goldwater Scholarship]'''. I was also named a '''[http://udall.gov/OurPrograms/MKUScholarship/MKUScholarship.aspx 2010 Udall Scholar]''' and a '''[http://truman.gov/meet-our-scholars/meet-our-scholars-detail?ScholarUserId=c0224ca5-ed75-4c1a-b66e-574db4b54d24 2011 Truman Scholar]''' for my environmental work on and off campus.  
 
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===Research Interests===
 
===Research Interests===
Functional ecology; plant conservation and climate change; ecological modelling; ecological anthropology.
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Plant conservation and climate change; functional and evolutionary ecology; ecological modelling.
  
===Snapping Turtle Research (2008-2010)===
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==Current research: plasticity and climate change (2010-present)==
[[Image:Lizard Shoulder2.JPG|thumb|300px|right|''Homo sapiens'' with lizard friend ''Crotophytus collaris'' in Herpetology Lab (EEB 3265). Photo credit Robert Roehm.]]
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''"All is leaf, and through this simplicity the greatest multiplicity is possible." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe''
This project analyzed the behavior of three Snapping Turtles (''Chelydra serpentina'') along the Connecticut river. The footage, collected over the summer, was from the turtles Jawless and Lafayette from Wethersfield Cove, and Snippy from Shenipsit Lake. (see the [[snapping turtle research team]] page for the full story on the turtles). Also, for more information on Crittercam itself, visit [http://www.nationalgeographic.com/crittercam/ National Geographic's Crittercam Homepage]. This analysis encompassed the breath, dive, pausing, walking, and other aspects of locomotion of the three turtles. If you would like to read more about the actual data analysis, check out [[Snapping Turtle Research: Analyses and Conclusions]].
+
  
My research on this project was divided into two main stages. First came an analysis of the duration and frequency of breathing and diving behaviors, which revealed a strong positive relationship between breath and dive duration. Second, I described behavioral patterns in the turtles through an analysis of locomotion that was divided into five sub-categories, and I found strong differences between average limb frequency cycles.
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My current research began as a simple project focusing on light-induced leaf shape dimorphism in South African ''Pelargonium'' L’Her (Geraniaceae). The focus of this research can be condensed into the following three questions:
  
===''Pelargonium'' Plasticity (2010-present)===
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1. For what traits, in what species, is leaf shape plastic? (The "what?")
''"All is leaf, and through this simplicity the greatest multiplicity is possible." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe''
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2. Does selection appear to act on plasticity itself, and at what spatial/phylogenetic levels? (The "why?")
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3. Have leaf traits evolved independently in their plasticity, and is there any suggestion of evolutionary/environmental constraints on these traits and/or their plasticity? (The "how?")
  
After working for a year on the Snapping Turtle Research project and helping it get to that glorious moment of publication, I’ve finally turned to my thesis research, on light-induced leaf shape dimorphism in South African ''Pelargonium'' L’Her (Geraniaceae). To some degree, the focus of this research can be condensed into the following three questions:
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With the help of a CCB Summer Undergraduate Research Award, I traveled to South Africa during the summer of 2010 with the [http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/eebedia/index.php/South_Africa_-_IRES_2010 NSF IRES 2010 group] to measure leaf shape variation in a natural context. For the next year, I studied plasticity experimentally at UConn, examining plastic responses to water stress and shade cues, as well as the associated fitness costs and phylogenetic patterns of this phenotypic flexibility. In many ways, ''Pelargonium'' is an ideal model organism for testing theories of phenotypic plasticity's role in adaptive radiation, given its surprisingly high diversity and the impressive, widespread and diverse nature of plasticity in the genus.
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[[Image:red.jpg|285px|left]]
  
1. Is leaf shape actually plastic? (The "what?")
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After completing these projects, I entered a new phase in my research, focused on turning our new understanding of the limits and costs of plasticity into valuable information on species vulnerability to climate change. The project focused in particular on evaluating the vulnerability of ''P. elongatum'', a species that is currently classified as Least Concern in South Africa, and that has displayed tremendous plasticity in both natural and experimental settings. ''P. elongatum'' has served as a "testing ground" for a novel set of spatially-discrete models that include the costs of plasticity into otherwise entirely climate-driven ecological niche models, with the goal of understanding the consequences of potentially-costly plasticity for population survival.
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 +
 +
Thus far, these models have suggested that the future of ''P. elongatum'' is strongly dependent on demographic conditions, and while the species may indeed be low priority for conservation, a very small range of variation in seed and adult survivorship could even have the ability to drive the species to extinction in the next ten years. (More about these findings will be presented this April at Frontiers in Undergraduate Research and the results of the models are also currently being prepared for publication.) Ultimately, it is my hope that this project will take a crucial first step towards applying theoretical models of plasticity and extinction risk to actual high-diversity, high-plasticity, high-risk clades.
  
2. Does selection appear to act on plasticity iself, and at what spatial/phylogenetic levels? (The "why?")
+
==Other research projects==
 +
====Snapping Turtle Research (2008-2010)====
  
3. Have leaf traits evolved independently in their plasticity, and is there any suggestion of evolutionary/environmental constraints on these traits and/or their plasticity? (The "how?")
+
This project analyzed the behavior of three Snapping Turtles (''Chelydra serpentina'') along the Connecticut river. The footage, collected over the summer, was from the turtles Jawless and Lafayette from Wethersfield Cove, and Snippy from Shenipsit Lake. (see the [[snapping turtle research team]] page for the full story on the turtles). Also, for more information on Crittercam itself, visit [http://www.nationalgeographic.com/crittercam/ National Geographic's Crittercam Homepage]. This analysis encompassed the breath, dive, pausing, walking, and other aspects of locomotion of the three turtles. If you would like to read more about the actual data analysis, check out [[Snapping Turtle Research: Analyses and Conclusions]].
  
With the help of a CCB Summer Undergraduate Research Award, I traveled to South Africa during the summer of 2010 with the [http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/eebedia/index.php/South_Africa_-_IRES_2010 NSF IRES 2010 group] to measure leaf shape variation in a natural context. At present I am conducting experiments in the greenhouse that recreate field conditions, using water stress and different levels of light to examine the fitness costs and phylogenetic patterns associated with leaf shape variation. In particular, it is well established in the literature that leaf dissection is strongly positively correlated with higher evaporative water loss; if dissection is positively, plastically associated with light level, then field plasticity may be reduced because of the thermal effects of high light on EWL, but may be more pronounced in the lab in an "unstressed" treatment.
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My research on this project was divided into two main stages. First came an analysis of the duration and frequency of breathing and diving behaviors, which revealed a strong positive relationship between breath and dive duration. Second, I described behavioral patterns in the turtles through an analysis of locomotion that was divided into five sub-categories, and I found strong differences between average limb frequency cycles.
  
Along with answering these research questions, an "ultimate" goal of my research is to explore possible flexible stem mechanisms of leaf shape evolution. In many ways, ''Pelargonium'' is an ideal model organism for testing theories of phenotypic plasticity and adaptive radiation, given its surprisingly high diversity and impressive degree of plasticity. For this reason, research on this genus could have far-reaching consequences as a case study of diversification, specialization and adaptive plasticity; alternatively, it may prove that peripatric speciation offers the primary means by which speciation is occurring, and thus, this is in fact a case of phenotypic diversification primarily due to phylogenetic patterns and other non-selective mechanisms.  
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====Sacred Groves and Community-based Conservation (2010-2012)====
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As sacred groves are one of the most ancient forms of community-based conservation, my Environmental Studies senior thesis seeks to understand a number of questions about their function and distribution, with a particular focus on tracing the origins of tree worship on a global scale. By using comparative linguistics, ethnographic records and archeobotany, I have attempted to trace these origins as far back as they go, to approximately 10,000-15,000 BP. Ultimately, my goal is to understand why groves are so stable - and how this stability can be achieved by secular conservation institutions. Moreover, as globalization eradicates local tradition and culture in many places, the socio-religious foundation that supports maintenance of sacred groves is becoming precarious. In order to ensure the ecological integrity and cultural heritage embodied in sacred groves, it is necessary to consider the social, political and environmental factors that influence the formation, preservation and potential destruction of sacred groves and the belief systems that maintain them.
  
The final stage of this project will be to use my findings on the limits and costs of plasticity to determine the vulnerability of these species to climate change, which is a large project that will require information on biogeography and climate change patterns in addition to my data on plasticity. By modifying traditional methods used in population viability analysis to quantify the effect of climate on population stability, this project will take a crucial first step towards applying theoretical models of plasticity and extinction risk to actual high-diversity, high-plasticity, high-risk taxa.
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====Conservation Philosophy and Career Aspirations====
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<tt>''"I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully." - George W. Bush''</tt>
  
===Plasticity and Climate Change (2011-present)===
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One of the major problems that faces conservation and environmental advocacy is that advocates don't always understand science, and environmental biologists aren't always skilled advocates (no offense, guys!). This gap between activism and science is one that I have found to be a major obstacle in my environmental work as director of the [http://webpages.charter.net/cool_coventry_club/home.htm Cool Coventry Club] and as a steering comittee member of the Connecticut Youth Activist Network, and it is one that has shaped my career goals profoundly. More about me: I'm part of the EcoHouse living community on campus (and will continue to be next year), a member of environmental organizations such as EcoHusky, and this October I was the chief organizer of the first-ever UConn Environmental Justice Forum, funded by the [http://humanrights.uconn.edu/ Human Rights Institute]. After I graduate from UConn, I plan to go to graduate school to receive my Ph.D., and ultimately hope to stay in academia, conducting research with conservation-relevant implications.
[[Image:red.jpg|270px|left]]
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In conjunction with the above project, my research has recently been focused on developing viable models of range shifts in response to climate change, in particular models which are feasible, relevant, and representative of the complex web of processes involved in species responses to climate change. Traditional models coming from Population Viability Analysis (PVA) contain a number of simple and easy-to-measure variables about population structure which allow the researcher to estimate time to extinction; however, to incorporate climate into these models, I am working on (1) incorporating the costs of plasticity into demographic models, and (2) applying this theory to niche models in CA-type models. Ultimately, the goal of this will be producing accurate mechanistic predictions for at least three species regarding time until extinction.
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===Sacred Groves and Community-based Conservation (2010-present)===
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==Publications==  
As sacred groves are one of the most ancient forms of community-based conservation, my Environmental Studies senior thesis seeks to understand a number of questions about their function and distribution, with a particular focus on tracing the origins of tree worship on a global scale. By using comparative linguistics, ethnographic records and archeobotany, I have attempted to trace these origins as far back as they go, to approximately 10,000-15,000 BP. Ultimately, my goal is to understand why groves are so stable - and how this stability can be achieved by secular conservation institutions. Moreover, as globalization eradicates local tradition and culture in many places, the socio-religious foundation that supports maintenance of sacred groves is becoming precarious. In order to ensure the ecological integrity and cultural heritage embodied in sacred groves, it is necessary to consider the social, political and environmental factors that influence the formation, preservation and potential destruction of sacred groves and the belief systems that maintain them.  
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[http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/eebedia/index.php/Tobias_Landberg Landberg, T.], Carlson, C. J., Abernathy, K., Luginbuhl, C., Gemme, P. and Mergins, C. (2010) Natural History Notes: CHELYDRA SERPENTINA SERPENTINA L. (Eastern Snapping Turtle). SURVIVAL AFTER INJURY. Herpetological Review 41(1):70-71. {{pdf|Landbergetal2010Jawless.pdf}}
  
===Conservation Philosophy and Career Aspirations===
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==Poster Presentations==
<tt>''"I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully." - George W. Bush''</tt>
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 +
Carlson, C.J., C.D. Schlichting, and A.M. Wilson. (2012) Phenotypic plasticity and extinction risk in South African plants: a reaction norm approach to ecological modeling. UConn Frontiers in Undergraduate Research Poster Exhibition. April 13-14, 2012. {{pdf|http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/eebedia/images/1/12/Frontiers2012.pdf}}
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 +
Carlson, C.J. and C.D. Schlichting. (2011) Dimensionality and Diversification: “Shedding Light” on Natural Phenotypic Plasticity in Pelargonium (Geraniaceae). UConn Frontiers in Undergraduate Research Poster Exhibition. April 15, 2011.
  
One of the major problems that faces conservation and environmental advocacy is that advocates don't always understand science, and environmental biologists aren't always skilled advocates (no offense, guys!). This gap between activism and science is one that I have found to be a major obstacle in my environmental work as director of the [http://webpages.charter.net/cool_coventry_club/home.htm Cool Coventry Club] and as a steering comittee member of the Connecticut Youth Activist Network, and it is one that has shaped my career goals profoundly. More about me: I'm part of the EcoHouse living community on campus (and will continue to be next year), a member of environmental organizations such as EcoHusky, and this October I was the chief organizer of the first-ever UConn Environmental Justice Forum, funded by the [http://humanrights.uconn.edu/ Human Rights Institute]. After I graduate from UConn, I plan to go to graduate school to receive my Ph.D., but I won't stop there - law school seems to be a reasonable next step. After all, science and policy should go hand in hand - so even though I might end up in either field, both degrees will be of use to me.
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==Invited Talks/Other Presentations==
  
===Publications===
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The origins and future of sacred forests: How the history of a dying institution can inform conservation in the twenty-first century. Sponsored by UConn Department of Anthropology. April 26, 2012.  
[[Image:Herp_Snake_Lab_004.JPG|thumb|300px|right|Bob was the pet snake        /                    of Doctor Schwenk / around my nape / the snake did drape. / As you can see / a corn snake was he. Photo credit Robert Roehm.]]
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[http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/eebedia/index.php/Tobias_Landberg Landberg, T.], Carlson, C. J., Abernathy, K., Luginbuhl, C., Gemme, P. and Mergins, C. (2010) Natural History Notes: CHELYDRA SERPENTINA SERPENTINA L. (Eastern Snapping Turtle). SURVIVAL AFTER INJURY. Herpetological Review 41(1):70-71.
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Rethinking the scale of environmental tolerance: a new spatial modelling approach to plasticity and climate change. UConn Biology Undergraduate Research Colloquium. April 27, 2012.
  
[[Image:Labirintus3.jpg|left]] Questions or comments about this page or its twin ([[Snapping Turtle Research: Analyses and Conclusions]]) can be sent to Colin.Carlson@UConn.edu
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[[Image:Labirintus3.jpg|left]]
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Questions or comments about this page or its twin ([[Snapping Turtle Research: Analyses and Conclusions]]) can be sent to Colin.Carlson@UConn.edu

Latest revision as of 18:36, 18 August 2012

Anysberg.jpg

I am Master's student in EEB. In 2012, I graduated from UConn with a B.S. in EEB and a B.A. in Environmental Studies. I'm currently studying plasticity in the genus Pelargonium, for which I was awarded a 2011 Goldwater Scholarship. I was also named a 2010 Udall Scholar and a 2011 Truman Scholar for my environmental work on and off campus.

Research Interests

Plant conservation and climate change; functional and evolutionary ecology; ecological modelling.

Current research: plasticity and climate change (2010-present)

"All is leaf, and through this simplicity the greatest multiplicity is possible." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

My current research began as a simple project focusing on light-induced leaf shape dimorphism in South African Pelargonium L’Her (Geraniaceae). The focus of this research can be condensed into the following three questions:

1. For what traits, in what species, is leaf shape plastic? (The "what?")

2. Does selection appear to act on plasticity itself, and at what spatial/phylogenetic levels? (The "why?")

3. Have leaf traits evolved independently in their plasticity, and is there any suggestion of evolutionary/environmental constraints on these traits and/or their plasticity? (The "how?")

With the help of a CCB Summer Undergraduate Research Award, I traveled to South Africa during the summer of 2010 with the NSF IRES 2010 group to measure leaf shape variation in a natural context. For the next year, I studied plasticity experimentally at UConn, examining plastic responses to water stress and shade cues, as well as the associated fitness costs and phylogenetic patterns of this phenotypic flexibility. In many ways, Pelargonium is an ideal model organism for testing theories of phenotypic plasticity's role in adaptive radiation, given its surprisingly high diversity and the impressive, widespread and diverse nature of plasticity in the genus.

Red.jpg

After completing these projects, I entered a new phase in my research, focused on turning our new understanding of the limits and costs of plasticity into valuable information on species vulnerability to climate change. The project focused in particular on evaluating the vulnerability of P. elongatum, a species that is currently classified as Least Concern in South Africa, and that has displayed tremendous plasticity in both natural and experimental settings. P. elongatum has served as a "testing ground" for a novel set of spatially-discrete models that include the costs of plasticity into otherwise entirely climate-driven ecological niche models, with the goal of understanding the consequences of potentially-costly plasticity for population survival.


Thus far, these models have suggested that the future of P. elongatum is strongly dependent on demographic conditions, and while the species may indeed be low priority for conservation, a very small range of variation in seed and adult survivorship could even have the ability to drive the species to extinction in the next ten years. (More about these findings will be presented this April at Frontiers in Undergraduate Research and the results of the models are also currently being prepared for publication.) Ultimately, it is my hope that this project will take a crucial first step towards applying theoretical models of plasticity and extinction risk to actual high-diversity, high-plasticity, high-risk clades.

Other research projects

Snapping Turtle Research (2008-2010)

This project analyzed the behavior of three Snapping Turtles (Chelydra serpentina) along the Connecticut river. The footage, collected over the summer, was from the turtles Jawless and Lafayette from Wethersfield Cove, and Snippy from Shenipsit Lake. (see the snapping turtle research team page for the full story on the turtles). Also, for more information on Crittercam itself, visit National Geographic's Crittercam Homepage. This analysis encompassed the breath, dive, pausing, walking, and other aspects of locomotion of the three turtles. If you would like to read more about the actual data analysis, check out Snapping Turtle Research: Analyses and Conclusions.

My research on this project was divided into two main stages. First came an analysis of the duration and frequency of breathing and diving behaviors, which revealed a strong positive relationship between breath and dive duration. Second, I described behavioral patterns in the turtles through an analysis of locomotion that was divided into five sub-categories, and I found strong differences between average limb frequency cycles.

Sacred Groves and Community-based Conservation (2010-2012)

As sacred groves are one of the most ancient forms of community-based conservation, my Environmental Studies senior thesis seeks to understand a number of questions about their function and distribution, with a particular focus on tracing the origins of tree worship on a global scale. By using comparative linguistics, ethnographic records and archeobotany, I have attempted to trace these origins as far back as they go, to approximately 10,000-15,000 BP. Ultimately, my goal is to understand why groves are so stable - and how this stability can be achieved by secular conservation institutions. Moreover, as globalization eradicates local tradition and culture in many places, the socio-religious foundation that supports maintenance of sacred groves is becoming precarious. In order to ensure the ecological integrity and cultural heritage embodied in sacred groves, it is necessary to consider the social, political and environmental factors that influence the formation, preservation and potential destruction of sacred groves and the belief systems that maintain them.

Conservation Philosophy and Career Aspirations

"I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully." - George W. Bush

One of the major problems that faces conservation and environmental advocacy is that advocates don't always understand science, and environmental biologists aren't always skilled advocates (no offense, guys!). This gap between activism and science is one that I have found to be a major obstacle in my environmental work as director of the Cool Coventry Club and as a steering comittee member of the Connecticut Youth Activist Network, and it is one that has shaped my career goals profoundly. More about me: I'm part of the EcoHouse living community on campus (and will continue to be next year), a member of environmental organizations such as EcoHusky, and this October I was the chief organizer of the first-ever UConn Environmental Justice Forum, funded by the Human Rights Institute. After I graduate from UConn, I plan to go to graduate school to receive my Ph.D., and ultimately hope to stay in academia, conducting research with conservation-relevant implications.

Publications

Landberg, T., Carlson, C. J., Abernathy, K., Luginbuhl, C., Gemme, P. and Mergins, C. (2010) Natural History Notes: CHELYDRA SERPENTINA SERPENTINA L. (Eastern Snapping Turtle). SURVIVAL AFTER INJURY. Herpetological Review 41(1):70-71. Pdficon small.gif

Poster Presentations

Carlson, C.J., C.D. Schlichting, and A.M. Wilson. (2012) Phenotypic plasticity and extinction risk in South African plants: a reaction norm approach to ecological modeling. UConn Frontiers in Undergraduate Research Poster Exhibition. April 13-14, 2012. Pdficon small.gif

Carlson, C.J. and C.D. Schlichting. (2011) Dimensionality and Diversification: “Shedding Light” on Natural Phenotypic Plasticity in Pelargonium (Geraniaceae). UConn Frontiers in Undergraduate Research Poster Exhibition. April 15, 2011.

Invited Talks/Other Presentations

The origins and future of sacred forests: How the history of a dying institution can inform conservation in the twenty-first century. Sponsored by UConn Department of Anthropology. April 26, 2012.

Rethinking the scale of environmental tolerance: a new spatial modelling approach to plasticity and climate change. UConn Biology Undergraduate Research Colloquium. April 27, 2012.

Labirintus3.jpg




Questions or comments about this page or its twin (Snapping Turtle Research: Analyses and Conclusions) can be sent to Colin.Carlson@UConn.edu