October
Andrew Nilsen
PhD Candidate, University Of Otago.
Evolution of truffle-like fungi
Truffle-like fungi are unable to forcibly discharge their spores, rather sequestering them in enclosed caps. The truffle-like morphology has independently evolved from mushroom-like ancestors on multiple occasions throughout the fungal kingdom. It has been suggested that this morphology has arisen in response to dry climates, where fruit body desiccation prior to maturation would severely reduce reproductive success. The inability to discharge spores forcibly also makes truffle-like fungi highly dependent on animal vectors for dispersal. To encourage dispersal by animals Truffle-like fungi have evolved different attractants, most notably the production of aromatic compounds and bright colours.
While evolutionary drivers have been suggested for the selection of truffle-like fungi, very little is understood about the underlying molecular mechanisms that have facilitated the transition from the mushroom-like state to the truffle-like habit.
Here, I present current knowledge in the evolution of truffle-like fungi with an emphasis on New Zealand taxa.
Wednesday, November 8th, 12.00pm, Benham Seminar Room (B215), Department of Zoology
Dr. Angela Brandt
Ecologist/Modeller, Landcare Research.
Products of history: Immigration timing of New Zealand plant ancestors affects present-day communities
Using dated molecular phylogenies to estimate order of arrival of plant ancestors to New Zealand, I show that early-arriving lineages tend to dominate communities in both relatively young (alpine) and older (forest) ecosystems. Moreover, evidence suggests this pattern persists in anthropogenically created habitats (secondary grassland created by forest clearing). However, non-native species invasion may alter the role of evolutionary history in shaping New Zealand's plant communities.
Wednesday, October 4th, 12.00pm, Benham Seminar Room (B215), Department of Zoology.
September
Ziva Louisson
Postgraduate Student, University of Otago
Effect of multiple stressors on the bacterial community composition in freshwater streams
As agriculture intensifies in New Zealand, anthropogenic effects are having more severe impacts on the surrounding ecosystems. This study will look at the interactive effects of different stressors on the bacterial community in freshwater streams.
James Arbuckle-Page
Postgraduate Student, University of Otago
Nuclear phylogeny of the genus Celmisia with attention to trichome evolution
Celmisia, an alpine daisy genus, is diverse in New Zealand but so far has been studied only morphologically. Here I will show the evolution of Celmisia based on a nuclear phylogeny, as well as how trichomes can be used as a broad categorical tool for identifying evolutionary patterns within the genus.
Time and location
Wednesday, September 6th, 12.00pm, Benham Seminar Room (B215), Department of Zoology
August
Jaz Morris
Department of Botany, University of Otago
Feeling stressed? It's time to change your genome! Spontaneous mutation in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803.
The discovery 35 years ago that the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 could be easily genetically modified, and the breakthrough publication of its genome in 1995, meant that Synechocystis 6803 has become the lab mouse of photosynthesis studies. This simple, unicellular bacteria offers an outstanding model system for the study of photosynthesis, in particular the water-plastoquinone oxidoreductase Photosystem II (PS II), which you can thank for the oxygen you've inhaled in reading this abstract. Synechocystis 6803 has been spread to labs around the world, and deliberate gene knockouts have revealed much about the important PS II protein complex. However, genomic mutation in supposed 'wild-type' strains, and in PS II mutants that display an enigmatic pH-sensitive phenotype, reveals an 'elephant in the room' - cyanobacteria are prone to genetic divergence, and appear to modify their genome in fascinating ways, all in order to maximise their growth.
Time and location
Talk canceled
June
Dr. Evelyn Armstrong
NIWA Research Unit, Department of Chemistry, University of Otago
Subantarctic Phytoplankton: Their responses to change.
Phytoplankton form the base of marine food webs and while providing energy for higher trophic levels during photosynthesis, they also produce half of the oxygen in the atmosphere. In the ocean phytoplankton are exposed to a myriad of drivers, such as temperature, nutrients and light, which may increase or decrease the phytoplankton growth or other physiological processes. We are investigating the effect of these drivers on the physiology of subantarctic phytoplankton at levels expected due to climate change in that region. We have exposed phytoplankton to varied drivers, both singly and in combination, and over short and long time scale. Temperature experiments have shown that subantarctic phytoplankton can grow at future projected summer and winter temperatures, although community composition may change. Coccolithophores grown in future light and pH conditions over hundreds of generations have adapted but no longer grow at the same rate when transferred back into current conditions. The results of these and other studies will be presented.
Time and location
Wednesday, June 7th, 12.00pm Benham Seminar Room (B215), Department of Zoology.
May
Professor Aoxue Wang
College of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture Harbin, China
Can we create the versatile tomato resistant to many diseases, and even tolerant to cold?
Time and location
Thursday, May 11th, 1.00pm Benham Seminar Room (B215), Department of Zoology.
Dr. Angela Brandt
Postdoctoral researcher, Landcare Research
Products of history: Immigration timing of New Zealand plant ancestors affects present-day communities
Using dated molecular phylogenies to estimate order of arrival of plant ancestors to New Zealand, I show that early-arriving lineages tend to dominate communities in both relatively young (alpine) and older (forest) ecosystems. Moreover, evidence suggests this pattern persists in anthropogenically created habitats (secondary grassland created by forest clearing). However, non-native species invasion may alter the role of evolutionary history in shaping New Zealand's plant communities.
Time and location
Wednesday, May 3rd , 12.00pm, Benham Seminar Room (B215), Department of Zoology.
April
Rohan Allen
PhD Candidate, Department of Botany
The Ecological and Evolutionary Significance of Genetic Diversity in Phytoplankton Responses to Oceanic Climate Change.
Marine phytoplankton are responsible for approximately 50% of global primary production, and play a critical role in global biogeochemical cycling and trophic energy transfer. Climate change is causing rapid changes in the marine environment, raising questions about how these important microbes will respond. Here I will discuss what we know about phytoplankton responses to oceanic climate change, and how genetic diversity may be a key piece missing from the puzzle.
Time and location
Wednesday, April 5th, 12.00pm, Benham Seminar Room (B215), Department of Zoology.
March
February
Professor Ulf Molau
Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: about the new platform IPBES
The Intergovernmental science-policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) was launched as a UN initiative in 2012. The creation of IPBES has been a decadal process within the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD). Many observers regard IPBES as the “little sister” of the climate panel IPCC; however, structure and goals are quite different. In my seminar I will provide the background of IPBES and the circumscription of Ecosystem Services (or - in more relaxed language - “Nature's Benefits to People). Major tasks and ongoing assessments will be presented, all based on the IPBES Conceptual Framework. The seminar will also provide some NZ examples from our current contribution to the thematic assessment “Land Degradation and Restoration” to be finalized in 2018.
Time and location
Thursday, March 9th, 3.30pm, Benham Seminar Room (B215), Department of Zoology.
Professor Elisabeth Cooper
Institute for Arctic and Marine Biology, Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, University of Tromsø, Norway.
High Arctic ecosystem responses to changes in snow cover.
The Arctic is experiencing increased temperatures and precipitation, especially in winter. Snow acts as an insulator, and depth changes affect the enhancement of thermally dependent reactions, such as microbial activity, affecting soil nutrient composition, respiration, and winter gas efflux. Snow depth and spring temperatures influence snowmelt timing, determining the start of plant growth and forage availability.
Mild periods in winter followed by a return to freezing have negative consequences for plants and invertebrates, and the resultant ice layers act as barriers to vertebrate foraging, triggering starvation of herbivores and their predators. Knock-on effects between seasons and trophic levels thus have important consequences for biological activity, diversity, and ecosystem function.
Elisabeth will present some of her work on ecosystem responses to changing snow dynamics on Spitsbergen, Svalbard, High Arctic Norway.
Time and location
Thursday, March 2nd, 3.00pm Hunter Centre, 279 Great King Street, Room 122