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Exit Seminar for my Masters


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#1 Offline PurdueEntomology - Posted November 29 2021 - 1:10 PM

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I will be presenting my exit seminar for my Master's in Entomology this Thursday December 2nd at 10am eastern.  Here is the title and my abstract.

 

I will take ZEISS' advice and say:  If you want to attend send me a Private Message and I will share the link and  logon information.

 

If you attend have your microphone OFF and also your camera OFF.  You will have to grant permission when the request comes since it is going to be recorded and that is standard in Zoom in such situations that unless permission is granted you may not enter the Zoom presentation.  There will be an opportunity for questions at the end, if you want to ask a question please keep it within the context of the talk, thanks!

 

 

 

 

TITLE: A Phylogenetic Comparative Analysis of Tapinoma sessile (Say) in Eastern Tennessee with a Description of a New Species of Tapinoma

 

ABSTRACT:

The odorous house ant (Tapinoma sessile [Say], Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Dolichoderinae) is a commonly encountered nuisance pest ant in eastern Tennessee and much of the nation. Endemic to the U.S., northern Mexico, and southern Canada, this morphologically nondescript ant’s broad geographical distribution within many ecosystems raises questions about (1) its adaptive capacity to climate and elevation, and (2) whether possible cryptic species exist.  Adaptive convergence occurs when selection causes different populations to share phenotypic expressions. I employed a phylogenetic comparative method to examine adaptive convergence to extrinsic elevational and climatic traits and intrinsic morphological variation in eastern Tennessee populations of T. sessile. I generated an inferred phylogeny using a mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase gene COI, standard myrmecological morphological measurements, and three software programs, OUwie, SURFACE, and extendedSurface, to explore adaptive convergence in populations. Cytochrome oxidase I sequences from T.sessile reported from outside my collecting areas were obtained from GenBank to explore a larger continental inferred phylogeny and population relationships with elevation and climate. I determined that T.sessile has adaptive convergence to elevation and climate and that haplotypes in eastern Tennessee and North America are more varied than previously reported. My comparison of 14 worker, 22 male, and 22 female characters, revealed significant morphological variation within eastern Tennessee populations of T. sessile. In addition, a sympatric novel species of Tapinoma, superficially similar to T. sessile, was discovered. This new species, designated Tapinoma heleni sp. nov., has a significantly lower number of mandibular teeth and denticles and displays a distinctly different colony structure than T. sessile. This study suggests that Tapinoma sessile has the potential to be a significant temperate invasive due to its adaptive capacity to various elevational and climatic regimes and is most likely capable of adapting to predicted changes in climate. The discovery of the sympatric T. heleni sp. nov. suggests that Tapinoma described as T. sessile may be separate species warranting a more thorough review of curated specimens and greater attention to taxonomic assignment. Tapinoma heleni was only detected in natural areas; thus, its pest status is not known at this time.


Edited by PurdueEntomology, November 29 2021 - 2:34 PM.

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#2 Offline Antkeeper01 - Posted November 29 2021 - 1:14 PM

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Will this be recorded? I want to know because I hope to watch it but will probably be in school by then. Good Luck!!!


Edited by Antkeeper01, November 29 2021 - 1:16 PM.

1X Pogonomyrmex occidentalis 40-50 Workers

1X Solenopsis molesta 10 Workers (mono)

Ants I Want: Crematogaster sp, Camponotus Sp., Ponera Pennsylvanica, Mymercocystus sp.

 

My Youtube channel: https://www.youtube....kUjx-dPFMyVqOLw

 

 Join Our Fledgling Discord Server https://discord.com/...089056687423489


#3 Offline PurdueEntomology - Posted November 29 2021 - 1:18 PM

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Will this be recorded? I want to know because I hope to watch it but will probably be in school by then. Good Luck!!!

Yes, I believe it will.  When I have the link to the presentation I will upload it here.  Thanks for the well wishing, it has been a while to get this all together!


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#4 Offline Zeiss - Posted November 29 2021 - 2:00 PM

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This is awesome, congratulations on making it this far in your studies!  

 

My only concern is that you put the information out to the public on the internet.  I hope you have some safeguards to prevent trolls from causing some problems.



#5 Offline PurdueEntomology - Posted November 29 2021 - 2:32 PM

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This is awesome, congratulations on making it this far in your studies!  

 

My only concern is that you put the information out to the public on the internet.  I hope you have some safeguards to prevent trolls from causing some problems.

Hmm



#6 Offline PurdueEntomology - Posted November 29 2021 - 2:35 PM

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This is awesome, congratulations on making it this far in your studies!  

 

My only concern is that you put the information out to the public on the internet.  I hope you have some safeguards to prevent trolls from causing some problems.

Hmm

 

I edited the information, thanks for that!



#7 Offline gcsnelling - Posted November 30 2021 - 4:16 PM

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Congratulations, I hope I can catch this.


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#8 Offline Mettcollsuss - Posted December 1 2021 - 6:51 PM

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I'll unfortunately have to miss it as I'll be in school then. Do you know where the recording will be posted?


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#9 Offline PurdueEntomology - Posted December 2 2021 - 5:20 AM

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I'll unfortunately have to miss it as I'll be in school then. Do you know where the recording will be posted?

When I learn that I will send you a message.


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#10 Offline Skwiggledork - Posted December 2 2021 - 8:18 AM

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Really enjoyed the presentation. Thank you again for letting us attend. Looking forward to learning more about T.heleni in the future and definitely going to collect more T.sessile near me come spring to look at.


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#11 Offline PurdueEntomology - Posted December 2 2021 - 8:37 AM

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Really enjoyed the presentation. Thank you again for letting us attend. Looking forward to learning more about T.heleni in the future and definitely going to collect more T.sessile near me come spring to look at.

Thank you!! It was my pleasure.



#12 Offline PurdueEntomology - Posted December 2 2021 - 7:08 PM

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Well I passed my defense.  My committee is arranging for a more extensive nuclear DNA analysis of the new ant Tapinoma heleni sp. nov.  This is not for my thesis but to give greater strength for the new species assignment so that  any doubts about it and T. schreiberi are laid to rest. We got all necessary samples put together and now I am going to wait for the sequences to run a phylogeny.  Though no one is in doubt since if you watch the recording of my exit seminar I had overwhelming evidence reviewers for some journals want mitochondrial DNA supported with nuclear.  Though we had tried to use SNP (single nucleotide polymorphisms) our data was insufficient,  We will now use a Sanger sequencing technique for select nuclear DNA gene fragments which are easier to do and supported by other research.  The SNP data would have been strong for a population study otherwise.  Upshot, I am very pleased with todays outcome. 


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#13 Offline Zeiss - Posted December 2 2021 - 7:34 PM

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Congratulations on passing your defense!  I wish I could have made it, but my sleep schedule is a bit on the not great side, haha.


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#14 Offline Skwiggledork - Posted December 3 2021 - 12:20 AM

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Congratulations on passing your defense!  I wish I could have made it, but my sleep schedule is a bit on the not great side, haha.

 

I feel you on the messed up sleep schedule. I think I got about four to five hours spread over three little chunks of time yesterday. Perks of working overnights. 



#15 Offline robbiesants - Posted December 3 2021 - 1:41 AM

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Is there a link to watch it? I joined the forum too late :(






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