Biology Announcements
The following is a list of the latest news from the Department of Biological Sciences. For more general stories or announcements, please visit the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science homepage, the Jupiter Life Science Initiative webpage, and the Owl Research & Innovation Magazine.
October 23, 2020
Scientists are First in the World to Spawn Bonefish in Captivity. A breakthrough by FAU researchers at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in collaboration with Bonefish & Tarpon Trust are the first in the world to successfully spawn bonefish in captivity – in just four years!
October 19, 2020
Discovery of Manta Ray Nursery. FAU Biology alumna Jessica Pate uncovers first urban nursery ground for manta rays off the coast of south Florida.
October 16, 2020
Climate Change Basics in 15 minutes. Dr. Marguerite Koch explains the science of climate change to those who don’t have a science background using only photos and videos.
October 13, 2020
Remembering Geri Mayer. It is with sadness we share that a stalwart in the Department of Biological Sciences, Geri Mayer, has passed. Geri was a close colleague and confidant to many in the department, the college, and around the University.
October 11, 2020
FAU Faculty Member Quoted in The New York Times.
Dr. Marianne Porter was recently quoted in a New York Times article titled "The Pros and Cons of Swimming with a Hammerhead."
October 8, 2020
Announcing the Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences. The CES College of Science welcomes Dr. Sarah Milton as the chair of the Department of Biological Sciences. Dr. Milton previously served as the interim chair for the department since 2019 and will permanently assume this role.
October 5, 2020
FAU Scientists Patent Protective Compound. Drs. Ken Dawson-Scully and Salvatore Lepore have teamed up and discovered a compound with the potential to protect the brain from degeneration: This finding has just been patented.
October 2, 2020
Gulf of Mexico Mission: ‘Ocean Blue Holes Are Not Created Equal’. Researchers from FAU’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute are among a team of scientists who are getting a unique glimpse into offshore ledges, sinkholes and springs collectively known as carbonate karst “blue holes” thanks to gutsy divers and a maneuverable 500-pound autonomous lander designed especially to descend deep into blue holes.
September 30, 2020
Nikon Renews Brain Institute as a Center of Excellence. Nikon recently renewed the FAU Brain Institute as a Center of Excellence. This partnership, which began in 2016, gives researchers across FAU, and partner establishments, access to state-of-the-art imaging systems and joint ventures with world-renowned research institutions.
September 28, 2020
FAU-Israeli Partnerships Win Two International Grants. Dr. Erik Duboué and Prof. Yoav Gothilf of Tel Aviv University have received a $320,000 grant from the US-Israel Binational Science Foundation for their work on the neuronal and genetic basis of anxiety.
September 24, 2020
Mapping Cavefish Brains Leads to Origin of Behavioral Evolution. Drs. Alex Keene, Erik Duboue, and Johanna Kowalko in collaboration with Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan in Israel, is the first to identify large-scale differences between surface fish and cavefish populations of A. mexicanus.
September 21, 2020
Thank You to FAU's Essential Workers. Thank you to the FAU employees who work tirelessly to maintain our campuses and bring the best possible experience to our students during this unprecedented and unusual time.
September 18, 2020
IB PhD Candidate and IB Alumna Publish Paper. Beth Bowers, who works in the laboratory of Dr. Stephen Kajiura, and Dr. Joy Young, an IB PhD program alumna, recently published a paper in a themed issue of Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science.
September 16, 2020
FAU Moves Up in ‘U.S. News & World Report’s’ List of Top Universities. Florida Atlantic University moved up in the U.S. News & World Report's list of “Top Public Schools,” to No. 136 in the latest rankings of the nation’s best universities. FAU ranked No. 140 in 2020.
September 14, 2020
2020 Art of Science Photo Contest. Entries for the 2020 Art of Science Photo Contest are now being accepted through Oct. 15. All FAU faculty, staff and students are welcome to submit original images of research taking place in connection to FAU, including color-enhanced microscopy, photos taken in the lab and the field, underwater photos of marine research, fractal imagery and other photos that illustrate the beauty of the natural world.
September 11, 2020
Remembrance Video. FAU faculty, staff, and students remember the events that took place on September 11, 2001.
September 4, 2020
Face Shield or Face Mask to Stop the Spread of COVID-19? To increase public awareness about the effectiveness of face shields alone as well as face masks with exhalation valves, researchers from FAU’s College of Engineering and Computer Science used qualitative visualizations to test how face shields and masks with valves perform in impeding the spread of aerosol-sized droplets.
September 2, 2020
Hot Dogs, Chicken Wings and City Living Helped Wood Storks Thrive. A recent study published by Dr. Dale Gawlik provides evidence and a systematic understanding of how a wetland species, the Wood Stork, persists and even thrives in an urban environment, by switching to human foods like chicken wings and hot dogs when natural marshes are in bad shape.
Updated October 23, 2020
