Spring 2012

Emerging issues in marine metal toxicity Dr. Gretchen K. Bielmyer Valdosta State University Hosting Dept: Biology	January 19, 2012
The good, the bad, and the downright nasty: Microhabitat preferences of carrion-infesting Diptera Dr. Ed Mondor Department of Biology Georgia Southern University Hosting Dept: Biology	January 26, 2012
Prime Numbers and the Goldbach Conjecture Dr. Jose A. Velez Marulanda Valdosta State University Hosting Dept: Math/CS Prime numbers, which are useful for example in cryptology, have been among the main objects of study of Mathematics since ancient times. Although Euclid of Alexandria (fl. 300 BC) proved that there are infinitely many primes, has been an arduous task for mathematicians to answer questions about prime numbers such as their description and distribution. In particular, Goldbach’s conjecture claims that every even number greater than two can be express (not necessarily in a unique way) as the sum of two primes. This problem remains open today and is considered as one of the most important problems in mathematics history. In this talk we present many general aspects about prime numbers and discuss the historical background of Goldbach’s conjecture and some of its cultural references.	February 2, 2012
Jargon Wars: Landscape Genetics Dr. Corey Anderson Valdosta State University Hosting Dept: Biology Interdisciplinary science can be very fruitful, but barriers exist, including discipline specific jargon. Sometimes, this is just a minor source of confusion; in other cases, it can affect scientific inferences. The emerging field of landscape genetics (which lies at the crossroads of population genetics, landscape ecology, and spatial statistics) is in the midst of this sort of “jargon war”. Terms such as “scale” are invoked frequently in the literature to refer to a variety of discrete concepts (where implied meaning is often dependent upon the background of the researcher and the particular application). Similar problems exist for other popular terms such as “genetic connectivity” and “genetic distance”. Further advancement in landscape genetics will require semantical clarification and a clear ontology relating important concepts.	February 16, 2012
Conservation of the Gran Chaco: Jaguars and camera traps Dr. Andrew Noss Asociación Civil Centrode Investigaciones delBosque tlántico(CeIBA)—Argentina Wildlife Conservation Society University of Florida Hosting Dept: Biology The Gran Chaco covers 1 million square kilometers in Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay; is the largest ecoregion after the Amazon in South America, and the world’s most extensive dry forest. Annual rainfall is as low as 400 mm, and 6 months or more with no surface water for resident wildlife that includes lowland tapir, three species of peccary, jaguar, ocelot, giant armadillo, giant anteater, several primates, and many armadillos. The Chaco boasts the continent’s hottest temperatures in summer swinging to below-freezing temperatures in winter. The lack of water—boreholes may be 150 m deep and often bring up salty water—and thorny dense forest has protected the Chaco, yet machines and irrigation are converting vast areas to commercial crops such as soybean and cotton. One uncontacted group of Ayoreode Indians continues to wander between Bolivia and Paraguay, while other indigenous communities depend on subsistence agriculture and hunting with extensive ranching.	February 23, 2012
Early stages of sea urchin embryogenesis Dr. Gary Wessel Brown University Hosting Dept: Biology	March 1, 2012
Evolution in a changing world: Insight from phenotypic strategies and marine larvae Dr. Justin McAlister Clemson University Hosting Dept: Biology My research interests straddle the interface of organismal and population biology with the marine sciences and ecotoxicology. I am broadly interested in the expression and evolution of morphological and physiological phenotypes in response to natural and anthropogenic environmental change, how these responses vary among taxa, shape the evolution of life histories, the mechanisms that underlie their expression, and I work primarily with marine invertebrates and their larvae. I will present the results of research examining how historical environmental changes in phytoplankton food levels have led to changes in the two primary means by which marine invertebrate larvae acquire and utilize the structural and energetic materials required for metabolism and morphogenesis: (1) by using their own food collection structures to capture exogenous phytoplankton, and/or (2) by utilizing the endogenous biochemical constituents provided to them by their mothers in the egg (the single most important cell in an organism’s life cycle). For these studies, I have been examining the eggs and larvae of tropical echinoderm “geminates,” closely related species that were separated ~3.2 million years ago during and subsequent to the rising of the Isthmus of Panama. These organisms now inhabit marine oceanic environments, the tropical western Atlantic and eastern Pacific, that differ markedly in primary productivity and phytoplankton food availability. Trans-isthmian geminate species offer a unique replicated natural research system that can be used to examine the ecological and evolutionary ramifications of large-scale environmental changes.	March 8, 2012
Fish, the inorganic carbon cycle, acid-base balance and ocean acidification Dr. Martin Grosell University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS) Hosting Dept: Biology	March 22, 2012
From Parthian Batteries to Li ion Batteries Dr. A. Saatchi Professor Emeritus from Isfahan University of Technology & Georgia Tech Research Collaborator Hosting Dept: Physics, Astronomy, and Geosciences	March 29, 2011
An Application of the Theory of Multiple Intelligences in Mathematics Classrooms in the Context of Origami Dr. Arsalan Wares Valdosta State University Hosting Dept: Mathematics and Computer Science The purpose of this talk is to illustrate how Howard Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences may be applied in mathematics classrooms in the context of an origami project. We discuss an origami project and the mathematics behind the project, and then use the origami project to discuss how Howard Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences and idea of entry points can be applied in mathematics classrooms to help students understand and appreciate mathematics.	April 5, 2012
Application of Geographic Information Systems to Karst Geomorphology and Environmental Problems Dr. Can Denizman Valdosta State University Hosting Dept: Physics, Astronomy, and Geosciences Connection between surface and subsurface karst development in Florida was studied by comparing the spatial distribution of karstic depressions and caves. Standard deviational ellipse orientations for caves and karstic depressions, obtained by means of spatial statistics tools of ArcGIS, suggest a significant connection between surface and subsurface karst development. Using spatial distributions of various land use categories and superfund and hazardous material sites, GIS was also used to identify areas susceptible to point and nonpoint contamination around Suwannee River, Florida.	April 12 , 2012
Charles Darwin in Context Dr. Michael Ruse Florida State University Hosting Dept: Philosophy and Religious Studies This talk will introduce the man Charles Darwin, author of the fundamental work on evolution, The Origin of Species, as well as the important work on our own species, The Descent of Man. The talk will then discuss some of the implications of Darwin and his work for today, in the realms of science, religion, and education.	April 19, 2012