Biologibloggen

Hi! My name is Guillaume. I grew up and studied in Lausanne, in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. For my masters, I tested one of the hypotheses for the maintenance of sex in natural populations of thrips and I studied sex chromosome turnover in frogs. After that, I worked for two field seasons as an applied biologist in wetlands. I then spent my PhD and a short postdoc studying introgression in ants as well as a variety of unusual reproductive modes in different stick insects. I was also quite involved in outreach, both on my own research and on biodiversity, climate and sex/gender issues.

In Lund, I will study the evolutionary history of the female-limited colour polymorphism in Ischnura damselflies. I’m back from the US where I spent all summer chasing many species. I will now sequence their genomes to see if the morphs have the same genetic bases in different species, and to investigate if the “morph genes” could have been spread between species by introgression.

When I’m not working, you are likely to find me outside with my binoculars and an insect net or in front of a beer, worrying about the state of the climate.

 I am generally interested in all aspects of evolution and I am always keen to brainstorm on projects, so feel free to get in touch if you want to chat. I look forward to discovering what you are working on!

augusti 27, 2024

Inger Ekström

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Hello there! I’m Ruben, and in May I joined Colin Olito’s lab in the Biodiversity and Evolution division. In the lab’s unfolding project to study the evolution of sex determination in the plant genus Wikstroemia, I will be focusing on phylogenomics, biogeography and evolutionary history.

I grew up outside Stockholm and got my bachelor (Biology) and master (Ecology and Biodiversity) at Stockholm University. This is where I first came into contact with evolutionary ecology and phylogenetics, and I ended up writing a master thesis on the evolution of cold tolerance in the succulent, halophyte clade Salicornieae (Amaranthaceae). Once that was finished I spent a few years doing botanical field work for biodiversity research and environmental monitoring, which was a lot of fun and a well needed break from campus life. However, I am now very happy to be fully back at university, and excited to once again be working with some of my main passions.

Speaking of passions, I occasionally find time for doing things outside of working, and hopefully this will continue despite what I hear about the life of a PhD student. I read a lot and I drink what some would probably call too much tea, I do a bit of bouldering and a bit of birdwatching (despite being a botanist), I play dnd, and have started to dabble in writing poetry. I go on a lot of walks to look at nature and, recently, to explore Lund. Since I moved here I’ve also been wondering whether I need a new hobby, so any suggestions are welcome.

You’ll find me on the Ecology Building third floor, probably brewing or drinking tea, or else in the greenhouses trying to keep plants alive. I’ll probably disappear to Hawaii for a bit sometime next year, but that’s then. For now, feel free to say hi.

Cheers!

augusti 23, 2024

Inger Ekström

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Hello everyone!

My name is Agnes Erland Hansson, and since June this year, I’ve been a PhD student in the unit of Evolutionary ecology and infection biology.

I recently completed a master’s degree in animal ecology at Lund University, during which I investigated the transgenerational effects of avian malaria on offspring condition in the great reed warbler – a species of migratory songbird. In my PhD project I will continue to test life history hypotheses related to costs of living and ageing in the great reed warbler, with a focus on telomere dynamics. I’m working under the supervision of Dennis Hasselquist, with Bengt Hansson and Helena Westerdahl as co-supervisors.

Outside of work I like to play the guitar, to cook, to draw, and (of course) to do some birding.

When I’m not away doing field work you can find me on the second floor of the Ecology building. I’m always up for a chat about science, life science, or just life.

See you around!

augusti 23, 2024

Inger Ekström

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I have had a keen interest in insect movements and insect sensory mechanisms since I started my research career. Initially, I analysed meteorological and survey data on a large scale to show how meteorological factors shape the migratory routes of insects and predict their distribution, focusing on species such as the white-backed planthopper (Sogatella furcifera) and the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) in my home country of China.

After this, I realised that even tiny insects have their own self-orientation capacity during airborne migration, which was an impressive and fascinating phenomenon to me. Consequently, I decided to study the flight behaviour of nocturnal migratory insects, specifically the fall armyworm, during the first three years of my PhD.

During this time, I considered collaborating with Eric Warrant and David Dreyer on experiments related to moth flight orientation. However, the pandemic postponed our planned cooperation. In the fourth year of my PhD, things started to progress smoothly, and I applied for a scholarship to visit Eric’s lab in both Sweden and Australia as an exchange student for one year or more. Our goal was to investigate how the long-distance navigator, the Bogong moth, utilises magnetic and stellar cues to orient itself in its inherited migratory direction.

Recently, we discovered that the Bogong moth uses a magnetic compass for navigation. Therefore, for my postdoctoral research, I will mainly try to understand how the Bogong moth processes this cue in its brain by applying electrophysiological techniques (extracellular tetrode recordings) and behavioural methods. We also aim to determine whether the magnetic compass is based on a cryptochrome mechanism.

juni 26, 2024

Inger Ekström

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Hello! I’m Nils Ceberg and I am the latest PhD student addition to Stanley Heinze’s lab in the Vision Group, where I will be studying potential memory mechanisms for path integration using modelling and computer simulation.

My background is in computer science and engineering, but I have always been interested in neuroscience and biology and found my way to Stanley’s group in 2022 to do my master’s thesis on path integration memory in an artificial nano-scale imitation of circuitry found in insect brains. After getting my degree and spending a year and a half working on interesting systems in the software industry, I still felt that I would rather apply my skills in science, and I’m very excited to be back and to pick up where I left off with my master’s thesis.

In summer I enjoy spending time in my little allotment garden in Gunnesbo, and in colder weather I can often be found tinkering with something computer-related but I am also currently rediscovering my love for books.

maj 29, 2024

Inger Ekström

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Hej everyone! My name is Carolina Pacheco, and I am a postdoc with Bengt Hansson in the evolutionary ecology and infection biology section and Hernán Morales in the section for hologenomics at the Globe Institute (Copenhagen).

My background is in population and landscape genomics, and I am passionate about understanding the dynamics of genetic erosion in wild populations. Specifically, I focus on disentangling the drivers of spatial and temporal patterns of genetic diversity. Currently, my research involves studying two Mauritian birds: the pink pigeon and the echo parakeet. However, I aim to expand my research to include other species facing different conservation challenges.

In my free time, I love dancing, hiking, enjoying a good book with a cup of tea, going for a beer with friends, and, very recently, I have started crocheting (which means I also spend some time undoing what took me a week to do).

maj 27, 2024

Inger Ekström

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Hi, my name is Maria Roth. I started my new job as a financial administrator at the Department of Biology in April. I am very excited to join Lund University!

I have worked in accounting for many years now, mostly in the private sector. In my new position I will handle travel expenses, invoices, invoicing, and many other financial tasks. 

In my spare time, I am with my family, gardening, reading books, taking walks and I also like to do yin yoga.

You will find me in the Ecology building.
See you around!

maj 24, 2024

Anders Örtegren

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