Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology

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The official bsky account of The Society for Integrative & Comparative Biology (sicb.org) If you’re a society member, feel free to tag us or email content to share SICBmedia@sicb.org & follow @sicbjournals.bsky.social

The Biological Bulletin publishes outstanding original research of general interest to biologists throughout the world, with an overarching goal of explaining how organisms develop, function, and evolve in their natural environments. To that end, the journal publishes papers in the fields of #Neurobiology and Behavior, #Physiology and #Biomechanics, #Ecology and Evolution, Development and Reproduction, Cell #Biology, Symbiosis and Systematics. The Biological Bulletin continues to emphasize basic research on marine model systems but welcomes submissions of an interdisciplinary nature and those on non-marine topics that fit our fundamental aims. The Editor in Chief is responsible for the overall editorial direction of The Biological Bulletin. The Editor in Chief appoints Associate Editors and members of the Editorial Board, decides which manuscripts are published, mediates editorial disputes, and sets policy for the journal. The Editor in Chief is an independent contractor who consults with the Editorial Board of The Biological Bulletin and the Publisher, the University of Chicago Press, on changes to the editorial direction or policies of the journal. The Editor in Chief may work from his or her home institution but is expected to consult with the Editorial Board and the Publisher as needed.
Much of Selina-Viktor's work focuses on the internal #ear region, a complex part of the skull that is useful for understanding #sensory systems and evolutionary relationships.
Linnea noted: "I am a 5th year #PhD candidate in the Committee on Evolutionary #Biology at the University of Chicago/Field Museum. Broadly, I am interested in how and why complex and integrative biological systems evolve. My dissertation research focuses on a specific case study: the #venom delivery system in surgeonfishes (Acanthuridae). I combine morphological, venomic, behavioral, and biomechanical studies with phylogenetic comparative methods to investigate how multiple axes of variation interact to facilitate or constrain evolution in this unique clade."
Menna Jones is a second year #PhD student in the Department of the Geophysical #Sciences. Menna is interested in the use of statistical and mathematical approaches to study #macroevolutionary pattern and processes. Her dissertation work is focusing on modeling the causes and consequences of #ecomorphological evolution and #microhabitat use in extant and extinct #frogs.
Heat stress is particularly dangerous for bumblebees, which are adapted to cooler climates. The complex challenges that drive declines in bee populations are also pushing researchers to develop novel approaches to study bees. To conserve bees and repair the ecological bridges that they represent, researchers conduct assessments of bee morphology, behavior, physiology, ecology, and evolution. Grace Melone, a PhD student in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Wisconsin Madison, is one such researcher working to care for our ecological bridges by studying insect thermal biology, plant-insect interactions, and disturbance ecology....
Dr. Selina-Viktor Robson who is a #paleontologist specializing in the #evolution of even-toed hoofed #mammals (i.e., artiodactyls) including well-known species such as llamas, cows, and pigs. Much of their work focuses on the internal ear region, a complex part of the skull that is useful for understanding sensory systems and #evolutionary relationships. They are a guest #researcher at the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of #Biodiversity Change in Hamburg, Germany where, along with continuing their research on #artiodactyls, they are also working with Dr. Emanuel Tschopp to study the neck #vertebrae of #sauropod #dinosaurs.
Madeline notes: I am a senior Biology undergraduate at Bryn Mawr College focusing on animal behavior and #neurobiology. My current #research in the Weber Lab focuses on the neurological mechanics of flight in the Carolina Sphynx #hawkmoth, Manduca sexta. I use an intracellular probe to record neural activity directly from the wing nerve of moths while manually moving the wings to simulate flight. Our aim is to understand how wing surface strain sensors react to flapping movement, and the mechanisms behind movement as complex as flight.
“If some giant was to come along and stick something that’s 5% of your weight on your back as a backpack, and you can’t take it off for the rest of your life…like…that’s really stressful.” Alyssa Sargent was pondering with empathy how a hummingbird might feel when she outfits it as part of her research. read in full via the blog
read more https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/29/2026-10817/regulation-for-federal-financial-assistance comment https://www.regulations.gov/document/OMB-2026-0034-0001
Nichole says "I am a PhD candidate working with Deborah Lutterschmidt at the University of California, Irvine and am planning to pursue a teaching and research-focused career. My research examines how non-light environmental cues, such as social signals, including reproductive communication, interact to influence circadian gene expression in green treefrogs. Using an integrative framework that combines behavioral, molecular, and physiological approaches, my work aims to understand how internal biological clocks are aligned with reproductive timing and dynamic environmental conditions."
Dana is a Biology #PhD candidate in the Lohmann Lab at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dana's research studies magnetic sensing in young loggerhead sea #turtles. Specifically, Dana's work uses behavioral assays to investigate questions around the physical bases of #magnetoreception, the functional capabilities of this sensory system, and the development of #adaptive responses to magnetic field cues.
The main goal of her research is to piece together the underlying #evolutionary landscape that has resulted in the present-day ecology and diversity of reef fishes and their traits.
"As a #PhD candidate in the Wolff Lab at Case Western Reserve University, I study the evolution of arthropod brains to better understand common patterns in neural circuitry, as well as how changes in the brain can support species-specific behaviors. My current #research focuses on learning and memory structures called mushroom bodies. I am studying their #neuroanatomy in ostracods, a taxon sister to all other crustaceans and insects, to determine their #evolutionary origins in Pancrustacea, as well as comparing their #morphology across snapping shrimp with a diversity of social behaviors to examine the relationship between mushroom body complexity and sociality."
Yoshi is a sophomore majoring in #Biochemistry and Molecular #Biology, and an #undergraduate research assistant at the Weis Lab at Oregon State University. Yoshi's #research focuses on the symbiotic relationship between algae and #cnidarians undergoing heat stress at the molecular and cellular level.
Cailey Plainte is a third-year #undergraduate student at Simmons University who conducted research at the University of Washington. Her #research to date has primarily focused on how developmental shifts in #barnacle #larvae affect their #hydrodynamics, but as she considers what she'd like to study in graduate school, she is increasingly interested in exploring how #climate change impacts #phenology and how this affects #mutualism in #pollinating #insects.
& read https://ib.berkeley.edu/people/faculty/victor-ortega-jimenez & https://ornithopterus.com/
Zander- I’m broadly interested in the ecology of North American pitvipers, and my current research is focused on the conservation and behavioral ecology of Eastern Massasaugas (Sistrurus catenatus) and Pygmy Rattlesnakes (S. miliarius).
Division of Ecology and Evolution Ray Huey Award honorable mention: Erica Ro Hot on the trail: Temperature-driven genetic variation in invasive green crab populations Erica is a senior undergraduate at UCLA majoring in Environmental Science with a concentration in Conservation Biology. She is broadly interested in conservation genomics, population biology, and evolution under anthropogenic change. As a Summer Student Fellow at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Erica investigated genetic drivers of global thermal adaptation in the highly invasive European green crab, identifying a recently described supergene as a likely contributor. She aims to pursue a PhD and a research career using genetic and molecular tools to inform the conservation, restoration, and management of vulnerable wildlife. images from https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/habitat-conservation/look-out-invasive-crab
Brayden is developing Pseudoalteromonas rubra, a potential probiotic isolated from a crustose coralline algae (CCA), investigating its ability to protect larvae of the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, against the pathogen Vibrio coralliilyticus. He used laboratory experiments to determine how P. rubra can be best deployed to protect oyster larvae in culture fromV. coralliilyticus. While oysters exposed toV. coralliilyticus alone exhibited nearly 100% mortality, larvae pre-treated with P. rubra before Vibrio exhibited survival rates of 99%. Post-treatment by P. rubra produced a slight increase in survival but was not as effective as pre-treatment.P. rubra did not impact growth rate of Tisochrysis lutea, a common oyster algal feed. Ongoing work focuses on scaling up this work for oyster aquaculture operations in the Roger Williams University CEED’s Shellfish Hatchery in the upcoming season.
"Scientists are trying to understand the causes of petty squabbles between captive parakeets, and are finding that sex does not seem to play a major role in them. “You fight all day, but they are minor fights. Constant, harmless squabbling…Both females and males fight each other, which is fascinating. It’s a constant fighting game.” Yuchen Chen explains. We do not know what is causing the fights..."
Chloe Poenisch is a first-generation college student from Portland, Texas, and an undergraduate at Texas State University. She plans to graduate in December 2026 with a B.S. in Aquatic #Biology and a minor in #Horticulture. In Dr. Fuess’s lab, her research centers on host immunity and symbiosis in Astrangia poculata, where she contributes to efforts to better understand how shifts in algal symbiont density influence coral responses to #pathogenic stress. Her work involves supporting the design and implementation of experimental pathogen challenges and assisting with the development of methods that improve reproducibility to assess #coral #immune function. She currently supports the lab as an aquatic husbandrist by maintaining stable conditions for coral and other cnidarian cultures used in ongoing experiments. She hopes to apply her #research experience to future work on cnidarians, porifera, and host– #microbe dynamics, eventually pursuing a Ph.D. after gaining experience as a laboratory technician. Outside of academics, Chloe enjoys reading, traveling, and freshwater aquarium care.
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/36142-Sceloporus-undulatus
Dr. Quinlan is a researcher, professor, and curriculum design expert. She is currently the Brenda B. Brodie Endowed Chair for the School of Education at North Carolina Central University. Prior to that she was a tenured Associate Professor of Science Education at Howard University for over 8 years. While at Howard, she was funded by the National Science Foundation to create culturally representative STEM curricula and products for the K-12 setting. Catherine was also PI for a US Department of Education project where she began a peer mentoring program for students in the introductory biology course. Catherine was a program consultant for the new National Geographic High School Biology Textbook which featured Black and other diverse scientist explorers for the first time in a textbook. She has been on the advisory board and a curriculum fellow for LabXchange’s Data Science Driven Science Education. She is CEO and Founder of Visibility In STEM which she trademarked along with her chapter series book for children titled, Keystone Passage.
I am a 3rd-year PhD candidate in Dr. Sarah Woodley’s lab at Duquesne University studying the gut microbiome and its impact on host immune function and development in tadpoles. At SICB 2026, I presented some exciting results that showed altered baseline immune gene expression in the guts of tadpoles raised in autoclaved (microbially depleted) or natural (microbially rich) pond water that correlated with measures of gut alpha diversity, suggesting differential immune priming by these two microbial communities. I also found that tadpoles raised in autoclaved pond water had more severe scoliosis than those raised in natural pond water, which was a surprise result that sparked a lot of conversation during the poster session!
I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Biology Department at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. My dissertation research incorporates both field and laboratory experiments with wild sparrow nestlings to investigate how disruptions to the gut microbiome and immune system affect host physiology.