In the news ...
Mar Moretta-Urdiales has won the Graduate College's Outstanding Dissertation Award. Mar defended her dissertation and graduated this past spring semester. Her dissertation research was conducted in the tropical rainforests of Ecuador. It was a study of chytrid fungus affecting amphibians living in the small aquatic mesocosms formed by bromeliads in the forest canopy. Mar was advised by Dr. David Rodriguez. Congratulations to Dr. Moretta-Urdiales! (Posted 7-24-2025)
Dr. Dana Garcia and colleagues recently published a paper in the prestigious journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (otherwise known as PNAS). Loss of vision due to eyes being greatly reduced or lost is a common evolutionary outcome in many subterranean and cave-dwelling organisms. The study revealed that the Texas blind salamander (Eurycea rathbuni) has compensated for the loss of vision by evolving additional neuromasts (small sensory organs) in the lateral line along its head. This adaptation likely helps in navigation. Two former graduate students, Ruben Tovar and Brittany Dobbins, are also authors of the paper. Congrats to Dana, Ruben, and Brittany! (Posted 6-27-2025)
Department of Biology
Programs offered
Research
