Between species and sexes: the genetic basis of adaptive traits in African cichlid fishes
Main Speaker: Emily Moore
Assistant Professor , University of Nebraska-Lincoln | School of Biological Sciences
Date: 9/3/2025
Time: 3:30 PM
Location: 107 South Hardin Hall (Auditorium)
Abstract
The cichlid fishes of East Africa are an astounding “natural experiment” in adaptive evolution. The group rapidly diversified, with striking variation in functional traits such as jaw and body morphology, cryptic pigmentation, and exploratory behavior. My work examines the genetic basis of adaptive traits in the group, combining phenotyping, comparative genomics, and classical genetics to link genotype to phenotype to fitness. This talk will present work on the role of complex sex chromosome systems in shaping trait variation, as well as the functional genomic basis of variation in niche partitioning exploratory behaviors.Speaker's Bio
Emily has a BS and a BA from the University of Colorado, Denver; MS from Colorado State University, and a PhD with Reade Roberts at North Carolina State. Postdoc at the University of Montana with Jeff Good and University of Denver with Erica Larson. https://biosci.unl.edu/person/emily-moore/Speaker's Contact Information
- emoore28@unl.edu
Video
Wilder Weather: Research, Communication, and Connection
Main Speaker: Barb Boustead
Climatologist | Meteorologist | Instructor | Writer
Date: 9/10/2025
Time: 3:30 PM
Location: 107 South Hardin Hall (Auditorium)
Abstract
Laura Ingalls Wilder wasn’t an official weather observer. She simply paid attention. Her life and livelihood intertwined with the weather and climate around her, inseparable. Barb’s research revealed the accuracy of the vivid, detailed weather descriptions in her fictional Little House books—stories of blizzards and prairie fires, tornadoes and grasshoppers, floods and droughts. Wilder’s trusted voice builds a bridge for the millions of Americans who have enjoyed her books to connect the weather of the past to weather today and in the future, shining light on the changing climate around us and the ways to keep our families and communities safe.Speaker's Bio
Dr. Barbara Boustead is a meteorologist, climatologist, and author of Wilder Weather: What Laura Ingalls Wilder Teaches Us About Weather, Climate, and Protecting What We Cherish. A career meteorologist and climatologist as well as a Wilder scholar, she has expertise in weather and climate communication, connections between climate and extreme weather, and weather and climate data analysis. Barb earned bachelor's degrees from Central Michigan University in meteorology, geography, and English, a master's degree in meteorology from Penn State University, and a Ph.D. in Natural Resources: Climate Assessment and Impacts from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Originally from Michigan, Barb lives in Gretna, Nebraska, with her husband and son.Video
Climate Change in Nebraska
Main Speaker: Nebraska State Climate Office and Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Date: 9/17/2025
Time: 3:30 PM
Location: 107 South Hardin Hall (Auditorium)
Speaker's Bio
Eric Hunt (Assistant Extension Educator, NSCO), Deborah Bathke (State Climatologist, NSCO) and Ross Dixon (Assistant Professor, EAS)Crime Scene Ecology
Main Speaker: Leon Higley
Insect Ecologist , University of Nebraska-Lincoln | School of Natural Resources
Date: 9/24/2025
Time: 3:30 PM
Location: 107 South Hardin Hall (Auditorium)
Speaker's Bio
Departmental ProfileSpeaker's Contact Information
- lhigley1@unl.edu
Lewis and Clark and the Geology of the Great Plains in Nebraska and Adjacent States, 1804-1806
Main Speaker: Robert Diffendal
Emeritus Research Geologist , University of Nebraska-Lincoln | Conservation and Survey Division
Other Speakers: Anne Diffendal
Date: 10/1/2025
Time: 3:30 PM
Location: 107 South Hardin Hall (Auditorium)
Abstract
In 1804 Meriwether Lewis and Willima Clark started on their journey up the Missouri River to explore the piece of land known as the Louisiana Purchase. President Thomas Jefferson charged Lewis to follow the Missouri River to its headwaters and then locate rivers down the west side of the Rocky Mountains to the Columbia River and into the Pacific Ocean. Jefferson’s written instructions further specified that the members of the expedition collect and describe plants and animals new to science; enter the latitudes and longitudes of the rivers, mountains, and other features; and note the land’s potential for farming, as well as the climate, timber, and wildlife. They were also to record the occurrences of volcanic features and minerals of all kinds, but especially metals, limestone, coal, and saline and mineral waters. Their notebooks, journals, and maps prove that they did these things.Speaker's Bio
Robert F. Diffendal, Jr. graduated with a degree in geology from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He pursued graduate work at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and received his MS and Ph.D. degrees there with a major in geology. He went on to teach geology, geography, and biology at St. Dominic College in Illinois and at Doane University.
He joined the faculty of UN-L in 1980 as a member of the Conservation and Survey Division, that is, the State Geological Survey, where he worked as a research geologist and held the rank of professor until his retirement in 2003. He is now Professor Emeritus in this division, a part of the UN-L School of Natural Resources. He has produced more than 300 articles, maps, guidebooks and other works on the geology of Nebraska and several articles on the geomorphic development of Yellow Mountain in China. He was the first Assistant Director of the School of Natural Resources (1997-2000).
Anne P. Diffendal graduated with a degree in history from Barry University in Miami, Florida. She went on to earn her MA degree from Emory University and her doctorate from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in American History.
She has extensive experience in consulting on the planning, development and assessment of archival programs and interpretive historical exhibits for numerous museums, universities, foundations, historical societies, and corporations. She has contributed articles and book reviews to many publications. She served as the executive Director of the Society of American Archivists in Chicago and was the Manuscripts Curator of the Nebraska State Historical Society for more than a decade.
Speaker's Contact Information
- rdiffendal1@unl.edu
Topic: Small mammal ecology/education
Main Speaker: Erin Rowland-Schaefer
Assistant Professor of Biology , University of Nebraska-Omaha
Date: 10/8/2025
Time: 3:30 PM
Location: 107 South Hardin Hall (Auditorium)
Speaker's Bio
I'm Erin G. Rowland-Schaefer, a St. Louis native and PhD candidate at Northern Illinois University. I graduated with a B.S. in Biology from Concordia University in 2019 and followed the call of the prairie to the Evidence-Based Restoration Lab. My research interests include small-mammal population dynamics, the use of spatial analysis in ecology, and collaborating with land managers to support science-based conservation. I'm also passionate about science education and work with the B-BER Group developing a lesson plan to introduce landscape ecology concepts in introductory ecology coursework. My current work takes place at Nachusa Grasslands in Franklin Grove, IL, where I am continuing a long-term small-mammal trapping project and examining the impacts of restoration activity such as the reintroduction of grazing bison and the use of prescribed fire.Speaker's Contact Information
- erinschaefer@unomaha.edu
Topic: TBD
Main Speaker: Richard Berl
computational social scientist
Date: 10/15/2025
Time: 3:30 PM
Location: 107 South Hardin Hall (Auditorium)
Speaker's Bio
I am a computational social scientist with a background in evolutionary theory, behavior, and cultural change, and a passion for conserving biocultural diversity and improving social good and sustainability.Topic: Climate
Main Speaker: Allie Mazurek
Engagement Climatologist , Colorado Climate Center
Date: 10/22/2025
Time: 3:30 PM
Location: 107 South Hardin Hall (Auditorium)
Topic: Image-based hyrdology software and research
Main Speaker: Troy Gilmore
Groundwater Hydrologist , University of Nebraska-Lincoln | Conservation and Survey Division
Date: 10/29/2025
Time: 3:30 PM
Location: 107 South Hardin Hall (Auditorium)
Speaker's Bio
SNR ProfileSpeaker's Contact Information
- gilmore@unl.edu
Topic: Water
Main Speaker: Anni Poetzl
Assistant Extension Instructor/Educator - Water Quality , University of Nebraska-Lincoln | School of Natural Resources
Date: 11/12/2025
Time: 3:30 PM
Location: 107 South Hardin Hall (Auditorium)
Speaker's Bio
Departmental ProfileSpeaker's Contact Information
- apoetzl2@unl.edu
Seminar & Discussions Archives
The School of Natural Resources, its faculty and affiliated programs sponsor various seminar and discussion series. Unless otherwise indicated, all are open to the public.