Museum Seminar Series
The Museum Seminar Series is a weekly research talk at the 蘑菇tv Museum of Natural Science given by invited speakers and 蘑菇tv personnel that revolves around topics of natural history, ecology, or evolutionary biology. Seminars are open to the public and take place on Fridays at 3:30 PM in the museum exhibits area. See schedule below. #MuseumSeminar
Fall 2026
Date |
Details |
|---|---|
| September 4 | Brett Kincade, 蘑菇tv Travelog: TBD Antonia (Toni) Androski, 蘑菇tv Travelog: TBD |
| September 11 | Claire Watersmith, 蘑菇tv Travelog: "To Borneo and back: investigating areas of endemism in North Kalimantan." Darwin Morales Martinez, 蘑菇tv Travelog: TBD |
| September 18 | Fabio Mendes, 蘑菇tv "Phylogenetic incongruence: The good, the bad, and the uncertain." |
| September 25 | Isaac Overcast, Columbia University "Integrating eco-evolutionary models and machine learning for predictive biodiversity science." |
| October 2 | Callen Inman, 蘑菇tv "From sneaker males to showboats: understanding the evolutionary ecology of sexually dimorphic traits in the livebearing fish family Poeciliidae." |
| October 9 | No seminar: Fall Break |
| October 16 | Harry Greene, University of Texas at Austin "Primates and snakes, a 75-million-year-long deadly dialog." |
| October 23 | David Sneddon, 蘑菇tv "Genomic and phenotypic impacts of hybridization among western chipmunks." |
| October 30 | Kevin Torgersen, 蘑菇tv TBD |
| November 6 | No seminar: Museum Retreat |
| November 13 | Arthur Porto, University of Florida "Challenges and opportunities in the application of deep learning for evolutionary morphology." |
| November 20 | Camila Ribas, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amaz么nia
TBD |
| November 27 | No seminar: Thanksgiving break |
| December 4 | Joe Cutler, The Wilderness Project
"10,000 kilometers, lessons learned on African rivers." |
For further information, contact Juliana Damasceno at jdamas1@lsu.edu.
Spring 2026
Date |
Details |
|---|---|
| January 30 |
Luca Tristao Micheli, 蘑菇tv Museum of Natural Science Travelogue: the treason of the Solim玫es River in Amazonas, Brazil. Quinn McCallum, 蘑菇tv Museum of Natural Science Travelogue: polylepis forests of Arequipa Department, Peru. |
| February 6 |
Dr. Erick Johnson, 蘑菇tv Understanding habitat, migration, and climate stressors on Prothonotary Warblers. |
| February 13 |
No Seminar 鈥� Mardi Gras |
| February 20 |
Dr. Maria Isabel Loza, 蘑菇tv TBD |
| February 27 |
Dr. Bryan McLean, University North Carolina Greensboro Seasonal shrinkage and shrinking seasons: using museum collections to explore phenotypic plasticity in small mammals. |
| March 6 |
Dr. Alex Gunderson, Tulane University Heat, heavy metals, and sperm: plastic and evolutionary responses to global change. |
| March 13 |
No Seminar - Spring Break |
| March 20 |
Dr. Jacob Cooper, University of Nebraska at Kearney From the Pine Ridge to the Albertine Rift: case studies on biogeographic dynamics in birds. Ecoevolutionary dynamics of diversification across biogeographic breaks. |
| March 27 |
Dr. Daniel Powell, 蘑菇tv Reconciling evidence of reproductive barriers and gene flow in Northern swordtail fishes. |
| April 3 |
No Seminar - Good Friday |
| April 10 |
Dr. Jordan Karubian, Tulane University TBD |
| April 17 |
Dr. Liliana D谩valos, Stony Brook University Aging shrews and long-lived bats, or how biodiversity pushes the limits of mammalian lifespan. |
| April 24 |
Dr. Katherin Eaton, 蘑菇tv Understanding biological responses to environmental change across time scales. |
| May 1 |
Dr. Gonzalo Giribet, Harvard University A tale of velvet worms: From species discovery to genomics. |
For further information, contact Sara Velasquez-Restrepo at svela12@lsu.edu.
Fall 2025
Date |
Details |
|---|---|
| September 5 | Claire Watersmith, 蘑菇tv Museum of Natural Science From Sky Islands to River Valleys: Population Genetic Structure in Southern Appalachian Small Mammals Dr. Toni Androski, 蘑菇tv Museum of Natural Science In pursuit of shrews and new world views: a year of mammalogy at 蘑菇tvMNS |
| September 12 | Quinn McCallum, 蘑菇tv Museum of Natural Science Travelogue: Mason County, Texas and Catahoula Parish, Louisiana Angela Haggard, 蘑菇tv Museum of Natural Science Travelogue: Sea Monsters & River Rarities: Collecting Fishes in Taiwan & Thailand |
| September 19 | Keith Andringa, Texas A&M University Microplastic Pollution and Ecological Risk in Birds: Linking Field Techniques and Bioindication Across Biological Scales |
| September 26 | Dr. Henry Bart, Tulane University A technological solution to the Taxonomic Impediment |
| October 3 | Dr. Stephen Baca, Louisiana State Arthropod Museum Little beetles, big landscapes: Neotropical phylogeography of the aquatic beetle family Noteridae (Coleoptera: Adephaga). |
| October 10 | Diego Cueva, 蘑菇tv Museum of Natural Science Travelogue: Colombia, not Columbia: a historical and biological overview Sara Velasquez, 蘑菇tv Museum of Natural Science Travelogue: Into the Lek: A Manakin Journey Through Northwestern Colombia |
| October 17 | No Seminar 鈥� Fall Break |
| October 24 | Dr. Ethan Gyllenhall, Texas Tech University Using Museums and Simulations to Understand Speciation in Island Birds |
| October 31 | Dr. Justin Bernstein, American Museum of Natural History Islands of Opportunity: Patterns of Diversification and Distribution through Time in Southeast Asian Snakes |
| November 7 | No Seminar 鈥� Museum Retreat |
| November 14 | Dr. Paul L Leberg, University of Louisiana at Lafayette Raising Resilience: Seabird Nesting Ecology in a Changing Coastal Landscape |
| November 21 | Dr. Caz Taylor, Tulane University Connecting Worlds: Network Population Dynamics of Migratory Birds |
| November 28 | No Seminar 鈥� Thanksgiving Break |
| December 5 | Dr. Mark Henry Sabaj P茅rez, The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University Diversity and Systematics of Catfishes, the Most Prevalent Vertebrate in Freshwaters |
Spring 2025
Date |
Details |
| January 17 |
No seminar - First week of classes |
| January 24 |
Dr. Chris Austin, 蘑菇tv Museum of Natural Science Papua New Guinea Expedition #16 to Mount Obree 2024: Botany, Entomology, Mammalogy, Ornithology, and a bit of Herpetology |
| January 31 |
Dr. Ashish Ja, 蘑菇tv Museum of Natural Science Sojourns across the Deccan Inselbergs to museum cabinets |
| February 7 |
Dr. Hector Douglas, Grambling State University Mixed Signals: chemistry and color in a complex marine environment |
| February 14 |
Dr. Phil Stouffer, 蘑菇tv - Department of Renewable Natural Resources The pervasive impacts of climate change on Amazonian rainforest birds |
|
|
Dr. Scott Egan, Rice University Exploring biodiversity and its origins in a local multitrophic system |
| February 28 |
No seminar - Mardi Gras |
| March 7 |
Dr. Cristopher Beachy, Southeastern Louisiana University Life cycle evolution in the Amphibia: More than just tadpoles |
| March 14 |
David Vander Pluym/ Darwin Morales Mart铆nez, 蘑菇tv Museum of Natural Science Travelogue: Peruvian Pelagic/TBD |
| March 21 |
Dr. Laura Frost, University of South Alabama Understanding the relative contributions of fragmentation and hybridization on Pleistocene diversification in North American pondweeds |
| March 28 |
Dr. L谩zaro Guevara, Universidad Nacional Aut贸noma de M茅xico Following in the footsteps of Nelson and Goldman: 130 years after their expeditions to the highest volcanoes in Mexico |
| April 4 |
No seminar - Spring Break |
| April 11 |
Dr. Kristin Brzeski, Michigan Technological University Gulf Coast Canids: Uncovering history, species resilience, and pioneering conservation efforts |
| April 18 |
No seminar - Good Friday |
| April 25 |
Dr. Kaiya Provost, Adelphi University Using Computational Biology to Understand Bird Evolution |
| May 2 |
Dr. Santiago Claramunt, University of New Orleans Macroevolutionary perspectives on the macroecology of birds |
For further information, please contact Luca Micheli at lmiche9@lsu.edu
Fall 2024
Date |
Details |
|---|---|
| September 6 |
Austin Chipps, 蘑菇tv Museum of Natural Science
Travelogue: Malaysia
|
| September 13 |
Dr. Iroro Tanshi, Department of Biology, University of Washington
Afrotropical Bat Assembly Structure Along Elevational Gradients and Islands in the
Gulf of Guinea Forests
|
| September 20 |
Dr. Samuel Jones, Georgia Institute of Technology
Elevational ranges and elevational changes; mechanisms and processes in Mesoamerican
cloud forests
|
| September 27 |
Dr. Morgan Kelly, Department of Biological Sciences, 蘑菇tv
Centimeters to continents: how thermal adaptations are distributed across spatial
scales
|
| October 4 |
Dr. Audrey Lin, American Museum of Natural History
The history of Coast Salish woolly dogs
|
| October 11 |
Dr. Christopher Randle, Sam Houston University
Niche modeling of invasive species: a headache worth having?
|
| October 18 |
No Seminar 鈥� Fall Break
|
| October 25 |
Dr. Yue Liu, Aquatic Germplasm and Genetic Resources Center, 蘑菇tv
Opportunities and Urgent Needs in Developing a National Framework for Protecting Genetic
Resources of Aquatic Species
|
| November 1 |
No Seminar 鈥� Yellow Rails and Rice
|
| November 8 |
No Seminar 鈥� Museum Retreat
|
| November 15 |
Dr. Brian Sidlauskas, Curator, Royal D. Suttkus Fish Collection, Tulane University
TBD
|
| November 22 |
Zachary Randall, Digital Imaging Division Collection Manager, Florida Museum Imaging
Lab
Access for All: Capturing Biodiversity Collections in 3D with Photogrammetry
|
| November 29 |
No Seminar 鈥� Thanksgiving Break
|
| December 6 |
Dr. Nina Therkildsen, Cornell University
TBD
|
You can also download the 2024 Fall Seminar Schedule below.