Meet upcoming authors from SICB 2024 Seattle!

ICB’s founding society (SICB- The Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology) held their annual conference in Seattle earlier this month. With ICB being primarily a proceedings journal we wanted to highlight one upcoming author from each symposia below.

These are just a few of the authors/speakers who will be submitting to ICB later this year. Go and see what they’re up to, connect with them and their research, and be on the lookout for their papers.

s1 Feel the flow: how water movement shapes organisms and ecosystems

Author-Speaker -Dylan Wainwright

Dylan is an assistant professor in the
Department of Biological Sciences
with a partial appointment in the Department
of Forestry and Natural Resources at Purdue University.
He is broadly interested in
evolution, biomechanics, and functional morphology,
and he studies aquatic animal surfaces.

https://www.dylanwainwright.com/about-me.html

@fishwright3 on X

s2 Immunity in the ‘omics age: what can ‘omics approaches tell us about immunity in natural systems?

Author/Speaker – Nikki Traylor -Knowles

Nikki’s personal mission statement

“I inspire independent work by promoting leadership, and creativity. I take a prepared and calculated approach to all areas of mentorship, and research. I value candor, openness, and authenticity as a fast-track to productivity. I believe that outsiders are the source of progress, discovery, and innovation; and I am singularly focused on making an impact as quickly as possible.”

https://www.cnidimmunitylab.com/

@Cnidarians_Rock on X

previously co authored ICB publication

Still Enigmatic: Innate Immunity in the Ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi

Nikki Traylor-Knowles, Lauren E Vandepas, William E Browne

https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icz116

s3 Moving in an uncertain world: adaptive locomotion from organisms to machine intelligence

Author/Speaker Kaushik Jayaram

Kaushik is the principal investigator of the Animal Inspired Movement and Robotics laboratory. This lab’s research combines biology and robotics to, uncover the principles of robustness that make animals successful at locomotion in natural environments, and, in turn, inspire the design of next generation of novel robots for effective real-world operation. They are currently working with a number of arthropod model organisms including cockroaches, spiders, centipedes, etc. and developing a variety of multifunctional autonomous soft robots ranging from penny to a puppy sizes.

https://www.colorado.edu/lab/jayaram/

@JayaramKaushik on X

previously co authored ICB publication and blog

Mechanosensory Control of Locomotion in Animals and Robots: Moving Forward

Chris J Dallmann, Bradley H Dickerson, Julie H Simpson, Claire Wyart, Kaushik Jayaram

https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icad057

blog https://integrativeandcomparativebiology.wordpress.com/2023/10/03/where-robots-and-the-natural-world-meet-with-dr-kaushik-jayaram/

s4 Computational and Physical Models in Research and Teaching to Explore form-function Relationships

Author/Speaker- Nicole W. Xu

Xu’s Lab is an interdisciplinary research group at the intersection of robotics, fluid dynamics, and biology. Their mission is to develop and deploy bioinspired aquatic robots for real-world applications using a combination of laboratory experiments, theoretical modeling, and field work. By combining features from both natural and engineered designs, they aim to create more energy-efficient, maneuverable, and robust robots and underwater vehicles to track climate change, observe natural phenomena in the ocean, and aid in environmental stewardship.

https://nicolexulab.com/

s5 Chordate Origins, Evolution and Development

Author/Speaker – Chris Lowe

Lowe’s main research interests involve how major groups of animals evolved and is interested in adapting emerging techniques in biotechnology to apply to new species. His appointment at Hopkins Marine Station gives access to the incredible biodiversity of the marine environment in Monterey Bay.

https://hopkinsmarinestation.stanford.edu/people/christopher-lowe

previously co authored ICB publication

The divergent roles of the segmentation gene hunchback

Jamie Pinnell, Paul S. Lindeman, Sierra Colavito, Chris Lowe, Robert M. Savage

https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icj054

s6 The scale of resilience: mechanisms of recovery across biological systems

Author/Speaker- Allie Byrne

Allie is currently a postdoctoral fellow with the NSF-funded Resilience Institute Bridging Biological Training and Research (RIBBiTR). They are a disease ecologist and conservation biologist specializing in using genetic and genomic techniques to study amphibians and the pathogenic chytrid fungus. They are passionate about conservation, mentorship, community, animal ethics, and frogs (not necessarily in that order).

https://www.alliebyrne.com/

@allie_q on X

s7 Convergent evolution across levels of biological organization, organisms, and time

Author/Speaker – Gabriella Wolff

In Gabriella’s lab, they are investigating how insect and crustacean brains encode salient sensory information in the olfactory lobes and mushroom bodies. Using comparative neuroanatomical and behavioral assays, they examine how these structures have evolved to adapt to various learning behaviors and host-seeking strategies.

https://www.wolfflaboratory.com/

@mushroombody on X

s8 Modeling Organismal Responses to Changing Environments

Author/Speaker- Ofir Levy

Ofir’s lab aims to improve our theoretical and applied understanding of the effects of climate on ecological systems. To this end, they develop ecological and physiological approaches that bring new mechanistic insights into how environments affect organisms. Such insights are crucial for understanding ecological responses to climate change and for developing management and conservation strategies that can help species maintain their ecological niches under future climates.

https://www.biophysical-ecology.com/

https://github.com/levyofi

previously co authored ICB publication

Rocks and Vegetation Cover Improve Body Condition of Desert Lizards during Both Summer and Winter

Gavin Stark, Liang Ma, Zhi-Gao Zeng, Wei-guo Du, Ofir Levy

https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icac104

s9 Evolution, Physiology, and Biomechanics of Insect Flight

Author/Speaker- Mary Salcedo

Currently , Mary is a USDA NIFA Postdoctoral Fellow in the Jung Lab at Cornell University (Dept of Biological and Environmental Engineering) studying wing vein physiology and quantifying flow and hydraulics of hemolymph in insect wings. Mary is passionate about science communication and developing courses that blend hands-on biology and engineering principles.

https://www.maryksalcedo.com/

@MarySalcedo on X

previous ICB co authored publication

Circulation in Insect Wings

Mary K Salcedo, & John J Socha

https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icaa124

s10 What do trade-offs mean to reproducing females?: An integrative look at whole-organism trade-offs

Author/Speaker -Simon Lailvaux

Simon’s general interests are in sexual selection and evolutionary/physiological ecology. He is particularly interested in testing how life-history trade-offs affect fitness, especially with regard to whole-organism performance capacities. By studying performance within a quantitative-genetic/life-history framework, my current research aims to understand how fitness is affected (and determined) by the genetic and phenotypic relationships among performance and other important life-history traits, such as sexual attractiveness, in different selective contexts. His recent collaborative work has also examined aging and the life-history factors affecting it in insects.

https://www.simonlailvaux.com/Simon.html

Previous ICB co authored publication :

Predicting Life-History Trade-Offs with Whole-Organism Performance

Simon P. Lailvaux and Jerry F. Husak

Inte https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icx073

s11 Recent advances in the mechanistic understanding of avian responses to environmental challenges

Author/ Speaker-Maria Stager

Maria’s research program focuses on determining the mechanisms that enable organisms to mount responses to changing environmental conditions. This work integrates tools from physiology, ecology, and genomics, as well as combines laboratory experiments and field studies using natural populations — usually small songbirds. Taken together, this approach targets the causes and consequences of variation in physiological responses to broaden our understanding of individuals’ capacities to cope with accelerating global change and develop realistic projections of species’ viabilities in the future.

https://stagerlab.weebly.com/

@MariaStager on X

5 Reasons to Read Alien Worlds by Steve Nicholls

By Bushra Moussaoui, Science Writer

Burrowing bees, scuba diving seal lice, pole-vaulting katydids, and countless more intriguing & surprising insects can be found within the pages of entomologist and wildlife filmmaker, Steve Nicholls’ latest book. Alien Worlds: How Insects Conquered the Earth & Why Their Fate Will Determine Our Future is ‘the’ insect book for kids who never grew out of their bug phase. It is a vibrant peek into the inner lives of insect kind, the most numerous and arguably the most diverse group of animals to ever exist, providing a thoroughly researched and exceptionally detailed account of their biological prowess and spectacular, although under-appreciated, beauty.

Insect Photography Galore!

Alien Worlds is not only replete with scientific accounts of insect ecology, evolution, and behavior, but also features a gallery of stunning full-color, and often full-page, photographs that showcase the remarkable diversity of these arthropods. In fact, one can’t flip more than a couple of pages without coming face to face with another curious species, which wouldn’t make it all that strange to pick up this book for its photos alone.

2 Clears up Confusions on What an Insect is

This book provides a thorough primer on what an insect is and isn’t for all the guilty biologists (myself included) that lump most creepy crawlies under the colloquial moniker, ‘bug.’ Nicholls breaks down the biological classification of insects, describing the features they share with fellow arthropods, like spiders and crustaceans, and identifying the characteristics that are unique to insects, while also carefully addressing nature’s propensity for exceptions.

3 A Chronicle of Insect Evolution

Alien Worlds opens a window into the evolutionary trajectory that facilitated the impressive success of insects. Different chapters trace vital evolutionary feats in this process such as the colonization of terrestrial environments, specialization of appendages, evolution of flight, insects’ intimate coevolution with flowering plants, and the development of complex societies.

4 Insect-Related Stories from the History of Science

Iconic figures like Charles Darwin, Alfred Russel Wallace, and Ernst Haeckel make regular appearances in this book as stories are shared on how each of their scientific inquiries intersected with a particular aspect of insect natural history. Not to mention the story of a German naturalist who was arrested for heresy when he shared his discovery that caterpillars metamorphose into butterflies.

5 A Compelling Case for Renewing Our Appreciation for Insects

Ultimately, this book seeks to change people’s minds on insects by not only illustrating their eccentric biology and beauty, but also by highlighting the myriad ways in which we, and all life on earth, rely on their continued success in our ecosystems. Especially when considering the recent alarming global decline in insect populations, and biodiversity in general, Nicholls emphasizes that the only heartening way forward is to properly understand and value the vital contributions of insect kind to the web of life—and in his own words, “So don’t just see a pesky bug in need of swatting – meet a fellow sentient being – one whose kin have been living here for at least two hundred times longer than we have.”

References:

Nicholls, S. (2023). Alien Worlds: How Insects Conquered the Earth & Why Their Fate Will Determine Our Future. Princeton University Press.

ICB insect reads

Insect Development, Thermal Plasticity and Fitness Implications in Changing, Seasonal Environments

Lauren B Buckley, Andrew J Arakaki, Anthony F Cannistra, Heather M Kharouba, Joel G Kingsolver

Author Notes

Integrative and Comparative Biology, Volume 57, Issue 5, November 2017, Pages 988–998, https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icx032

IOB insect reads:

Abdominal Movements in Insect Flight Reshape the Role of Non-Aerodynamic Structures for Flight Maneuverability I: Model Predictive Control for Flower Tracking

Jorge Bustamante, Jr, Mahad Ahmed, Tanvi Deora, Brian Fabien, Thomas L Daniel

Integrative Organismal Biology, Volume 4, Issue 1, 2022, obac039, https://doi.org/10.1093/iob/obac039

Article author: Bushra Moussaoui received her M.S. in Biology from New Mexico State University where she researched the effects of aging on vocal learning and social integration in parrots. She is a freelance science writer. bushra.moussaoui@gmail.com

Further Together: Calling All Black Environmentalists – Guest blog by Dr. Allie Igwe

by Dr. Allie Igwe

NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellow working with Dr. Michelle Afkhami at the University of Miami ( https://rhizoremedies.wordpress.com/)

“Styrofoam, stick pins, and…mothballs,” my mom slowly read the list of supplies her 7-year old would need to complete her first science fair project. “What would you need with mothballs?” she inquired.

“I think they keep the insects safe,” I answered.

“Wait…aren’t they already going to be dead? You know what…nevermind.” She took a deep breath, grabbed her keys, then we headed to our local art and craft supply store. You see, I was planning to catch and display the various insects that I found in our front yard and the mothballs would keep away any live insects that would destroy my collection. While my mom did not completely understand the delight I got from bugs, rocks, and plants, she indulged me anyway and laid the foundation for what would eventually be my job as an environmental microbiologist.

The environment is such a large and all-encompassing term that includes places such as forests, oceans, our homes, and the abandoned parking lot with the resilient dandelions poking through the concrete. Black people are equally as diverse and include communities of the African diaspora that exist in all of these environments. Still, there’s an idea that Black people don’t do nature. While the Nature Gap is real and people of color, in general, and Black people especially are underrepresented in outdoor spaces, this is generally due to a lack of access and safety, not interest. Black in Environment is an organization that highlights all of the various ways Black people interact and engage with their environment through our work, research, organizing, and joy-filled adventures. We connect scholars and community-based organizations that lead hikes, grow food, or otherwise facilitate safe and inclusive spaces for Black people to access and enjoy the environment.

Starting in 2021 with its first #BlackinEnvironmentWeek, Black in Environment builds community for Black people in environmental spaces and highlights the scholarship, activism and engagement of Black environmentalists globally. In the midst of the pandemic, Black in the Environment hosted virtual events such as cooking demonstrations, Zoom panels, and chats on Twitter and Instagram that allowed Black environmentalist to network with each other during a #BlackinEnvironmentRollCall. I joined Black in Environment in 2022 because I feel like my best self when I am contributing to work that is larger than me. This organization provides a space for my little 7-year old self to connect with other people who are equally as obsessed with the environment as me. For my first event, I organized a conversation with Gasali Adeyemo about the Nigerian practice of Indigo dyeing. While I am generally tenacious, I know Black in Environment helped me find the courage to reach out to a stranger and ask about a custom from a culture that is mine, but I tentatively explore. I am grateful to continue to explore my interest while supporting an organization that centers environmental and climate justice, equity and inclusion, as well as environmental education.

Since its inception, Black in Environment has hosted three annual week-long installments of #BlackInEnvironmentWeek during Earth Week where they had 65 speakers, over 680 participants, and grew their online community across Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. This year is no different except #BlackinEnvironmentWeek will happen in person as well as virtually. This hybrid conference (2024 Black in Environment Conference: Nurturing Roots, Growing Change, & Cultivating Community in the Workforce and Beyond) will take place virtually from April 21-24, 2024 and on the campus of the illustrious Howard University from April 25-27, 2024. Although this isn’t the first time the Black in Environment organizing team has hosted Black in Environment week, planning a conference comes with its own set of challenges. Even then, this conference embodies the mission of Black in Environment and is the next brick in a future the organization hopes to build.

Members of the organizing team, some who have been involved since the first #BlackinEnvironmentWeek, shared their thoughts on what it is like to plan a hybrid conference and how they see the organization and its events expanding. Dr. Fuschia-Ann Hoover, the Black Ecologies and Geographies Coordinator for Black in Environment and Assistant Professor in Geography and Earth Sciences at the University of North Carolina Charlotte, expressed her enthusiasm for the conference stating that, “we’d been talking about having something in person and providing the special connections that happen when you can be face-to-face with someone or sharing a meal or story.” This conference also comes at an opportune time because Zoom fatigue was beginning to impact online participation. Now, with the hybrid conference, Black environmentalists from across the globe are still able to access events hosted by Black in Environment digitally while also having the option to interact offline. This flexibility is great for participants, but “thinking through all of the moving parts and components that go into an in-person event that is not a part of an online event” can be challenging, remarked Dr. Hoover. Still, she continues, “conference planning takes a lot of work but when you have several people working together and great leadership, it is fun and feels less overwhelming.”

Sharon Dorsey, the organization’s Nature-Affiliated Engagement Coordinator and Master of Fish & Wildlife Conservation had similar sentiments as Dr. Hoover. She shared that “…teamwork is invaluable to a successful large-scale project such as this one. And having a diverse team with varying areas of expertise, skills, and experiences expedites the planning progress.” Skills related to communication, creativity, and building rapport are particularly important to Black in Environment as the organization is “[partnering] with long-standing conservation/environmental agencies such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) on hosting in-person reception events for conference attendees,” which is a highlight for Dorsey.

While we are partnering with large conservation organizations, Black in Environment understands that leadership at environmental organizations continues to be overwhelmingly white, excluding Black, Indigenous and people of color from powerful decision-making positions; contributing to the annual $2.3 trillion that the U.S. loses due to racial income inequality. Fortunately, improving racial diversity in the environmental workforce by providing professional development opportunities through science and engineering fields can address this economic shortfall while improving environmental outcomes that impact people of color. To support this goal, Black in Environment is hosting the #BlackinEnvironmentWeek hybrid conference to promote diversity and inclusivity in the environment and workforce. Moreover, beyond labor, Black in Environment hopes to be a beacon for people who just want to learn more about the environment or share their adventures.

Black in Environment is a young organization – younger than I was when I was asking for mothballs – but they are still doing the work to bolster the visibility of Black environmentalists, facilitate connections, and actively sculpt a more diverse environmental future. In that future, the Black in Environment conference effects systemic change by creating a supportive, empowering, and inclusive environment for Black scientists and students in the environmental sector. Through physical gatherings, financial support, collaboration, recognition, and knowledge sharing, the future events from Black in Environment will dismantle barriers, foster a sense of belonging, and inspire lasting change within the STEM fields, particularly in the environmental sector.

Connect via @BlackinEnviron on X and https://www.blackinenviron.org/

Cephalopod grouping author Francisco Borges’ playlist for scientists

For this installment of a Scientist’s Playlist, we’re sharing a playlist from author Francisco Borges, one of our cephalopod grouping co authors from the grouping of papers headed by Yan Wang of Princeton for issue 6 in 2023 just out in December (https://alleninstitute.org/person/z-yan-wang/ ).

Francisco O Borges weighs in on his recommendations. He is a Marine Ecologist, Senior Researcher & PhD Candidate.

See
orcid.org/0000-0002-3911-0421
https://www.cienciavitae.pt//pt/B814-9E8E-F556
Francisco O. Borges (owlstown.net)

Francisco Borges | LinkedIn

During my MSc / early PhD years at Laboratório Marítimo da Guia. Like many other groups, we spent most of our time building new aquarium and life support systems for our marine study critters.

Francisco is the co author of

Climate-Change Impacts on Cephalopods: A Meta-Analysis

Francisco O Borges, Eduardo Sampaio, Catarina P Santos, Rui Rosa

https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icad102

Francisco Borges‘s recommendations are :

*science podcasts: “StarTalk” with Neil Degrasse Tyson, and “So You Want To Be a Marine Biologist” by MarineBio.Life.

*Workshop or conference I don’t miss(though online now): CIAC (Cephalopod International Advisory Council) meetings – bringing together all the ceph nerds doing amazing ceph science.

*Scientific documentary film- The BBC Blue Planet series, of course, and The Diary of a Marine Researcher by AIMM (Marine and Environment Research Association), which is currently my work home.

https://youtu.be/8TmOp98hyX8?si=JB6D6zUKHMA29f_7

*my scientist social media faves- https://twitter.com/Oceanfilly – spreading scientific literacy on ocean critters in a fun and easy way!

https://twitter.com/CephalopodToday – daily pics of cute cephs! (ok, I may be a tad biased)

*Image or images (examples- pic of you in lab, out in nature , or at local community event or doing any activism you’re engaged in , or field work pic) –

Between 2012 and 2015, before being entirely sure I wanted to be a Marine Biologist, a colleague, my now wife, and me started an Environmental Awareness project towards the conservation of the (at the time) Critically Endangered Iberian Lynx.

Last CIAC, in 2022, I was part of the organizing committee and was also able to present a couple of my PhD chapters.
What an amazing opportunity it was to network with incredible ceph scientists from all around the world.

Books to kick off 2024!

No time like the onset of the New Year to make your book list. Below, we have some excellent recommendations with ties to ICB that you won’t want to miss.

1st) The Inquistive Biologist

Book blogger/ Insta influencer

(@) the inquisitivebiologist on Insta or see their blog for fantastic recommendations throughout the year.

https://inquisitivebiologist.com/2023

2nd) Beronda Montgomery

ICB author from Issue 6 this year:

Following the Principles of the Universe: Lessons from Plants on Individual and Communal Thriving

https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icad117

Beronda is the author of Lessons from Plants

Beronda’s Lesson’s in plants is a must read

and if you missed it, see our blogger/scientist Molly Gabler-Smith’s review

A review of Dr. Beronda Montgomery’s Lessons from Plants

3rd) Robert Sapolsky

often cited by ICB authors (see Knapp’s Endocrine Mediation of Vertebrate Male Alternative Reproductive Tactics: The Next Generation of Studies://academic.oup.com/icb/article/43/5/658/574650 )

Author and scientist Robert Sapolsky spurs an interesting discussion with his latest on free will with Determined.

Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will is a 2023 nonfiction book by American neuroendocrinology researcher Robert Sapolsky concerning the neurological evidence for or against free will. Sapolsky generally concludes that our choices are determined by our genetics, experience, and environment,^[1] and that the common use of the term free will is erroneous. The book also examines the “ethical consequences of justice and punishment” in a model of human behavior that dispenses with free will.

4th) Ariel Chipman

a former ICB co author of

The Evolution of Gene Regulatory Networks that Define Arthropod Body Plans

Tzach Auman, Ariel D. Chipman

https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icx035

Chipman’s February release of Organismic Animal Biology

is available for pre order now from Oxford University Press. We’ll have a book review of this one later this year, but here below is a bit about it.

Organismic Animal Biology is an introductory textbook for an undergraduate course in organismal animal biology in a general biology or biotechnology program. It is explicitly aimed at students who will go on to be biomedical researchers, biochemists, cell biologists etc. and who need to understand the significance of the organism to their future research careers. It will also be a useful primer or easy reference for undergraduate and graduate students in more intensive organismic animal biology programs.

5th) Shaz Zamore

former ICB co author of

Visual Acuity in the Flying Snake, Chrysopelea paradisi

Shaz A Zamore, Nicole Araujo, John J Socha

https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icaa143

Zamore’s Been Outside launched this past fall

This book explores question such as what does it mean to be a Black woman or nonbinary scientist studying the natural world? Encompassing identity, inspiration, ancestry, and stewardship, the essays and poems by leading Black women and nonbinary scientists in Been Outside explore how experiences in the natural world and life sciences shape the self. The writers and researchers included contemplate the moments that sparked their love of nature, as well as the ways time in the field and outdoor adventures have enhanced or expanded their perspectives about what is possible.

These stories from twenty-two writers showcase the challenges and joys of carving out your own path through the natural world–and will inspire anyone seeking to craft their own outdoor life.

A Year of BIMS!

We have so enjoyed our blog post collaboration with Black In Marine Science (BIMS) since the spring of 2022!

Now switching gears to focus on the BIMS collection of ICB papers, due out in our issue 6 of 2024, we are wrapping up our BIMS blogs with a video below telling about what sets BIMS conferences apart if you’re someone wanting to go next year and a list of just a few of the fantastic BIMS blogs that have been shared monthly by some of their members.

Founder Tiara Moore shares just some of the things that set BIMS apart.

Blogs:

BIMS (Black in Marine Science)

February BIMS guest post: What does being Black in Marine Sciences mean to me?

BIMS feature-A Journey to Greatness; from medical doctor to a marine scientist

What does allyship look like? A Book review: Minorities in Shark Sciences Diverse Voices in Shark Research

A BIMS member post for BIMS week- A Summer in the ICE

BIMS guest post- Letter to a young Nature Photographer from Alex Troutman

connect with Black in Marine Science via Twitter

@BlackinMarSci

& Insta via blackinmarinescience

& YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCv1x1LNaM34tYvY2eHUHAbQ

and be on the lookout in January 2025 for issue 6 of 2024 to come out with BIMS papers!

Art in Bio- Meet Seattle’s Maggie Burns

sample art from https://maggierburns.com/

Annually, at the SICB journals(ICB &IOB) booth for our founding society of SICB, we have hosted a local animal conservation effort related visitor from the local community where we are holding our conference. This year, however, we wanted to highlight our art in biology focus and invite a local artist who creates science related art. We were elated to come across botanical artist, Maggie Burns of Seattle.

Be sure if you’re attending to SICB, to stop by the the journal booth during the morning coffee break on January 5th to see Maggie at work and see some of her amazing art!

(bio from Maggie’s site)

Maggie’s work is about reawakening the senses and the need to preserve natural beauty. This self taught creator’s art is a study of what continues to compel us into a state of optimism in the face of hardship and adversity. As a child she grew up in Southern California and on the coast of Baja, Mexico. Her work is a union of her life experiences, inspirations, and the untimely death of her mother which affected her deeply. Experiencing loss at an early age naturally changed the way she viewed the world. Not taking anything for granted, her tendency to make small observations ~ colors in the sky and sea, the structure of a petal, the crosscurrent of a tide, a breeze moving through a tree, are what influence her choices in creating her colorful depictions of flora and fauna. The choosing of materials is deliberate in her paintings and collages as well. Paper that has been reused or recycled into new forms, through creating handmade versions or reusing art from her archive are intentional in her practice, a metaphor for rebirth and renewal. Botanicals and marine vegetation guide her selections in color and theme to create a sense of flow and movement.

What Maggies has to say about her process and how art and biology are related:

How do you feel Science and Art are related?

I feel that scientists and artists look at the world in similar ways. To be observant and one with nature is to study what’s around you. I draw inspiration from botanicals and how they are structured before I interpret them in my art. It gives my creations the foundation they need, even if they are not literal translations of the plant life. I think something simple like the structure of a leaf can inspire both scientific inquiry and artistic expression.

Have you always made botany focused artwork and what led you to want to create plant related art?

Yes! I have always been interested in botany. I really started off just making marks with my paints, I was interested to see how paint reacts with water and how it dries. What I started to see in my marks, was florals, leaves, and vines. It just sort of grew naturally from there. But really, it was a distinct memory of having a small drawing that my mother had done as a child that stayed with me. She passed away when I was 18 years old. It was a simple doodle of a flower with geometric petals. I thought at the time that it was the prettiest sketch that I had ever seen and in that moment, I realized that I inherited my artistic inclinations through her. In a way, I’m trying to keep my mother’s memory alive through my art.

Can you tell us a bit about your process? Idea to completion.

Hmm, this is a difficult question for me to answer. I really don’t have the same process for every project. Sometimes, I feel like painting, other times I feel like cutting paper or making paper pulp. I guess it starts with a general plan or an idea, but it never really comes out exactly how I think it will. My process is fluid and when I’m in the zone, I just let my mind, heart and hands tell me what to do. There is always a lot of trial and error. Sometimes I bounce back and forth from various works. I know that I am done when it just feels right or when it doesn’t. Then I just start over again.

What is something you feel any artist or aspiring artist should know?

Every artist whether they are a beginner or seasoned, can be self critical of their own work. You worry if anybody will like it. If you really tune into yourself and make art that you truly love, it won’t matter if others like it or not. Do it for you, because the process of making is what brings you joy. If others love it too, well that’s a bonus. Would you keep making art if nobody in the world liked it? If you answered yes, then you are on the right track. The connections to others will come. I truly believe through your art, you can find your people and your community, it just takes time.

connect with Maggie on Insta via @maggieramirezburns

Keep up with Integrative & Comparative Biology
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Read botany reads from ICB

Re-imagining Reproduction: The Queer Possibilities of Plants

Banu Subramaniam, Madelaine Bartlett

https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icad012

and our sibling journal IOB

Comparative Prey Spectra Analyses on the Endangered Aquatic Carnivorous Waterwheel Plant (Aldrovanda vesiculosa, Droseraceae) at Several Naturalized Microsites in the Czech Republic and Germany

M Horstmann, L Heier, S Kruppert, L C Weiss, R Tollrian, L Adamec, A Westermeier, T Speck, S Poppinga

https://doi.org/10.1093/iob/oby012

Meet some our ICB team- Kolmann, Kelly, Rivera, & Josefson

With our new publication year getting ready to begin, we wanted to introduce future authors and ICB readers to some of our editorial team:

Below, a few of them share a bit about themselves, a playlist of recommendations and some tips for writing.

Associate Editor: AE, Ajna Rivera

A picture of Ajna at work supervising a Cavity Preparation workshop for her pre-dentistry students.

“I am an evolutionary developmental biologist studying sensory system evolution and adaptation. My biggest tip for the writing and revision process is to proofread it with fresh eyes. Sometimes important points are either glossed over or added in only in the methods section and reviewers (and readers!) miss them. Always proofread with an eye towards a reader looking at your manuscript for the first time.”

Assistant Editor : Tosha Kelly

“An acceptable manuscript should tell a story, with a clear take home message for the audience to remember about the experiment. The audience won’t remember everything you write, so keeping it concise and to your point will make for an effective manuscript. I find this difficult because I get so excited about the results and have lots of ideas, but I keep reminding myself…

To digest revisions, I read them once and then give myself a few days before I actually start to make revisions. I tend to need the space to remember that the critiques are not personal and they are there to help improve my research.

Writing tip: I need a 2-3 hour chunk of time to make significant progress on writing. To stay focused during that time, I’ll make a pot of tea and not stop writing until the pot is empty. “

Dr. Tosha Kelly (she/her) (@BirdBrainTosh) / X

photos at Tosha’s microscope of some avian blood-borne parasites. Below is one of Trypanosoma.

Assistant Editor : Matt Kolmann

“I’m a functional morphologist, natural history collection proponent, and fish enthusiast. I’ve attached a picture of me fishing for rays in Guyana.

Writing tips?

Write for the reader, not for yourself. Take as much time as you can to ensure what you are writing is clear, succinct, and lays out a narrative for the reader. Get into the habit of formulaic writing, that is, having a clear, repeatable structure for every paper you write – and you will write faster, more clearly, and more often.”

Assistant Editor (and 2024 symposia organizer:) Chloe Josefson

shares her scientists playlist with us below.

Chloe, in March 2021, working on generating data from milk samples for the paper that was part of the Mayerl/German 2023 SICB Symposium (a week before her daughter was born!).

Science podcasts:

-Ologies

Big Biology (produced and created by former ICB editor in chief, Marty Martin)

The Common Descent Podcast

This Podcast Will Kill You

Period Podcast with Kate Clancy

The Disappearing Spoon

Other Podcasts:

Maintenance Phase

You’re Wrong About

If Books Could Kill

Bananas

Science publications:

Bitch: On the female of the species by Lucy Cooke

**(see ICB blog on this book) https://integrativeandcomparativebiology.wordpress.com/2022/09/27/bitch-on-the-female-of-the-species-a-book-spotlight-symposia-focus/

Milk by Michael Power and Jay Schulkin

Reproduction in Mammals: The Female Perspective by the fantastic scientists, Virginia Hayssen and Teri Orr

And read papers from the symposia by Hayssen and Orr

https://academic.oup.com/icb/article/60/3/676/5870288

My scientist social media favs:

I was lucky enough to join the March Mammal Madness (@MMMletsgo) team this past year and it was pretty great to be able to contribute and follow the festivities on social media!

Me, at the University of Idaho dairy with a day-old calf

Keep up with Integrative & Comparative Biology
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Art in Bio- Sarah Saxton Strassberg -spreading awareness about threatened & endangered animals

With all the many hardships that persist in the world, we want to take time to focus on the beauty that is still being created. We also recognize that with the increasing recognition of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) rather than only STEM, it’s important to highlight some of the scientists/ biologists , and those who create science related art, who not only follow our journals via our social media accounts or subscribe to The Journal Of Integrative and Comparative Biology and our sibling journal The Journal of Integrative Organismal Biology, but also a few of our journal volunteers(Assistant Editors and social media outreach associates).

Our Art in Bio blogs feature artwork along with the artist’s thoughts on how their art influences biology and vice versa. This week, we are spotlighting SICB member and SICB Seattle attendee in 2024, Sarah Saxton Strassberg, a PhD Candidate in Evolutionary Biology at the University of Chicago

When I was in preschool, I was asked for the first time what I wanted to be when I grew up. I said I wanted to be an “astronaut artist.” For as long as I can remember, I have loved fusing science and the arts. There is remarkable beauty in all areas of science (particularly biology, I would argue, but of course I’m biased), and art is an excellent and accessible vehicle for improving public knowledge about biodiversity and the history of life on Earth.

Nearly all of my work is traditional art, which I enjoy because of the vast array of media and tools that are available. I tend to mix 2D media (watercolor and ink, graphite and colored pencil, etc.) in order to create textures and compositions that reflect the organic nature of my subjects and the historical context of scientific illustration.

I have always been passionate about animal conservation, and my dissertation work, which focuses on the evolution of digging in mammals and their ancient ancestors, has a strong conservation bent. I use art as a way to spread awareness about threatened and endangered animals that are not well known, as well as to convey the stories of recently extinct species, such as the thylacine and the passenger pigeon, and the dangers of climate change and habitat loss. I also create art pieces that bridge the gap between everyday life and fossil organisms, such as my state fossil-themed watercolor/ink series.

Nearly every US state has at least one official fossil–for example, Illinois’s is the Tully Monster, and Washington’s is the Columbian mammoth–and these state fossils are a great way to promote interest in paleontology and help people relate to ancient animals. My overarching goal in my artistic endeavors is to inspire people to learn more about the incredible diversity of organisms and ecosystems on our planet; the more people who are interested in conservation, biodiversity, and paleontology, the better!

by Sarah Saxton Strassberg – PhD Candidate in Evolutionary Biology at the University of Chicago

Website: https://linktr.ee/ologymenagerie

And thanks so much Sarah for letting SICB have use of this starling for our Student fund Fine Art America account(profits go to student scholarships) :

https://fineartamerica.com/featured/violet-backed-starling-sarah-saxton-strassberg.html?newartwork=true

A BIMS member post for BIMS week- A Summer in the ICE

by Natalie Cross , BIMS(Black in Marine Science) member

Since the spring of 2022, the ICB blog and BIMS, Black in Marine Science, have been collaborating to highlight scientists from the BIMS organization. We hope this collaboration has fostered a connection between a phenomenal network of colleagues in marine bio and inform our readers about BIMS research as well as their continued work to not only create a network but also a safe space for their members.

This month, during #BIMSWEEK2023 , Natalie Cross is our featured BIMS blogger:

A mix between ice skating and walking on water, it’s hard to describe what it feels like to walk out onto a sea ice floe. The term used to refer to a floating piece of sea ice, floes cover the Arctic Ocean for a majority of the year, melting each summer before they reform and freeze again each winter. These transitory pieces of ice are so unique they have their own name – sikuliaq.

An Iñupiaq word (Iñupiaq is the language spoken by the Iñupiat peoples native to the Seward Peninsula, Northwest Arctic/Alaska, and parts of Western Canada), sikuliaq translates in English to “young sea ice that is safe to walk on.” In fact, there are words for all sorts of types of ice in the Inupiaq language, from sigu which means packed ice to mitivit which refers to the ice crystals that float on top an ice fishing hole; the numerous descriptors for sea ice that exist within the Iñupiaq language are just one example showcasing the importance and interconnectedness of this landscape to the Iñupiat people indigenous to the Arctic region (learn more here). I feel incredibly honored to have been able to spend my summer exploring these icy waters as a part of a research cruise aboard a vessel with a name that plays homage to the traditional stewards of the region – the R/V Sikuliaq.

Classified as an icebreakervessel, the R/V Sikuliaq is capable of making its way through sea ice up to a meter thick. With a fully stocked dining room, sauna, gym and speaker system, this ship was definitely not a bad place to call home for 6 weeks this summer. My stint aboard the Sikuliaq was as a part of Dr. Kevin Arrigo’s lab group studying the fate of primary production in the Chukchi Sea – specifically the fate of photosynthesizing phytoplankton.

Similar to plants on land, phytoplankton require two main ingredients to conduct photosynthesis: nutrient-rich waters (full of nitrogen & iron among others) and light. There is plenty of light in the summer months of the Arctic (the sun quite literally never sets) & there are also plentiful nutrients as the shallow basin of the Chukchi Sea (it’s only ~50 meters deep, practically a bathtub in comparison to the Pacific who’s average depth is 4,000 meters) and outflow of rivers from nearby land masses provides a steady stream of nitrogen into well-mixed waters. So it would seem as though the Chukchi sea should be full of phytoplankton. However, when looking at satellite images of this region – chlorophyll levels (used as a proxy to determine phytoplankton concentrations) seem to be surprisingly low.

But, there is one thing that satellite images can’t capture – the chlorophyll/phytoplankton concentration underneath sea ice! On past research cruises, the Arrigo lab had determined that the Chukchi Sea is home to a plethora of under sea ice phytoplankton blooms – meaning something about the protection & conditions provided by the sea ice are allowing phytoplankton to thrive in these waters. So onto the ice we went – collecting samples from within and underneath the sea ice floes to further understand the timing and extent of these under-ice phytoplankton blooms.

After two hours of polar bear watch, yes you read that right, two hours spent surveying the landscape for polar bears… we walked out onto the to collect ice cores. Basically long cylinders drilled out of the sea ice – we would take these back on board the ship, melt them down and analyze the phytoplankton content within them. If you’re curious to learn more about the process of collecting and analyzing sea ice data check out an in-depth blog post that I wrote here.

For me, the real highlight of this experience was all the animals I got to see. I’ve been obsessed with animals for as long as I could remember – as a little kid I would spend hours pouring over animal encyclopedias and my teenage summers were spent in muck boats volunteering at my local animal rehabilitation center. And, I’ve come to find that nothing compares to being out at sea, truly immersed in the habitat of another species. Watching polar bears gracefully traverse across the ice floes and walrus mamas huddling over their babies to keep them warm are memories that I will cherish forever. While pursuing the field of marine science as someone with brown skin & big curly hair has not been easy, it is experiences like this one that make it infinitely worth it.

Natalie

Check out more content that I produced about this research experience on IG: @polarplankton or Tiktok: @polarplankton or on Medium: https://polarplankton.medium.com/

And if you have any questions or want to get to know me more please don’t hesitate to reach out, I would love to chat!! IG: @ncross_photography & Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-cross-392561172/

Thank you to BIMS and ICB for this opportunity!

Connect with BIMS

via Twitter (X) @BlackinMarSci and

on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/blackinmarinescience