Neil Tsutsui (2000-2003)

“Perhaps Neil Tsutsui is a little crazy.” The article would have been more accurate if it left out the “perhaps”. Neil works on the genetic causes and consequences of the successful invasion of Argentine ants, Linepithema humile from their native range in South America to their new homes throughout much of temperate North America and Europe. Neil helped Rick understand that ants were more than Hydractinia with six legs and a queen, although Rick still gets confused. While he worked in the Grosberg Lab, Neil collaborated with Rick and Andy Suarez on several projects, including an experimental study of the role of kin recognition systems in the invasion success of L. humile, and an analysis of the roles of social structure and the biogeographical history of the ant’s invasion pathway on the distribution of Wolbachia. Neil recently moved to UC Berkeley, where he joined the faculty in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy & Management.

Dr. Neil Tsutsui
Assistant Professor
University of California, Berkeley
http://nature.berkeley.edu/tsutsuilab/

Dave Carlon (1996-1998, 2001-2003)

Dave is now a faculty member at the University of Hawai’i, Manoa, where he continues his work on local adaptation and ecological speciation in corals. His research combines paleontological, morphological, genetic, ecological, and behavioral approaches. Dave is a frequent visitor to Panama, conducting research at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. In between his two stays at UC Davis, Dave spent time out in the beautiful Channel Islands doing research at USC’s Wrigley Institute of Marine Sciences.

Dr. Dave Carlon
Assistant Professor
University of Hawai'i at Manoa
http://www.hawaii.edu/zoology/faculty/carlon.htm

Rob Toonen (2001-2003)

Rob's new view of the beach at Coconut Island is guaranteed to increase his already-high productivity. The focus of Rob's dissertation was the population genetics of the porcelein crab, Petrolisthes, along the west coast of North America, a project that has highlighted the importance of year-to-year variation in population dynamics and genetic patterns for understanding how oceanographic forces impact gene flow. While developing microsatellites for his crabs he wrote the manual entitled "Microsatellites for Ecologists: Non-Radioactive Isolation and Amplification Protocols for microsatellite markers" .

Dr. Rob Toonen
Faculty
Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology
University of Hawai'i, Coconut Island
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~toonen

Mike Graham (2001-2002)

Mike collaborated with Rick and Dr. Jay Stachowicz on a historical biogeography study of kelps. He is now a faculty member at Moss Landing Marine Station, part of the California State University system

Dr. Mike Graham
Assistant Professor
Moss Landing Marine Laboratories
San Jose State University
http://phycology.mlml.calstate.edu/graham

Lisa Borghesi (1998-2000)

Lisa and Rick collaborated on a variety of projects that explored mechanisms of allorecognition in Hydractinia.

Dr. Lisa Borghesi
Assistant Professor
University of Pittsburgh
http://immunology.medicine.pitt.edu