The TCD Botany-Zoology Postgraduate Symposium made its annual return this month on the 7th and 8th of March for its 13th edition. This is a time when postgraduates and research assistants from the departments in the School of Natural Sciences could showcase their work and gain valuable experience presenting to peers. There was a diverse range of talks spanning from climate change, to fossilised plants, and a post-doctorate discussion panel. We also had the pleasure of hearing from the two keynote speakers Anja Murray who has had an extensive career in policy and media and talked about her expansive career and her new book. Secondly, Dr. Cordula Scherer works with the Trinity Centre for Environmental Humanites and is currently in charge of the IRC funded project Food Smart Dublin. She discussed branching the gap between science and humanities.
The keynote speakers and 2024 organising committee: (from left to right) Antonieta B. Knetge, Clinton Haarlem, Anja Murray (keynote), Cordula Scherer (keynote), Kathleen Conroy, and Simon Benson.
Day One
The first day kicked off at lunchtime on the 7th with a fascinating talking from Anja Murray. She started by discussing how her early career was mainly in policy making, aiming to make a difference with her ecologist perspective and knowledge. She then discussed her move into media hosting RTE’s “Eco Eye” for 11 years before its ending, writing “Wild Embrace: Connecting to the Wonder of Ireland’s Natural World” during lockdown, her podcast “Root and Branch” and weekly piece “Nature File” on RTE Lyric FM, and her column in the Irish Examiner. It gave us a great perspective on how to communicate what we, as scientists, know to a broader audience.
Anja Murray presenting her presentation about her career.
In the afternoon we heard from Thibault Durieux a third year PhD student who talked about analysis of plant stems to reconstruct plants from the early Carboniferous period. Next was Niamh McCartan a third year PhD who discussed how cold snaps can influence disease in the Daphnia system. Following Niamh, was Ian Clancy a second year PhD student who taught us about greenhouse gas fluxes (CO2 and CH4) from grassland on peat soil. Next was Antonietta B. Knetge, a 2nd year PhD student who showed us plant fossilisation and diversity at South Tancrediakløft, Greenland, across the end-Triassic biotc crisis. The final talk of the day was from Catarina Barbosa, a 2nd year PhD student who told us about dominant and rare genera (groups of plant) in the same area as Antonietta’s study.
Day Two (Morning)
Day two started off with a talk by Kathleen Conroy a third year PhD student, who showed us how Bayesian Belief Network models can help land managers make decisions based on ecosystem services. Next, Simon Benson, a third year PhD student, talked about his work on identifying kelp functional traits in North Atlantic kelp species and their use in industry. After Simon, Aoife Molloy a Research Assistant showed us how to identify and assess best practice nature-based solutions for climate action in Ireland. Following Aoife, Josua Seitz a 2nd year PhD student talked about his work on modelling grassland turnover in the land surface model QUINCY.
After a quick coffee break we jumped right back in with Charlotte Morgan, a second year PhD student who taught us about the threat of emerging herbicide resistance in Irish weeds. Next, Emma King a Research Assistant told us about using Natural Capital Accounting to identify how to manage wind farms to increase biodiversity. After Emma’s talk, we heard from Kate Harrington, a third year PhD student, who told us about factors driving the diversity and composition of floral and insect communities of young, native woodlands in Ireland. Next up was Vivienne Gao, a Research Assistant who showed us how polyphenolic content in seaweed, an important property for the food and pharmaceutical industry, varies with cultivation method and between species.
To finish off the session we heard from the post-doctorate Charlotte Carrier-Belleau who gave us an inspiration session about her journey so far. She began with how she began studying communication before realising science, and more specifically multiple stressors in the environment was her calling. This was followed by a Q&A with a panel of post-doctorates who gave great advice and honest answers to any curious people considering a post-doc.
The post-doctorate panel answering questions. (From left to right) William Matthaeus, Edward Straw, Saté Ahmad, and Charlotte Carrier-Belleau
Day Two (Afternoon)
After a delicious lunch the final session kicked off, we heard from MacDara Allison a 1st year PhD student who works on modelling plankton transport in Irish coastal areas using ocean current models. Next, Lauren Sliney, a Research Master’s student who showed us how studying tendon development in mice can help us uncover possibilities of tendon repair and regeneration in humans suffering from tendon and ligament damage. After Lauren, Whitney Parker, a third year student who discussed the varying host specificity and resistance between 200 Daphnia genotypes. The final postgraduate short talk was given by Moran Mirzaei, a first year PhD student who told us about using eddy covariance data to assess the impact of management practices on CO2 dynamics in Irish grasslands.
To end the day the second keynote speaker Dr. Cordula Sherer discussed how she had to learn a new perspective of working when she joined the humanities looking at marine ecology in history. One such project she recently worked on was adapting historical seafood recipes to the modern palette to encourage more seafood consumption and published “One Year of Irish Seafood: Traditional, Historical, Sustainable” while the recipes themselves are available on the Food Smart Dublin webpage.
Dr Cordula Scherer presenting her work on encouraging the consumption of seafood
The Winners
Finally, the winners for the talks were announced:
MacDara Allison won best 5-minute talk, Charlotte Morgan won best 10-minute talk, Emma King won best overall talk and Simon Benson won audience choice. Congratulations to them!
The winners (from left to right): MacDara Allison, Emma King, Charlotte Morgan, and Simon Benson.
Until Next Year!
We want to say a huge thank you to the committee members for putting on such a friendly and supportive event! And congratulations to all the speakers, with a special mention to the winners again!
Finally, a quick reminder that if you have any EcoEvo news, research updates, or think pieces you’d like to write about, please get in touch. We’d love to hear from you and share your piece on the blog!
As we welcome in the New Year, we want to take the time to bid farewell to Prof. Celia Holland who retired in October 2022 from the Zoology Department. I believe I speak for everyone in Zoology and Trinity who’ve had the great pleasure of meeting Celia, that she will be a huge loss to the department. She has acted as Head of School, Head of Discipline, Director of Research, and Chair of the School of Natural Sciences Athena Swan Self-Assessment Team to name a few.
Celia on fieldwork collecting specimens
Celia started her teaching journey in the Zoology Department in 1985, following an exuberating Post-Doc in Panama, where her passion for the epidemiology of globally significant but neglected helminths, such as Ascaris, developed. Although she was one of the “new kids on the block” and one of very few females in a male dominated department, she was quick to make her mark and let the world know her presence. Celia was quick to fix the muddled teaching schedule, by rightly advocating for herself to be lecturer of parasitology and pre-med, which was previously taught by a limnologist. Not only did this strengthen the parasitology course, it was also the start of a long and fruitful relationship with the medical department in TCD, starting Celia’s so called “double life”. Her work on an astonishing diversity of parasites and their hosts crossing multiple disciplines, has improved human health and increased our understanding of parasites and their effects.
Anyone who has had the great pleasure to interact or work with Celia will know her as a calm, reassuring presence. Her delightful demeanor and passion could draw you into the world of parasites, making you question whether you should continue to eat pork or spaghetti, while simultaneously spurring up a profound desire to delve deeper into parasitology, converting (or even infecting) many students. This impact, her vast knowledge and expertise, along with her belief that “you are only as good as your last lecture”, unsurprisingly granted Celia with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Provost’s Teaching Award 2018 – 2019.
Celia, center, receiving the Provost’s Teaching Award. Other recipients, from left to right: Prof’s Conor McGinn, Helen Sheridan, Celia Holland, Tara Mitchell and Provost Prendergast
Celia has not only had a huge impact on the college community and the people she met, but has also significantly impacted the global community with her research, which took place around the globe. Celia has worked on a multitude of parasites and their hosts over the years. She has studied parasites affecting Irish school children, raising awareness of the symptoms and impacts of toxocaral eye disease, a treatable and preventable disease caused by Toxocara. Toxocariasis, a zoonotic infection, has huge impacts on human health around the globe. She also highlighted the importance of targeting Trichuris trichiura, a whipworm that can infect over 90% of children in the tropics and subtropics, causing major impacts on health and quality of life. Celia demonstrated the importance of treating children and girls in particular, as adolescent girls have higher iron requirements due to menstruation, pregnancy & breast feeding. Most notably, Celia worked on one of the most prevalent and simultaneously under-researched Neglected Tropical Diseases Ascaris, a helminth parasite of humans and animals. She worked on both Ascaris lumbricoides (human parasite) and Ascaris suum (pig parasite). Ascaris lumbricoides has been described as the ultimate Neglected Tropical Disease, both because of its impact on child health and the general lack of awareness around it. This work culminated when Celia published “Ascaris: the neglected parasite” in 2014. The book “provides a blueprint of how a single parasite can stimulate interest in basic biology, clinical science, veterinary science, public health and epidemiology”. Her dedication to understanding and investigating parasites and their impacts, has led to her being an Invited Expert on the WHO Advisory Panel on Parasitic Diseases and a member of the WHO Guideline Development Group (GDG) – deworming, in 2016, a Member of the WHO Foodborne Disease Burden Epidemiology Expert Elicitation in 2014 and an Editor of the Cambridge Journal Parasitology 2011-2019. Celia has a remarkable repertoire of awards, recognitions and representations, befitting a woman of her caliber and dedication.
There are very few retiring researchers who get a glowing endorsement of their contribution to this world from a Nobel Laureate, however, Celia is no ordinary person. Professor William C. Campbell writes:
“I write to congratulate you and to wish you all the best on your retirement. You have had an outstanding career. Your classroom listeners, your research students, your academic colleagues and your research collaborators have benefited enormously from your knowledge of zoology, and especially from your expertise and insights in the field of parasitology. Indeed the broader field of epidemiology has benefited from your pioneering field-work… Countless students and other readers of your papers and books have similarly been beneficiaries. Your ability to assess, extract and organize mountains of facts, and to synthesize coherent conclusions, has been extraordinary. (When you were in AmericaI I was fortunate to hear one of your lectures on ascariasis.) Your magnificent contribution to science will endure. Again, congratulations — and best wishes for a rewarding and happy retirement.”
Celia with Prof. William C. Campbell
Once again, we would like to wish Celia all the very best in her retirement as she travels the world, sharing her light to everyone fortunate enough to meet her. I also want to thank all her colleagues and friends for their wonderful stories during Celia’s retirement party and contributions to this post.
How unlikely it is to think that many people who decided to dedicate themselves to a natural sciences-related field wondered at least once about the life of an eighteenth-century naturalist?
Picture Alexander von Humboldt, Charles Darwin or Joseph Banks expeditions, or René Malaise and Gustav Eisen‘s impressive efforts in gathering human specimens and artefacts. How about Roderick Murchinson and his geological surveys around the world, or Hans Sloane, whose collections contributed to the foundation of London’s beloved British Museum? The imaginaries of explorers crossing oceans towards yet unknown territories, observing and sampling specimens never seen before, naming and using them to interpret the world, are striking, to say the least.
Nevertheless, other narratives are growing beside these settled imaginaries. It is increasingly recognised how those exact figures were far from the idea we have of them: solitary geniuses and intrepid explorers, nothing related to the politics and economies of their time. Instead, their journeys would rest on the routes of British imperialism, making use of the slave trade in the case of Sloane,1 or be sponsored by intelligence operations on foreign valuable minerals and local policies such as the case of Murchinson2. Even an important institution such as the Royal Botanic Garden in Kew now acknowledges how the boost that botanical research saw at the time was supported by interests in new profitable plants3. Likewise, it is recognised how the global network of botanic gardens emerged not only to create pleasant green spaces but also to have experimental facilities dedicated to researching those exotic new plants for valuable products. As a matter of fact, the search and cultivation of plants such as the rubber tree, a source of such a profitable material, or the Cinchona tree, from which the compound quinine was isolated and used against malaria by the occupying forces in the tropics, have been central to the expansion of the British empire4. The very same collection of animal, plant and human samples can be considered to be driven by similar dynamics. What was discovered in the colonised territories was taken, shipped to the collectors’ homelands, and then housed in centres that, in turn, expanded to accommodate the increasing flow of materials, being a source of knowledge for the benefit of their host institutions. This colonial dimension of the sciences that study nature remained unaddressed in the mainstream imaginaries, although some already glimpsed it. Like Sir Ronald Ross, a doctor engaged in the fight against malaria in the Sierra Leone colonies, who in 1899 publicly expressed how the success of imperialism in the following century would largely depend on success with the microscope 5.
Much has been written about “how modern sciences were built on a system that exploited millions of people, at the same time justifying and supporting it to an extent that greatly influenced how Western people view other ethnic groups and countries”6. At the same time, others point out that “one should not fall into the prospective error of asking nineteenth-century men to reason with post-colonial categories developed after World War II” 7. Likewise, those who work or are interested in these fields today might easily feel far from this legacy, either because of the time that has passed since that era or because of the desk-based nature of their research. Why think about it then? Wasn’t this a blog just about ecology and evolution?
Yet, systems linked to colonial trauma continue to shape the experience of many ecologists, naturalists, biologists, and even anthropologists, today. At the same time, many narratives are still influenced by worldviews that see the advances in the natural or biological realm as carriers of better health, civilization or culture. The consequences of these processes are tangible. A perspective article in Nature Ecology and Evolution8 speaks of colonialism in the mind first, referring to the way a Western scholar might relate to knowledge. From the simple use of language, as when talking about the Neotropical region (new to whom?), or the overwriting of Latin names, sometimes derived from the names of their European discoverers, to the traditional names by which some species are recognized, often more informative about behaviours or characteristics of that species. It could be through devaluating local knowledge, oral traditions, and artefacts that made it possible to navigate an environment in a surprisingly (for us) detailed way, relegating them to folklore or anecdotes, going so far as to claim scientific discoveries, for example, medical properties of plants, already known and shared by local communities for a long time. Fuelling the idea that any active ingredient or species is only really discovered when it enters Western scientific literature, even if they come from a non-systematic and oral knowledge that a population held for centuries.
Figure from Trisos et al. (2021). Map showing the minimum estimate for each country of the number of bird species for which the Latin binomial name is based on a European person.
Other than the mindset, inequalities are also visible on a very practical level: the scientific subordination of formerly colonised countries to researchers of the so-called Old World, better known as parachute or helicopter science. The role of local scientists has often been reduced as labourers employed in data analysis and collection for Western scientists. Adding to this, there are the issues with accessing that same knowledge produced in the ‘Global North’, either because samples or data are stored in museums or servers far away from the places they were collected, the absence of high-speed internet, the lack of the right networks, visa issues for accessing conferences9, or simply the high costs of publishing or even accessing scientific literature. Other ways in which parachuting occurs are through drawing on the traditional knowledge of these countries, when this is not belittled, cataloguing and publishing information without mentioning the contribution of local curators and experts.
Figure from Asase et al. (2022). Summary of the relationship between the number of authorships (i.e., representation as author or coauthor) on 9935 papers on “ecology” or “conservation” in Web of Science, for 2015–2020 versus per-capita gross domestic product (GDP).
Another important discussion is about climate change mitigation and rewilding projects when benefits that will be experienced globally demand costs to be felt locally, especially when adequate resources and support are not provided, or when measures impose worldviews external to local values and needs. The same article brings the example of a no-fishing zone established in French Polynesia which was detrimental to local fishermen’s needs, thus ending in simply not being respected and ultimately not helping the conservation efforts on the target fish stock. Top-down management of this kind proved itself to be not only erosive for people’s self-determination but also undermines the very objective of the project.
Many of the difficulties in the field of land management and nature conservation stem right from the relationship with local communities: other risks beyond not considering them (as in the case above), is romanticising them, possibly falling into the Western myth of the good savage, or assuming that indigenous people are willing to do what we ask. Rather, it would be important to recognize that like any human community, the local people we encounter during our work as scientists might have legitimate political, cultural and economic aspirations that could differ from our expectations.
Decolonizing the natural sciences is not a trivial matter. It certainly does not mean throwing away all that has been learned so far and starting afresh, making only use of ancient artefacts and indigenous tales. For many, it is a matter of reflecting critically on their profession, on the political context that allowed the development of each one’s work, on the power structures to which science might have contributed, taking dignity away from some bodies more than others. To “take a stand and recognize ourselves as part of the system we wish to describe, rather than as neutral actors, becoming aware of how backgrounds and training influence the questions that are asked, trying to understand how the data is interpreted and how our work might intersect with the power of companies or extractive interests over a place” 8.
Decolonization would not only be a matter of awareness but also make sure that research methods and implications are not in contrast with local values and management. This would certainly restrict researchers’ access or capacity for action, but it would be an important trade-off for all those who repeatedly had to give up their territories or lifestyles.
Discussions like this are indeed taking root. It happens when researchers use local languages alongside the traditional binomial taxonomic system, or initiatives are taken from established institutions, such as the case of the American Ornithological Society and its statement for changing harmful and exclusionary English bird names thoughtfully and proactively for species10. Or like the Biodiversity Heritage Library, now working to make their materials available in languages other than English11, the Pitt Rivers Museum12 and London’s Natural History Museum13, with their projects aimed at sharing the stories of colonialism behind their collections. More and more resources are becoming available for establishing healthy stewardships with indigenous communities14 or addressing parachute science15,16,17, or simply engaging with diverse experiences from diverse scholars18, 19.
On a side note (but not really), it is also worth mentioning the call for an intersectional approach to these challenges. Noticing how an individual’s capacity to contribute to public and scholarly discourse does not only rely on race/ ethnicity, but similar power dynamics might be in place based on gender, nationality, indigeneity, wealth, spirituality, sexuality, parenthood/dependencies and other identities. “An intersectional approach to practising ecology recognizes the multiple barriers and opportunities facing those working together”8.
These discourses might seem marginal to someone working now on their own seemingly unrelated passion project. Nevertheless, reflecting on how plants, animals, environments, and people intersected and influenced each other in different directions is indeed relevant.
Among all, it is the field of ecology and evolution that explores the relationships between living beings and the environment in which they live. Acknowledging diversity, not only in biological terms but also within systems of knowledge, solutions and stories of the people who are part of it – including their gender, ethnicity and nationality – is certainly a way to widen one’s lens on the world.
Figure from Trisos et al. 2021. Actions that support reformulating research questions and processes for a decolonizing ecology. Credit: Keren Cooper (illustrations).
I am a visiting researcher at Trinity College Botanic Garden, working on the establishment of its long-term environmental monitoring program and interested in the human dimension of ecological systems dynamics. I wrote this post from the perspective of a western, female, early career researcher, and by no means do I wish to take ownership of the views of those who experience inequity and discrimination on a daily basis, nor do I believe this offers a complete or global understanding of such a complex problem. Rather, I hope to contribute to mainstreaming such an ongoing struggle, thanks also to the encouragement coming from discussing and comparing with peers.
Trisos, C.H., Auerbach, J. & Katti, M. (2021). Decoloniality and anti-oppressive practices for a more ethical ecology. Nat Ecol Evol 5, 1205–1212. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-021-01460-w
Das, S. & Lowe, M. (2018). Nature Read in Black and White: decolonial approaches to interpreting natural history collections. Journal of Natural Science Collections 6, 4 ‐ 14. https://natsca.org/article/2509
Asase, A., Mzumara-Gawa, T. I., Owino, J. O., Peterson, A. T., & Saupe, E. (2022). Replacing “parachute science” with “global science” in ecology and conservation biology. Conservation Science and Practice, 4( 5), e517. https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.517
Singeo, A., & Ferguson, C. E. (2022). Lessons from Palau to end parachute science in international conservation research. Conservation Biology, 00, e13971. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13971
Ramírez-Castañeda, V., Westeen, E., Frederick, J., Amini, S., Wait, D., Achmadi, A., Andayani, N., Arida, E., Arifin, U., Bernal, M., Bonaccorso, E., Bonachita Sanguila, M., Brown, R., Che, J., Condori, F., Hartiningtias, D., Hiller, A., Iskandar, D., Jiménez, R., Khelifa, R., Márquez, R., Martínez-Fonseca, J., Parra, J., Peñalba, J., Pinto-García, L., Razafindratsima, O., Ron, S., Souza, S., Supriatna, J., Bowie, R., Cicero, C., McGuire, J. and Tarvin, R. (2022). A set of principles and practical suggestions for equitable fieldwork in biology. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(34). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2122667119
Using genetics to understand ecology is fascinating. The data reveal things that often cannot be found by observation alone, such as patterns of cryptic diversity, migration pathways and the source of colonising populations.
But life in ecological genetics research is peculiar because we sit on a border between two fairly different fields of science. In an ecological crowd we’re called the ‘genetics person’ while among geneticists we’re seen to have only a rudimentary knowledge of ‘real’ genetics and our comments on ecological theory are sometimes met with funny looks. So spending time in an ecological genetics crowd is refreshing and, last week, about 30 members of the British Ecological Society did exactly that. Continue reading “EGG heads talk ecological genetics in Dublin”
This paper was my first review paper as well as my first paper written from afar, without ever actually meeting in a room with the co-authors for working on the project.
Difficulty: *
Preparation time: 5 month to submission
Serves: 5 people (but any manageable number of people who you like working with will do)
Ingredients:
An exciting topic:
For this recipe you will need an exciting topic.
In this case, prior to writing the review, we had often discussed the prevalence of scavenging behaviour through time and what ecological factors influence it.
More generally, the topic should be broad enough to allow every person to look for anecdotes (did you know there was once a ‘scavenging bat called *Necromantis*?’ and to bring these together in an interesting, more generalised framework. Continue reading “A recipe for collaboration”
Last month, the Zoology Department’s Dr. David Kelly launched his first book of Japanese short form poetry, Hammerscale from the Thrush’s Anvil. At the launch of the book, David invited us in the audience to try our hand at writing our own haikus.
Taking him up on his challenge, and taking inspiration from his book, a few of us in the School of Natural Sciences have penned our own poems based on our areas of study. We even have a contribution from David Kelly himself!
Trying not to sacrifice coherency at the alter of syllable number was a rather new struggle for most of us, but we managed and, I’d like to think, emerged with a greater appreciation for the poets in our midst. Read on for our science-y foray into the arts!
In the years to come, 140 ecologists working in Ireland will look back with fond memories of being part of the inaugural meeting of the Irish Ecological Association (24th-26th November). We will remember hard-hitting plenaries, compelling oral presentations, data-rich posters, influential workshops and the formation of the IEA’s first committee. The lively social events might be harder for some of us to remember… Continue reading “Ecology & Science in Ireland: the inaugural meeting of the Irish Ecological Association”
There are a lot of how-tos on the internet (Thanks Buzzfeed!). You can life-hack yourself into an efficient machine, but before my first day at TCD I couldn’t seem to find a good article to put my nerves at ease. Once you’ve applied and been accepted to grad school it seems like it should all be a bit relaxed, but the night before I started I was a bundle of nerves. There are a few articles that are helpful, like this one from Next Scientist, but most articles I found are pretty vague. Though this is not comprehensive or exhaustive, a list of tips from my first few months are included below. Continue reading “How to start a Ph.D (or how to try, at least)”
Earlier this month, postgraduate students of the Zoology department compete in the fourth annual ‘School of Natural Sciences Lightning Talks’ alongside students and staff from Botany and Geology.
We all presented 120-second snapshots of our research and were judged by a panel. Judges included the Head of the School of Natural Sciences Professor Fraser Mitchell, Science Gallery’s Aine Flood and Trinity’s press officer for the Faculty of engineering, mathematics and science, Thomas Deane.
Zoology had two winners on the night, Darren O’Connell (@oconned5) for his presentation on ‘Character release in the absence of a congeneric competitor’ and myself, Rachel Byrne, on my research titled ‘Parasites of badgers in Ireland- an untold story.’
When grading assessments as a demonstrator, I try really hard to give helpful, constructive feedback. It’s important for everyone to learn from their mistakes and develop both as scientific thinkers and as writers. However, there are a few mistakes that happen very often and really grind my gears. If you want to impress your grader and improve your marks, avoid the mistakes below like the plague. Continue reading “Top 10 Minor Assignment Mistakes that Grind my Gears (+1 bonus)”
