No vacancy in the Wares Lab for 2008-09. Although I'm pleased with the interest in research in our lab, I don't have the resources to take any new applicants this coming year.

We're all very concerned with our impact on the environment. Ironically, "conservation genetics" has a pretty large footprint given the plastic, energy, and other chemical consumption involved in our work. We try to mitigate this by the usual means: recycling, using low-toxicity chemicals for almost all our procedures, keeping the lights off and installing energy-saving devices. In addition, this lab attempts to offset our waste and energy use through carbon credits, currently we do this through NativeEnergy but I've also got such plans on my personal vehicles. A lot of people in the lab use bicycles and mass transit to get to work; this isn't always possible but its a good goal.

A 2007 draft of my lab manual for evolutionary genetic analysis is viewable here. Please note it is copyrighted! This course is a fun and unique elective for advanced undergraduates (and maybe beginning graduate students in other departments) to learn wet lab and analytical tools used by evolutionary biologists. We explore selection in flies, speciation in fungi, DNA barcoding of fishes, how to build phylogenies, etc. So far the students tell me they've enjoyed it; as always, this is a work in progress. Please contact me if you'd like more information.

Jim Hamrick and I are teaching an OTS course on "Conservation & Biodiversity Genetics" this May 2008 in Costa Rica. This will be our first time through but we already have a great class enrolling, should be an exciting experience and a good chance for Jim and I to mesh our experiences (he having considerably more experience and wisdom!). Stay tuned for more info.

Graduate Student Tina Bell gets University Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award.