Campus Connection

UWL public lectures explore interconnectedness of organisms, bee health

Anyone interested in life on Earth, as well as the close relationships between organisms that live here will be in good company during two upcoming public lectures at UW-La Crosse, says Barrett Klein, a UWL associate professor of biology who plans to attend. [caption id="attachment_45643" align="alignleft" width="320"] Nancy Moran, Evolutionary Biologist and professor at the University of Texas at Austin.[/caption] Evolutionary Biologist Nancy Moran will present “Insights from Within,” a lecture about how symbiotic microorganisms govern the lives of their hosts, from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 12, in Skogen Auditorium, 1400 Centennial Hall. Moran, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, has revealed some extraordinary symbioses, or interactions among different organisms living in close proximity, notes Klein. “What happens when microbes living inside your body manipulate or drive your behavior? Sometimes it isn't bad news, but can result in beneficial, life-saving events,” he says. Moran’s research investigates many critical questions in biology, including the decline in the honey bee population worldwide. She’ll also give a lecture on “Bugs in Bees,” about the bacterial communities living inside guts of honey bees and bumblebees, from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Monday, April 11, in 122 Wimberly Hall. “Because her work has advanced our understanding of how some tiny organisms — like bacteria — and some relatively gargantuan organisms — like bees — intimately coexist, her recent work involving honey bee and bumblebee microbial activity is one promising means of helping to understand the state of bee health,” notes Klein. Moran comes to UWL as part of The Warner Memorial Lecture Series. UWL Biology Professor James Warner died in 2011. He taught biology and botany from 1963-1996. The lecture series was made possible through an endowment Warner set up for the UWL Biology Department to fund scholarships, lectures and other activities. Klein invited Moran so his students would have the opportunity to interact with a world-class biologist who is asking questions that could inspire cross-disciplinary thinking. He sees a broader appeal as well. “I’m excited to have people come and have their minds expand when exposed to the interconnectedness of an invisible biodiversity within all of us,” says Klein. If you go— Who: Nancy Moran What: Warner Memorial Lecture Series: “Insights from Within” Where: Skogen Auditorium, 1400 Centennial Hall When: 5:30-6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 12 Admission: Free What: Warner Memorial Lecture Series: “Bugs in Bees” Where: 122 Wimberly Hall When: 5:30-6:30 p.m. Monday, April 11 Admission: Free