THE MARSICO LAB NEWS

1 May 2012 - Recent ASU sgraduate Justin Stewart’s paper “Largest known Quercus garryana Douglas ex Hook. clone discovered on a steep slope at the boundary of Larrabee State Park, Washington, USA.” is published in International Oaks with co-authors David Burge and Drs. Marsico and Jessica Hellmann.

5 May 2012 - Dr. Marsico provides the evening lecture at the Arkansas Native Plant Society, titled “Stop and Smell the Roses: They Are Trying to Tell You Something!”

5 May 2012 - The Marsico lab members are big winners at the Arkansas Native Plant Society.  David Burge and Kari Harris receive the Aileen McWilliam Scholarship, and Meghan Foard receives the Delzie Demaree Research Grant.

4-6 May 2012 -The Arkansas Native Plant Society holds its Spring Meeting in Jonesboro on the ASU campus, with Dr. Marsico and the Marsico Lab acting as site hosts.

26-27 April 2012 - David Burge and Kari Harris travel to University of Arkansas at Monticello to collaborate with Drs. Karen and Marvin Fawley…David on algal identifications and project design and Kari on herbarium digitization strategies.

24 April 2012 - David Burge receives the Merit Scholarship and the Lakeside Lab Scholarship from the Iowa Lakeside Laboratory in Milford, Iowa.

13-14 April 2012 - Kari Harris presents her undergraduate Honors Thesis work, “Understanding floristic diversity through a database of Greene County specimens” with Meghan Foard and Dr. Marsico as co-authors at the Arkansas Academy of Science Meeting in Magnolia, Arkansas.

1-7 April 2012 - Anastasia Woodard visits the De Moraes and Mescher labs at Penn State University to embark on a Marsico lab collaboration.

30 March 2012  - Meghan Foard and Anastasia Woodard are awarded the NSF-funded GK12 Fellowship at Arkansas State University…great job ladies!!!

8 March 2012 - Dr. Marsico is awarded an Arkansas State University Faculty Research Award for 1 July 2012-30 June 2013, to study, “Selection of Hairy Root Cultures to Optimize Production of Plant Defense Compounds”.  This award will fund an undergraduate assistant and provide supplies in support of Anastasia Woodard’s doctoral dissertation research.

5-6 March 2012 - Anastasia Woodard, with Drs. Warby, Rougeau, and Marsico, presents a talk titled, “Identification of cactus-derived volatile organic compounds induced by cactus boring moth herbivory using SPME sampling and GC/IT-MS analysis” at the Joint Southeastern/Southwestern Branch Meeting of the Entomological Society of America in Little Rock, Arkansas. 

5 March 2012 - Meghan Foard is inducted into the academic/leadership honor’s society Phi Kappa Phi.

1 March 2012 - Dr. Marsico presents, “Activities at the Arkansas State University Herbarium (STAR)” to the Master Gardeners of Craighead County.

15 February 2012 - Meghan Foard hosts Ph.D. committee member Esra Ozdenerol from the University of Memphis who gave a seminar on, “The Accuracy of Detection of Chinese Privet in Shelby Farms Park Using the Worldview-2 Imagery”

29 January-3 February 2012  - Anastasia Woodard and Dr. Marsico travel to Ventura, California, to present posters at the Gordon Research Conference for Plant Volatiles.

18 January 2012 - Meghan Foard visits Dr. Dave Stahle’s Tree Ring Laboratory at the University of Arkansas to initiate a dendrochronology collaboration…thanks to Dr. Stahle for offering his expertise and equipment for use.

17 December 2011 - Kari Harris graduates from ASU with a Bachelor of Science Education degree!  Kari graduated with University Honors after the successful defense of her undergraduate Honors Thesis titled, “Understanding floristic diversity through a database of Greene County specimens.”  Congratulations Kari!!!

9 December 2011 - Dr. Marsico and David Burge travel to Monticello, Arkansas, to begin collaborative effort with Drs. Karen and Marvin Fawley on freshwater algal identifications associated with the EPA-funded research to evaluate wetland water quality conditions.  Thanks to the Fawleys for their amazing hospitality!

5 December 2011 - Kari Harris was accepted into the Master of Arts program in Biology and the Marsico Lab.  She will begin her graduate studies in January 2012, focused on herbarium digitization and regional flora issues.

14 November 2011 - Dr. Marsico and Anastasia Woodard attend the Entomological Society of America meeting in Reno, Nevada. Dr. Marsico gave an invited talk titled "Consequences of direct defenses induced by cactus-derived VOCs for the invasive cactus borer, Cactoblastis cactorum (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)." Anastasia represented Woodard et al. with a poster "Biosynthesis of defense-priming volatiles from Opuntia associated with cactus boring moth (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) herbivory." 

1 November 2011 - David Burge presents "Arkansas wetland flora structure 2011." poster with Dr. Marsico and Billy Justus at the Natural Areas Conference in Tallahassee, Florida.

27 October 2011 - Dr. Marsico presents to all Fox Meadow Intermediate Center 3rd graders about carnivorous plants.  The enthusiasm of 3rd graders is unmatched.  Keep up the desire to discover!

23 September 2011- Lab Sciences Equinox Greenhouse Plant Sale is a huge success, resulting in over $330 donated to the STAR Herbarium Research Fund for increasing the diversity of plants in the greenhouse to benefit teaching.

26 July 2011 - Dr. Marsico was an invited speaker for Arkansas P3 Center Symposium, presenting "Plant recognition and defense against coevolved insect herbivores: insights from a pricklypear/cactus borer study system." Anastasia Woodard also attended and presented a poster with Drs. Ervin and Marsico titled "Defense priming as a mechanism to combat newly-associated insect herbivores."

18 July 2011 - Dr. Marsico receives a Judd Hill Foundation grant in support of a portion of Meghan Foard’s doctoral dissertation research!  “Mechanisms and impacts of Chinese privet invasion in the Southeast United States” was funded for $5,560.  A big congrats to Meghan for her work on the grant proposal.

11 July 2011 -In collaboration with Anastasia Woodard and Dr. Gary Ervin, Dr. Marsico presented "Defense priming as a mechanism to combat newly-associated insect herbivores." at the 2011 Botanical Society of America meeting in St. Louis. Meghan Foard and Dr. Marsico also presented a poster "Chinese privet invasion decreases botanical species richness in a riparian forest." Undergraduates Cheyenne Gerdes and Kari Harris also attended. Kari received a $500 travel award from BSA to attend the meeting.

29 June 2011 - Dr. Marsico receives an NSF grant as co-PI with Drs. Pratte, Ali, McKay, and Warby!  “The Experiental Learning Fellowship (ELF) Program” was funded for $567,185 from 1 August 2011-31 July 2016.

17 June 2011 - Dr. Marsico receives his first federally funded grant as co-PI with Drs. Bouldin and Warby!  “Identification of Biological Methods for Evaluating Wetland Water Quality Conditions in Arkansas” was funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for $317,661 from 1 May 2011-30 September 2013.

31 May 2011- The Marsico Lab welcomes new graduate student David Burge! David will be working toward a masters degree on wetland plants as indicators of water quality in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. Welcome to ASU, David.

May 2011 - As a follow up to data collected throughout his graduate work, Dr. Marsico travels back to beautiful British Columbia to monitor survivorship and reproduction of Lomatium study plants.

free photo slideshow

4 April 2011 - Anastasia Woodard named recipient of the NSF GK12 Fellowship! She will be sharing her love of science with local junior high students throughout the 2011-2012 school year.

1 April 2011 - Dr. Marsico and Mississippi State collegues publish "Geographic Patterns of Genetic Diversity from the Native Range of Cactoblastis cactorum (Berg) Support the Documented History of Invasion and Multiple Introductions for Invasive Populations" in the April issue of Biological Invasions.

29 March 2011 - Dr. Marsico accepts an invitation to serve on the Editorial Board of the new open access journal Ecology and Evolution for a three year term (through April 2014).  Check out the journals website at www.ecolevol.org.

28 March 2011 - Anastasia Woodard received 2011 Garden Club of America Award in Desert Studies!

14 March 2011 - Dr. Marsico designated as Botanist in Arkansas for EPA National Wetland Condition Assessment

9 March 2011 - The Marsico Lab hosts Dr. Jessica Gurevitch, Professor and Chair, Department of Ecology and Evolution at Stoneybrook University as Science Seminar Series speaker.

28 February 2011 - Dr. Marsico served on EPA STAR review panel in Washington D.C.

16 February 2011 - The Marsico Lab hosts Dr. Gary Ervin, Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences at Mississippi State University as Science Seminar Series speaker.

8 January 2011 - Dr. Marsico presents "Putting Hypothesized Native-Range Phylogeographic Patterns of Cactoblastis cactorum to the Test Using Genetic and Climatic Data" with co-authors Dr.Gary Ervin and Dr. Chris Brooks at the 5th International Biogeography Society meeting in Heraklion, Crete, Greece.

14 December 2010 - Dr. Gary Ervin presents "Potential Eavesdropping May Que Inducible Defenses Against an Invasive Herbivore" with co-authors Travis Marsico and Anastasia Woodard at the annual Entomological Society of America meeting in San Diego, California.

13 December 2010 - The Marsico Lab renews its contract with Arkansas Heritage Commission for $10,000 for Crowley's Ridge plant identification! Ph.D. student Meghan Foard leads this research.

6 December 2010 - Kari Harris presents update on Greene County Vasular Flora at McNair Fall Research Symposium.

6 November 2010 - Marsico Lab Makes a Wish Come True
Dr. Marsico, collaboration with Kim Pittcock in the ASU College of Agriculture, completed a Japanese zen garden making heart patient Katherine Massey's wish come true.

20 October 2010 - Updates and renovations to the insect rearing facility are complete! Marsico research can continue with thanks to the committment of the College of Sciences and Math.

20 October 2010 - The Marsico Lab hosts Dr. Erin Espeland, Research Ecologist at USDA ARS NPARL in Sydney, Montana, as Science Seminar Series speaker.

15 October 2010 - Dr. Marsico is one of three invited faculty speakers at Arkansas INBRE Research Conference. "Plant-Plant Signaling May Que Inducible Defenses Against an Invasive Herbivore"

24 September 2010 - Dr. Marsico presents "Sending the Alarm: Evidence for Defense Priming Against Insect Herbivores by Eavesdropping Plant" at University of Arkansas - Fayetteville, Department of Entomology Seminar.

7 September 2010 - Marsico Lab welcomes new undergraduate members Hannah Blair, Emily Mizell, and Candace Arnold

16 August 2010 - Dr. Marsico presents "Novel Defenses in Invasion Resistance" with co-authors Anastasia Woodard and Gary Ervin (Mississippi State) at the P3 Center Symposium at Winthrop Rockefeller Institute on Petit Jean Mountain.

5 August 2010 - Faye Stephens presents "Development of a Field Key for Identification of Cactophagous Moth Egg Sticks" poster and Lysbeth Perez presents "Testing Multiple Mitochondrial and Nuclear Genes for Utility in Cactoblastis cactorum Phylogeographic Research" poster at RISE Summer Symposium

4 August 2010 - Dr. Marsico presents "Novel defenses in invasion resistance: potential eavesdropping may cue inducible defenses against an invasive herbivore" with Anastasia Woodard and Dr. Gary Ervin at the Ecological Society of America annual meeting in Pittsburgh

30 July 2010 - Kari Harris presents preliminary findings of Greene County Flora project at McNair Summer Symposium

1 July 2010 - Marsico Lab receives contract from the University of Memphis for Shelby Farm Park Conservancy. Research will be conducted by Ph.D. student Meghan Foard.

7 June 2010 - The Marsico lab welcomes RISE (NSF REU) students Lysbeth Perez, University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, and Faye Stephens, University of Arkansas-Monticello.

3 June 2010 - The Marsico Lab welcomes McNair Scholar Kari Harris

26 May 2010 - Meghan Foard joins the Marsico Lab as an entering Ph.D. student!

17 May 2010 -The Marsico Lab welcomes Anastasia Woodard as first Ph.D. student!

23 April 2010 - Dr. Marsico presents "Insect invasions and the role of host plant defenses" as invited speaker to University of Central Arkansas Department of Biological Sciences hosted by the Entrekin Lab

15 April 2010 - Dr. Marsico recieves a Faculty Research Award! "The Phylogeography of Cactoblastus cactorum In Its Native Range As a Baseline For Predicting Local Adaptation And Species Invasion" is funded by ASU.

17 March 2010 - The Marsico Lab hosts Dr. Sally Entrekin, Assistant Professor of Biology at University of Central Arkansas, as Science Seminar Series speaker

4 March 2010 - Dr. Marsico raises $600 for STAR Herbarium Research Fund at ASU phone-a-thon

19-20 February 2010 - Dr. Marsico presents "Using next-generation sequencing approaches to investigate reciprocal recognition and response in plant-herbivore interactions" poster at Midsouth Computational Biology and Bioinformatics Society annual meeting with Mississippi State collaborators

17 February 2010 - Dr. Marsico presents "Next-generation sequencing platforms: the similarities, differences, and applications of high-throughput technologies" at ASU's Science Seminar Series

1 January 2010 - The Marsico Lab is open for business at ASU!