Museum Seminar Series
The Museum Seminar Series is a weekly research talk at the LSU Museum of Natural Science given by invited speakers and LSU personnel that revolves around topics of natural history, ecology, or evolutionary biology. Seminars are open to the public and take place on Fridays at 3:30 PM in the museum exhibits area. See schedule below. #MuseumSeminar
Fall 2026
Date |
Details |
|---|---|
| September 5 | Claire Watersmith, LSU Museum of Natural Science From Sky Islands to River Valleys: Population Genetic Structure in Southern Appalachian Small Mammals Dr. Toni Androski, LSU Museum of Natural Science In pursuit of shrews and new world views: a year of mammalogy at LSUMNS |
| September 12 | Quinn McCallum, LSU Museum of Natural Science Travelogue: Mason County, Texas and Catahoula Parish, Louisiana Angela Haggard, LSU Museum of Natural Science Travelogue: Sea Monsters & River Rarities: Collecting Fishes in Taiwan & Thailand |
| September 19 | Keith Andringa, Texas A&M University Microplastic Pollution and Ecological Risk in Birds: Linking Field Techniques and Bioindication Across Biological Scales |
| September 26 | Dr. Henry Bart, Tulane University A technological solution to the Taxonomic Impediment |
| October 3 | Dr. Stephen Baca, Louisiana State Arthropod Museum Little beetles, big landscapes: Neotropical phylogeography of the aquatic beetle family Noteridae (Coleoptera: Adephaga). |
| October 10 | Diego Cueva, LSU Museum of Natural Science Travelogue: Colombia, not Columbia: a historical and biological overview Sara Velasquez, LSU Museum of Natural Science Travelogue: Into the Lek: A Manakin Journey Through Northwestern Colombia |
| October 17 | No Seminar – Fall Break |
| October 24 | Dr. Ethan Gyllenhall, Texas Tech University Using Museums and Simulations to Understand Speciation in Island Birds |
| October 31 | Dr. Justin Bernstein, American Museum of Natural History Islands of Opportunity: Patterns of Diversification and Distribution through Time in Southeast Asian Snakes |
| November 7 | No Seminar – Museum Retreat |
| November 14 | Dr. Paul L Leberg, University of Louisiana at Lafayette Raising Resilience: Seabird Nesting Ecology in a Changing Coastal Landscape |
| November 21 | Dr. Caz Taylor, Tulane University Connecting Worlds: Network Population Dynamics of Migratory Birds |
| November 28 | No Seminar – Thanksgiving Break |
| December 5 | Dr. Mark Henry Sabaj Pérez, The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University Diversity and Systematics of Catfishes, the Most Prevalent Vertebrate in Freshwaters |
Spring 2025
Date |
Details |
| January 17 |
No seminar - First week of classes |
| January 24 |
Dr. Chris Austin, LSU Museum of Natural Science Papua New Guinea Expedition #16 to Mount Obree 2024: Botany, Entomology, Mammalogy, Ornithology, and a bit of Herpetology |
| January 31 |
Dr. Ashish Ja, LSU Museum of Natural Science Sojourns across the Deccan Inselbergs to museum cabinets |
| February 7 |
Dr. Hector Douglas, Grambling State University Mixed Signals: chemistry and color in a complex marine environment |
| February 14 |
Dr. Phil Stouffer, LSU - Department of Renewable Natural Resources The pervasive impacts of climate change on Amazonian rainforest birds |
|
|
Dr. Scott Egan, Rice University Exploring biodiversity and its origins in a local multitrophic system |
| February 28 |
No seminar - Mardi Gras |
| March 7 |
Dr. Cristopher Beachy, Southeastern Louisiana University Life cycle evolution in the Amphibia: More than just tadpoles |
| March 14 |
David Vander Pluym/ Darwin Morales Martínez, LSU Museum of Natural Science Travelogue: Peruvian Pelagic/TBD |
| March 21 |
Dr. Laura Frost, University of South Alabama Understanding the relative contributions of fragmentation and hybridization on Pleistocene diversification in North American pondweeds |
| March 28 |
Dr. Lázaro Guevara, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Following in the footsteps of Nelson and Goldman: 130 years after their expeditions to the highest volcanoes in Mexico |
| April 4 |
No seminar - Spring Break |
| April 11 |
Dr. Kristin Brzeski, Michigan Technological University Gulf Coast Canids: Uncovering history, species resilience, and pioneering conservation efforts |
| April 18 |
No seminar - Good Friday |
| April 25 |
Dr. Kaiya Provost, Adelphi University Using Computational Biology to Understand Bird Evolution |
| May 2 |
Dr. Santiago Claramunt, University of New Orleans Macroevolutionary perspectives on the macroecology of birds |
For further information, please contact Luca Micheli at lmiche9@lsu.edu
Fall 2024
Date |
Details |
|---|---|
| September 6 |
Austin Chipps, LSU Museum of Natural Science
Travelogue: Malaysia
|
| September 13 |
Dr. Iroro Tanshi, Department of Biology, University of Washington
Afrotropical Bat Assembly Structure Along Elevational Gradients and Islands in the
Gulf of Guinea Forests
|
| September 20 |
Dr. Samuel Jones, Georgia Institute of Technology
Elevational ranges and elevational changes; mechanisms and processes in Mesoamerican
cloud forests
|
| September 27 |
Dr. Morgan Kelly, Department of Biological Sciences, LSU
Centimeters to continents: how thermal adaptations are distributed across spatial
scales
|
| October 4 |
Dr. Audrey Lin, American Museum of Natural History
The history of Coast Salish woolly dogs
|
| October 11 |
Dr. Christopher Randle, Sam Houston University
Niche modeling of invasive species: a headache worth having?
|
| October 18 |
No Seminar – Fall Break
|
| October 25 |
Dr. Yue Liu, Aquatic Germplasm and Genetic Resources Center, LSU
Opportunities and Urgent Needs in Developing a National Framework for Protecting Genetic
Resources of Aquatic Species
|
| November 1 |
No Seminar – Yellow Rails and Rice
|
| November 8 |
No Seminar – Museum Retreat
|
| November 15 |
Dr. Brian Sidlauskas, Curator, Royal D. Suttkus Fish Collection, Tulane University
TBD
|
| November 22 |
Zachary Randall, Digital Imaging Division Collection Manager, Florida Museum Imaging
Lab
Access for All: Capturing Biodiversity Collections in 3D with Photogrammetry
|
| November 29 |
No Seminar – Thanksgiving Break
|
| December 6 |
Dr. Nina Therkildsen, Cornell University
TBD
|
You can also download the 2024 Fall Seminar Schedule below.