UPDATE: Anyone who’s new to participating–excellent! Welcome aboard! if you plan on joining the discussions, please introduce yourself in the comments section and make sure to add yourself to the calendar (link below) before you vote on the poll, so we can figure out the most preferred time/format among those who are likely to participate!
Alright, let’s get started!
Seems from the discussion in the last post that most are keen on selecting a topic and sticking with it for the semester. I think having that structure is a great idea. Two topics were suggested:
- Selected papers on speciation and evolutionary radiations
- Reading the book “Big Questions in Ecology and Evolution”
Personally I think both are awesome so as always I’m going to leave it to you guys to decide 🙂 There was an initial concern that the book might be expensive and would require time to order, receive, etc. but it seems like there’s a PDF of it floating around (which I’ll refrain from linking because I’m not entirely sure it’s a legal copy to distribute…). Also the kindle version on Amazon is not that expensive (link above) and is delivered immediately, so that shouldn’t be that big of an issue. In any case, the poll is below!
Meeting times. We also need to decide what times would work best for most of us. I have created a calendar where you can mark your availability / what times would work out best. (Times are in EST timezone, so use a converter like this one to find out how your time zone fits in)
How does it work? We will meet every other week to discuss a paper/chapter using Google+ Hangouts (so make sure you “encircle” us on Google+ so you can be invited for the video chats) and a text chat server. Videos are available during and after discussions.
OK! So who’s in?
Evolutionary Biology Online Journal Club 
January 22, 2013 at 12:01 pm
I’m late posting comments, but I agree with pretty well everything you all came up with last week! 😀
If we end up going with the “selected papers” option, the February issue of Evolutionary Biology is dedicated to Speciation & Hybridization, with tons of short commentaries and research papers focusing on the topic. It might be a good choice for focusing the discussions on since they’re all in one convenient place.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jeb.2013.26.issue-2/issuetoc
Looking forward to talking evolution with all of you again (hopefully)!
January 22, 2013 at 1:03 pm
I’m on board, of course. I think it would be interesting to try discussing the book–it’ll give us a different format to compare to last semester, and so hopefully we’ll end up with a better idea of how the #EBJClub should work moving forward. But I’ll be happy with whatever format we choose for the semester–Morgan’s suggestion is also a great idea (really like the topic!).
January 22, 2013 at 3:29 pm
I’m in! I’ll be transparent and say I am voting for the selected papers option (speciation is one of my comprehensive topics, so two birds with one stone!), but will be happy with either! And ditto-ing Sam, if we do vote for the papers, Morgan’s idea is great!
January 23, 2013 at 3:03 pm
Ha. I would prefer to discuss selected papers, specially because of the low income at the moment to be able to buy books. But I really need to start discussing science and evolution again.
January 24, 2013 at 1:28 pm
Welcome Marcos! I can *definitely* sympathize with having a limited budget right now. Luckily there is a free pdf of the book we proposed to discuss floating around–if you do a quick google search you can find it easily. But it remains to be seen whether we will discuss the book or selected readings.
January 24, 2013 at 11:59 am
Hey there, I am a master student from Germany with a background in plant ecology and species interactions. I’m currently working on the effects of plant defenses on leaf-cutting ants. Even though it is not exactly my expertise I’m very interested in evolutionary processes and would be keen to join in for your discussions!
January 24, 2013 at 1:34 pm
Howdy Theresa, welcome! I have a hunch we’ll be talking about species interactions (esp. in the context of driving speciation) quite a bit. Many of us have an entomological focus, so it will be especially nice to hear from someone with knowledge of the plant side of the ant-plant species interaction phenomenon.
January 24, 2013 at 4:27 pm
Hey guys,
My name is Simon and I’m a Ph.D. student at the University of Idaho. I’m a plant systematics who uses next-gen data, phylogenetics, coalescent based species delimitation, rates of diversification and other tools to answer evolutionary questions in a plant group from the Andes.
Look forward to interacting with all of you soon!
Simon
January 24, 2013 at 6:58 pm
hey simon! Cool to have you onboard!
January 24, 2013 at 6:49 pm
I’ll be up for round 2 if the timezones can work out. My crappy computer falling apart and time zones being odd meant I only made it to one of these last year, hopefully be able to do a bit better this time 🙂
January 24, 2013 at 7:00 pm
I’m guessing it will be Monday at 5 EST, so hopefully it’ll work!
January 24, 2013 at 9:30 pm
Hi,
Looking forward to joining in if I can, although Australian time zones can be somewhat limiting. I’m a postdoc working on molecular evolution and speciation.
Rob
January 24, 2013 at 10:19 pm
hi Rob! Really cool that you’re joining, I think this will make an excellent discussion group! If you can, mark the times that would work best for you here (http://www.needtomeet.com/meeting.aspx?mid=234966f6-d78d-42df-99a5-1288c7c1425aattend) , I hope we can find a time that works for all time zones
January 25, 2013 at 12:27 am
Greatings, I am a Ph.D. student at San Diego State University interested in species delimitation and alpha taxonomy. Thanks for the invite Sam!
January 25, 2013 at 3:41 pm
Hi Casey (I’m assuming?)! Great that you’re interested! Looking forward to having you join the discussion!
January 25, 2013 at 3:07 pm
Hi everyone, I am a postdoc working on phylo- genetics, genomics, and informatics. I am a botanist by training and have broad interests in biodiversity and diversification (especially, but not limited to, plants), speciation and species delimitation, the use of information technology in science, software development, and phylogenetic methods.
Sounds like an interesting discussion group. Looking forward to participating if I can.
January 25, 2013 at 3:40 pm
Hi Cody, welcome aboard! This is building up to be a great group. I hope you really can join in!
January 25, 2013 at 3:43 pm
Cody!! It’d be super cool to have you here. We miss you at PuRGe!
January 26, 2013 at 1:24 pm
Hello all, I recently completed my PhD (University of Manitoba) that examined selection by multiple pollinators on floral traits, and how variable and diverse selection influences floral evolution/plant reproductive strategies. However, I have very broad interests and am collaborating on projects ranging from the rates of evolutionary change in the hemoglobin genes of sea cows, to patterns of correlated evolution in the Monkey flowers (Mimulus spp). My current “mini postdoc” is looking at the network structuring of plant-pollinator communities, and how geographic-temporal variation in pollinators influences plant reproduction, and community structure…
…so, I’m looking forward to a great series of discussions.
January 27, 2013 at 2:11 pm
Greetings, I am a Ph.D. candidate at San Diego State University interested in species delimitation and alpha-taxonomy in the paraphyletic group colloquially know as creepy-crawlies – namely Opiliones (Arachnida), millipedes, and terrestrial gastropods. Thanks Sam for the invitation!
January 28, 2013 at 10:17 pm
Howdy Casey, thanks for joining. Looking forward to some opilionid enlightenment!
January 30, 2013 at 12:41 pm
I’ll be back; time slot should work better for me this time around.
I’m a post-doc at the University of Michigan. Phylogenetic dork. Interested in optimal modelling of phylogenetic inference, and, recently, identifying the limits of inference based on sampling and information content. Done some comparative methods (diversification), and looking to do more (modelling trait evolution). My preferred taxon of choice is “in silico”, but when I have to slum it with real data I am a bird-guy.
January 30, 2013 at 1:04 pm
great to have you onboard, Joseph! this is coming to be an awesome discussion group.
January 30, 2013 at 7:12 pm
Hi I’m a postdoc at University of Michigan working on phylogenetic reconstruction and functional evolution using transcriptome data. I’ve worked on a number of different things in the past, including grass comparative anatomy, Arabidopsis population genetics, and even chasing monkeys, but I would call myself a plant evolutionary biologiest.
February 3, 2013 at 4:26 pm
Hi Ya Yang! Nice to have you onboard! see you tomorrow!