In a previous post, I wrote about my journey into learning (and continuing to learn) Bayesian statistics. Making the jump into Bayes would have been impossible without some great resources (books, articles, packages, and blogs) that have come out in the last few years. Here’s my quick review of books that have been most influentialContinue reading “Three books that helped me learn Bayesian statistics”
Author Archives: jeffwesner
My statistical journey as an ecologist
When I was in grad school, Ken Burnham gave a seminar in my department about model selection and met with our research group. His book with David Anderson had been out for ~3 years at the time (it now has more than 45,000 citations!), but I had zero idea of what it was or whyContinue reading “My statistical journey as an ecologist”
How to write a research article in ecology
I wrote this for my students last year. They are thoughts I have to constantly remind myself of in my own writing. They are far from universal. I hope they help. Jeff Wesner (21 August 2017) Readers and reviewers are desperate to learn new and exciting science. They are not desperate to tear your scienceContinue reading “How to write a research article in ecology”
Welcome to Abraham Kanz!
Abraham joined our lab in August. He was an awesome undergrad at USD and brings a bunch of experience working in applied science from USGS. We’re lucky to have him join our team!
Eric Sazama’s first article is published! Wolbachia in aquatic insects.
Wolbachia is a fascinating critter. It’s a bacterial genus that infects lots of arthropods, and does all kinds of things to them that make great headlines, like killing males or making them eat brains. However, it’s commonness is disputed, particularly among insects that live in rivers and lakes (i.e. freshwater insects). So in this study, EricContinue reading “Eric Sazama’s first article is published! Wolbachia in aquatic insects.”
Lauren Henning wins Schmulbach award
Lauren Henning was chosen for the James M. Schmulbach Memorial Award at USD. The award supports student research in environmental or natural sciences at USD. Check out Lauren’s project here. Congrats, Lauren!
State Wildlife Grant awarded to Kerby and Wesner labs
Jake Kerby (PI) and Jeff Wesner (Co-PI) received a State Wildlife Grant to study the effects of tile drains on prairie pothole wetlands. This comprehensive study will measure chemical contaminant levels in 18 wetlands (e.g. Se, Neonicotinoids, Nutrients) and their effects on amphibians, insects, and fish.
Brianna Henry is an NSF Graduate Research Fellow!
Congratulations to Brianna Henry! Brianna is an undergraduate at Clarion University of Pennsylvania who was just awarded an NSF GRFP fellowship to conduct research on herbicides and wetland ecosystem ecology. This award is highly competitive – only 12% of the 16,500 submitted proposals were funded. She will join our lab at USD this summer, andContinue reading “Brianna Henry is an NSF Graduate Research Fellow!”
Welcome to Eric Sazama!
Eric joined the lab in Fall 2014 to pursue his M.S. He’s developing a fascinating project that will ask how Wolbachia, a widespread endosymbiotic bacterium, is distributed within aquatic insects. He will then ask how infection by Wolbachia might alter the ability for insects to complete metamorphosis, a key process in linking aquatic-terrestrial food webs.
Habitat selection paper published in Ecology and Evolution
Wesner JS, Meyers P, Billman EJ, Belk MC. Habitat selection and consumption across a landscape of multiple predators. Ecology and Evolution. We tested whether egg-laying female insects could detect differences in predator community composition. Because some predators are more lethal than others, the ability to differentiate predator risk when laying eggs can have large fitnessContinue reading “Habitat selection paper published in Ecology and Evolution”
The Wesner Lab 