The Michael Smith Labs

Presents 

Dr. Matias Kirst

School of Forest Resources and Conservation & Genetics Institute

University of Florida 

Friday, November 3 at 12:00 pm 

MSL Room 102 (Lecture Hall) 

“Vessel Development and the Evolution of Land Plants” 

The radiation of angiosperms led to the emergence of the vast majority of today’s plant species and major crops, and occurred in conjunction with the appearance of vessels. Vessels provided angiosperms a fitness advantage by supporting higher hydraulic efficiency, photosynthesis and productivity in the warmer late-Cretaceous. However, their evolutionary origin has remained largely a mystery. We recently discovered a previously unknown gene, ENLARGED VESSEL ELEMENT 1 (EVE1), which regulates vessel formation, vessel area and hydraulic conductivity. Higher expression of EVE1 results in an increase in the rate of photosynthesis and fitness under elevated air temperature and evaporative demand, similar to those that prevailed during the Cretaceous. In plants, EVE1 first emerged in streptophyte algae, but expanded dramatically among angiosperms. Other than in streptophytes, EVE1 is only found in the genomes of algae-infecting prasinoviruses, suggesting that the origin of one of angiosperms’ most evolutionarily important trait may reside in an ancient viral lateral gene transfer event. Vessels were one of many critical traits that shaped plant evolution – another was the development of symbiosis between certain angiosperms and nitrogen-fixing bacteria. This symbiosis allowed some species to thrive in nitrogen-deficient soils, occupying ecological niches that had been largely inaccessible. In the first part of the talk I will review our early work that uncovered EVE1, and describe our latest efforts to determine its cellular and molecular role. In the second part of my talk I will review the progress in a recently funded project aimed at uncovering the genomic novelty that led to the emergence of the nitrogen-fixing clade in angiosperms, and the effort to introduce this trait into major food crops. 

Hosted by Dr. Jörg Bohlmann 

Thank you, 

Adrian Carney
Reception
Michael Smith Laboratories
The University of British Columbia | Vancouver Campus
301-2185 East Mall | Vancouver British Columbia | V6T 1Z4 Canada
Phone 604 822 4838 | Fax 604 822 2114
reception@msl.ubc.ca
http://www.msl.ubc.ca

The Modules in Ecology and Evolution Development program (MEED) with Let’s Talk Science is looking for graduate student or post-doc volunteers to present one-hour ecology and/or evolution modules

(lessons) related to their own research to K-12 students! 

This program runs from October to March and brings together K-12 educators and researchers for science outreach to classrooms. You will be paired with one teacher from any grade level (K-12) you are comfortable with and together you will discuss the module that you wish to present to the students. 

The total time commitment is 10 to 20 hours over the school year and

includes:

1. Thursday, October 26th 6:00 – 8:00 PM: Orientation and instructional training (Workshop 1) 2. November: Teacher pairings and meetings to discuss module ideas (group workshop or one-on-one – TBD) 3. November – January: creation of your module 4. Late January: Check-in and feedback session regarding your modules with all MEED participants and enhancement advice (Workshop 2).

5. February – March: Go into the classroom and present your module! 

Interested? Please RSVP for the orientation on October 26th by e-mailing meed@ubclts.com. Dinner will be provided! Feel free to come for the first half of orientation to learn more about the program before committing. RSVPing helps us have adequate amounts of food. 

Please visit our website https://blogs.ubc.ca/meed/ to learn more about the program, get module ideas, and register. The registration deadline is Tuesday October 31st. Please contact us at meed@ubclts.com if you have any questions. 

Best, 

The MEED Team

Brighouse Bash and Hive Learning Pop-Up  Come join LTS and Genome BC at the Richmond Public Library for this year’s annual Brighouse Science Bash: a science and career fair for children! You can make colourful chromatography flowers, slime, yummy Candy DNA, or explore the science of protein synthesis with our Lost in Translation activity! Can’t make Friday? No problem! Richmond Public Library has expanded it’s programming to include a Saturday event to celebrate science and technology. Volunteers can join the fun on Friday or Saturday or both! Training, Materials, and lunch will be provided, travel costs can be reimbursed.

When: Friday, Oct 20th and/or Saturday Oct 21st; 10:30am – 3:30pm

Where: Brighouse Branch, Richmond Public Library (7700 Minoru Gate, Richmond)

Who: kids of all ages

Interested volunteers please sign up here (https://goo.gl/forms/J6cH6LtPJzxXsvy42) or contact Chantal at trips@ubclts.com.

Thank you in advance!

Cheers,

Evelyn–

Community Events Coordinator

Email: community@ubclts.com

Website: www.ubclts.com

Twitter: @ubclts

Next Thursday’s IRES Seminar is: 

October 12, 2017: IRES Student Seminar
Speakers: Adrian Semmelink and Elaine Hsiao

IRES Seminar Series

Time: 12:30pm to 1:30pm (every Thursday)

Location: AERL Theatre (room 120), 2202 Main Mall

Pizza will be served at 12pm on the 4^th floor of AERL. There will be a limit of one slice per person to ensure all attendees have pizza.

***************************************************************************

Adrian Semmelink

BIO:

Adrian is currently pursuing a M.Sc. under the guidance of Dr. Kai Chan, Dr. Terre Satterfield and Dr. Deborah Henderson (Kwantlen Polytechnic University). He holds a dual degree with an honours in environmental sciences and a major in sociology from UBC. Adrian has agricultural experience in South Africa and British Columbia. As a research assistant, he has worked on projects including spider socialization, bird song hybridization, and for the CHAN’s Lab reviews of ecosystem services and environmental assessments. Most recently, Adrian worked for the Stewardship Centre for British Columbia profiling farmers who demonstrate excellence in environmental stewardship.  

ABSTRACT:

There are many approaches to mitigate the environmental impacts of agriculture. One suite of solutions to these impacts are known as beneficial or ‘best’ management practices (BMPs). These practices range from fencing cattle out of riparian ecosystems to using more efficient irrigation systems. BMPs can greatly reduce environmental impacts while not requiring a change in production type. And yet many of these practices are not widely adopted. To incentivize the further adoption of BMPs, the provincial and federal government created the Environmental Farm Plan program, which provides technical and financial support to producers who adopt BMPs. This talk will include provisional results of a needs assessment of this program.

_____________________________________________________________________

Elaine Hsiao:

TALK TITLE:

“Protecting Place, People and Peace: A Critical Socio-Legal Review of Transboundary Protected Areas” 

ABSTRACT:

Examples of transboundary natural resources governance have been proliferating around the planet as the need to reconcile environmental management across common borders grows more urgent.  At best, they are championed as models of ecological peacebuilding and conflict resolution; at worst, they are criticized for their heavy-handed (top-down, externally-influenced and sometimes coercive) and neoliberal conservation strategies.  Transboundary protected areas (TBPAs) are just one mechanism through which cross-border environmental governance occurs, with only some being officially dedicated to peace.  This study looks at how TBPA legal agreements facilitate peace and conflict transformation, helping to answer the question of whether or not TBPAs are being effectively designed as platforms for peace and conflict resolution.  Initial results based on a survey of TBPA practitioners reflecting their experiences in implementing TBPA agreements and how these instruments can or have not served to facilitate conflict resolution on-the-ground, as well as case studies from three borders of Uganda provide insights into the practice and pragmatics of TBPAs as vehicles for conflict transformation and peace.

 BIO:

Elaine Hsiao is an interdisciplinary legal scholar, specializing in transboundary conservation, conflict, and environmental peacebuilding. She has worked with transboundary protected areas initiatives and publications, developed a service-learning expedition in Parque Internacional La Amistad, co-directed/produced a documentary film for “Transcending Boundaries,” and passed resolutions on the environment, peace and conflict at IUCN and WILD Congresses. She represented the Permanent Mission of the Union of Comoros at the UN in climate change issues, received a Fulbright to Uganda (2010-2011) and currently, is the Co-Chair of the IUCN CEESP Theme on Environment and Peace. Elaine holds a JD and LLM in International and Environmental Law from Pace Law School, where she remains a Fellow, Specializing in Protected Areas at the Global Center for Environmental Legal Studies. 

See you on October 12! 

________________________________________________________________

Bonnie Leung

RES Program Support

Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES)

The University of British Columbia | Vancouver Campus

Aquatic Ecosystems Research Laboratory (AERL Building)

Room 429-2202 Main Mall | Vancouver, BC | V6T 1Z4

 

Tel: 604-822-9249

Email: bonnie.leung@ubc.ca

Website: www.ires.ubc.ca

 

The 21^st Century Wharf

Josh Eagle
Solomon Blatt Professor of Law,
Director, Coastal Law Field Lab
University of South Carolina

In early colonial America, the English common law did not grant waterfront landowners the right to construct a wharf (a pier or dock) on the submerged land next to their property. By the 1640s, however, colonial legislatures and courts began to change that. They recognized that the establishment of this private right, which allowed landowners to connect to navigation, would benefit the growing nation.

The bargain was as follows: By providing the private landowner with an easement over the adjacent submerged land, the government would encourage private investment in the construction of commercial wharves. Private investment in wharves would not only increase the value of the owner’s property, but it would also provide benefits to society in the form of cheaper and more convenient facilities for the movement of goods and services by water.

While we may no longer be concerned with wharf shortages, there are other publicly important projects — such as building new dunes and restoring fish habitat — that waterfront landowners might undertake.  Should we develop new kinds of property rights that would encourage private investment in enhancing ecosystem services?  What would these rights look like, and what are the potential benefits and risks of a property rights approach? 

Josh Eagle is the Solomon Blatt Professor of Law and the Director of the Coastal Law Field Lab at the University of South Carolina.  He is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University (B.A.), Colorado State University (M.S., Forest Sciences), and Georgetown University (J.D.), and he began his legal career at the United States Department of Justice.  

Professor Eagle has published on a wide range of topics, including coastal land use, fisheries, public lands, conservation easements, and endangered species.  He has been named an Atlantic Fellow in Public Policy, a Fulbright Scholar, and an international visiting research scholar at the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies.

Regards,–

Katherine Came

Communications Manager

Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries

Faculty of Science, The University of British Columbia

Aquatic Ecosystems Research Laboratory

Rm. 239, 2202 Main Mall

Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4

(604) 827-4325

k.came@oceans.ubc.ca

@UBCOceans   |   oceans.ubc.ca