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21st December 2022
It's holiday time! Which also means its summer scholar time! This is the lab enjoying the sunshine and full bellies, after our end of year lunch :) 
6th July 2022
Just back from a two week intensive field course teaching functional ecology in Tropical North Queensland. An awesome group of students, and so much wildlife!!! 
5th June 2022
Just finished teaching an intensive online Evolution course to our first cohort of ANU-Shandong students! Really looking forward to meeting these students in person next semester!!! 
17th March 2022
Super excited to announce the arrival of new PhD student Diego. Diego recently finished his Masters in Brazil, looking at how environmental factors influence chytrid outbreaks in pumpkin toadlets (i.e. cutest frog ever!). Keep an eye on our people page to get an update on what Diego is going to be doing with us at ANU. 
11th Febuary 2022
Oh my where has the time gone! Well luckily Zhuzhi has more good news to break us from the spell of summer. Zhuzhi has just received a scholarship to go to the University of Sydney for his PhD!!! This is great news! He'll be joining a great lab. Of course, we'll miss him, but luckily he's not moving too far away :) 
28th September 2021
Zhuzhi has just had his first paper from his Masters accepted at Behavioural Ecology. What a month!!! 8th September 2021
Zhuzhi has been awarded his Masters!!! Well done Zhuzhi!!! 
30th June 2021
Zhuzhi submitted his Masters thesis on "The effects of water on mating and fitness in seed beetles". Well done Zhuzhi!!! 
28th May 2021
More good news for the Head lab: Maddie got a CBA Ignition Grant. Friday night celebration. 
30th April 2021
Congratulations on an excellent exit seminar Zhuzhi! In the photo: Megan introduces Zhuzhi :-) 
21st March 2021
Celebrating Zhuzhi's birthday! Happy birthday! 
4th March 2021
We went to play glow in the dark minigolf to celebrate all the good news at once... and Megan won! 
25th February 2021
Maddie is back! the Head lab wishes her the best on her PhD :) 
12th February 2021
We are super excited to announce Isabella joined the Head lab to do her Honours, welcome to the team! 
4th February 2021
The Head lab lives forever: Megan has a permanent position in ANU and we couldn't be happier!! Congratulations!! 
29th January 2021
Our new shiny magnetic stirrer just arrived! The guppies are looking forward to their swimming trials. 
23rd December 2020
Megan, Zhuzhi and Ili at Tidbinbilla, celebrating the Head's lab Christmas. We saw a platypus and TWO baby koalas. Also, Zhuzhi submitted his first paper! Congratulations! 
9th December
Megan gave a zoom talk for Bielefeld University in Germany, and we took a picture: 
28th November
First week of fish experiments! In the picture: Megan giving names to our guppies. 
30th October
The Head lab takes a brake riding scooters around the beautiful lake next to uni. 
9th October
The second and final paper from Sam’s honours is now published in Evolutionary Ecology. "Sex specific responses to competitive environment in the mosquitofish, Gambusia holbrooki" Congratulations to Sam, Maider, Loeske and Megan! 
23th September
The Head lab using downtime during COVID to finish up old projects: "Combined effects of rearing and testing temperatures on sperm traits" in Journal of Evolutionary Biology. New paper by Maider, Lauren, Mike and Megan! 20th September
New paper from Maider, Upama, Mike and Megan! The lab’s first foray into meta-analysis title is: "Stress in the city: meta-analysis indicates no overall evidence of higher levels of stress hormones in urban vertebrates" in Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. 
14th September
Maider trying and approving roasted crickets, the food of the future. 
25th August
Krish is ready to submit his first manuscript on how developmental density affects adult aging in seed beetles, well done Krish! 
21st August
This week we started swimming performance trials in our guppies. We now know they are really good swimmers. 27th July
Lab lunch at the Botanic Gardens, where social distancing is measured in pretty animals and plants. We distanced right after taking the photo, even though we're a lab. 
22nd July
We finished counting 2500 containers of beetle eggs! In the picture: the last container. 
8th July
Another publication for the Head lab! "The effects of competition on fitness depend on the sex of both competitors" was accepted in Ecology and Evolution. by Sam Brooks, Maider Iglesias and Megan Head. 29th June
New paper for the Head lab! This research was done by Jigisha during her visit to our lab from India in 2018. 
16th June
Check out this interview with our own Head lab's head, entitled: "STEM, we have a problem"; about Megan's most recent publication in Ecology and Evolution. Link: science.anu.edu.au/news-events/news/stem-we-have-problem 
9th June 2020
After several years in the making we are very happy to see this paper looking at barriers to career progression in the fields of evolution and ecology published online today. 
1st June 2020
New paper accepted: "No link between nymph and adult colouration in shield bugs: weak selection by predators" in Proceedings B. In the photo, the authors celebrating (from left to right: Tom, Ili, Coni, Megan and Damien. We are only missing Regi and Dani!) 
25th May 2020
Congratulations Maddie for your fantastic honours presentation! We're all very proud! Maddie did her honours on the effects of urbanisation in pollinators, in beautiful Canberra. 
7th April 2020
Nothing can stop the Head lab: zoom meeting in times of quarantine. Welcome to the lab Xuechen! 
5th March 2020
Last copulation of the approximately 2455 done for the huge seed beetle experiment we've been busy with for the last 3 months. Go little beetles! 
17th December 2019
Looking for holiday reading material? Two new papers published in the Head lab: - "No honesty in warning signals across life stages in an aposematic bug" (Evolutionary Ecology) by Ili, Tom and Megan. 
-"Sexual conflict and the environment: teasing apart effects arising via males and females" (Animal Behaviour) by Alan, Megan and Maider.
12th December 2019
Happy holidays to all beetles, beetle lovers, and everyone! 
28th November 2019
Welcome Lydia, Xinran and Marvin! They will be joining us for the next two months. In the picture you can appreciate all the beetle fun they are already having. 
21st November 2019
Maddie Fink about doing fieldwork in Canberra and the little treasures she finds: "My fieldwork involves describing the local habitat of an urban or natural site, and observing pollinator interactions with flowering plants. For each site I record things like local weather conditions; habitat complexity; tree and ground nesting availability; the identity of bee and butterfly pollinators, and their floral visitation behaviours".
14th November 2019
Happy fieldwork memories are being created in the Head lab 
6th November 2019
Dancing to our new speaker in the new insect lab. Counting eggs will be even more fun! 
23rd October 2019
Field season officially started!!! :) 
14th May 2019
The Canberra times covered Sophie's recent paper on how males might benefit from transmitting STIs to females https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6121773/love-sick-males-might-benefit-from-spreading-sexual-disease/?cs=14225 10th May 2019
Maider received funding for an outreach project titled "Life in Eucalypts" from the ESEB outreach fund!!! Watch out Canberra here we come!!! 29th March 2019
A very nice write up of Sophie's paper in inside science https://www.insidescience.org/news/infecting-females-stds-could-give-male-animals-advantage 14th December 2018
Thinking of doing something with these awesome alpine grasshoppers after finding what looks like sexually transmitted mites while teaching on the functional ecology field course. 
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13th August 2018
Today was the launch of our #TeamBeetleSex entry into this years Shirty Science competition. Was super cool to collaborate with @ohlittlesparkart on this shirt design depicting our research on Eucalypt beetles and their sexually transmitted mites. Want to get one or find out more visit www.shirtyscience.com
Today was the launch of our #TeamBeetleSex entry into this years Shirty Science competition. Was super cool to collaborate with @ohlittlesparkart on this shirt design depicting our research on Eucalypt beetles and their sexually transmitted mites. Want to get one or find out more visit www.shirtyscience.com
1st August 2018
After 3 months of hard lab work, Jigisha is leaving us :( Time to get out of the lab and attempt to see some Aussie wildlife :)
After 3 months of hard lab work, Jigisha is leaving us :( Time to get out of the lab and attempt to see some Aussie wildlife :)
23rd July 2018
Elroy and Krish have just started their special topics and honours projects (respectively). Stay tuned to find out what they'll be getting up to.
Elroy and Krish have just started their special topics and honours projects (respectively). Stay tuned to find out what they'll be getting up to.
11th of July 2018
Alan and Megan are super excited to be heading to the ASSAB conference in Brisbane this week.
Alan and Megan are super excited to be heading to the ASSAB conference in Brisbane this week.
7th May 2018
Jigisha just arrived from India! She will be doing a 3 month project on how the environment affects sexual conflict in Seed beetles
Jigisha just arrived from India! She will be doing a 3 month project on how the environment affects sexual conflict in Seed beetles
23rd March 2018
Maider's first seed beetle paper was just accepted in Behavioural Ecology. :)
Maider's first seed beetle paper was just accepted in Behavioural Ecology. :)
11th February 2018
Heading to Hamilton, Victoria tomorrow to collect Eucalypt beetles. Hoping to find lots of these
Heading to Hamilton, Victoria tomorrow to collect Eucalypt beetles. Hoping to find lots of these
January 2018
Working with Arludo to make a game that teaches students about physiological trade-offs and how these can influence behaviour. Here's a preview
Working with Arludo to make a game that teaches students about physiological trade-offs and how these can influence behaviour. Here's a preview
We need feedback!
— Michael Kasumovic (@mkasumovic) January 31, 2018
What do folks thing about our #lizard .io game title and menu?
Should we go with this?
Any other ideas??@aliceleung @megabugface pic.twitter.com/ov8YwfXzZH
December 2017
The fish frenzy begins :) Just started three new big experiments on aging and costs of mating in mosquitofish. Stay tuned...
The fish frenzy begins :) Just started three new big experiments on aging and costs of mating in mosquitofish. Stay tuned...
17th November 2017
Just back from a week of fieldwork in Darwin with the Backwell lab looking at the mating behaviour of Fiddler crabs.
Just back from a week of fieldwork in Darwin with the Backwell lab looking at the mating behaviour of Fiddler crabs.
6th November 2017
Maider just had her first seed beetle paper provisionally accepted to Behavioural Ecology :)
Maider just had her first seed beetle paper provisionally accepted to Behavioural Ecology :)
4th November 2017
Just back from Lizard Island Research Station tagging fish with Rebecca Fox and Jenni Donelson so they can understand how reef fish behaviourally thermoregulate.
Just back from Lizard Island Research Station tagging fish with Rebecca Fox and Jenni Donelson so they can understand how reef fish behaviourally thermoregulate.
