principal investigator
Education
University of Texas-Austin, Microbial Ecology, Research Associate 2009-2013
University of Regensburg (Germany), Molecular Ecology, Postdoc, 2007-2009
Florida State University, Organismal Biology, Ph.D. 2006
University of Missouri-St. Louis, Tropical Biology M.S. 1999
University of Missouri-St. Louis, Biology B.S. 1994
University of Missouri-St. Louis, German Studies B.A. 1994
Professional Experience
Current and Past Major Funding
2023-2027 National Science Foundation, Division of Environmental Biology, Ecosystem Science,. Collaborative Research: The influence of ants on regional-scale soil carbon dynamics. (DEB-2230334) ($629,553) PI
2016-2021 National Science Foundation, Integrative Organismal Systems, Symbiosis Defense and Self-Recognition Program. CAREER: Mechanisms of specificity and homeostasis in an obligate symbiosis (IOS-1552822) ($651,399) PI
2014 - 2018 National Science Foundation, Division of Environmental Biology, Evolutionary Ecology, Collaborative Research: Evolution of adaptive synergism between mutualistic partners during range-limit evolution. (DEB-1354629) (Total Award, $417,837, UT Tyler share: $ 81,171), Senior Collaborator
2009-2012 National Science Foundation, Integrative Organismal Systems, Symbiosis Defense and Self-Recognition Program. Physiological constraints of symbiont switching: An experimental study of cultivar fidelity and cultivar re-association in fungus-growing ants. (IOS-0920138) ($398,590), Co-PI
2011- present, Texas Ecolab/Texas Museum of Natural Science ($42,486 awarded to date)
Phylogeography of two fungus-growing ants of east central Texas.
Does dessication resistance limit the distribution of fungus-gardening ants of east central Texas?
Dispersal biology of a patchily distributed ant in east and central Texas
2015-2018, German Science Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft), The fecundity/longevity tradeoff in a clonal ant. Senior Collaborator.
University of Texas-Austin, Microbial Ecology, Research Associate 2009-2013
University of Regensburg (Germany), Molecular Ecology, Postdoc, 2007-2009
Florida State University, Organismal Biology, Ph.D. 2006
University of Missouri-St. Louis, Tropical Biology M.S. 1999
University of Missouri-St. Louis, Biology B.S. 1994
University of Missouri-St. Louis, German Studies B.A. 1994
Professional Experience
- Associate Professor, University of Texas at Tyler, 2019-present
- Assistant Professor, University of Texas at Tyler, 2013- 2019
- Research Associate, University of Texas at Austin, 2011-2013
- Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Texas at Austin, 2009-2011
- Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter (Research Associate), University of Regensburg, 2007-2009
Current and Past Major Funding
2023-2027 National Science Foundation, Division of Environmental Biology, Ecosystem Science,. Collaborative Research: The influence of ants on regional-scale soil carbon dynamics. (DEB-2230334) ($629,553) PI
2016-2021 National Science Foundation, Integrative Organismal Systems, Symbiosis Defense and Self-Recognition Program. CAREER: Mechanisms of specificity and homeostasis in an obligate symbiosis (IOS-1552822) ($651,399) PI
2014 - 2018 National Science Foundation, Division of Environmental Biology, Evolutionary Ecology, Collaborative Research: Evolution of adaptive synergism between mutualistic partners during range-limit evolution. (DEB-1354629) (Total Award, $417,837, UT Tyler share: $ 81,171), Senior Collaborator
2009-2012 National Science Foundation, Integrative Organismal Systems, Symbiosis Defense and Self-Recognition Program. Physiological constraints of symbiont switching: An experimental study of cultivar fidelity and cultivar re-association in fungus-growing ants. (IOS-0920138) ($398,590), Co-PI
2011- present, Texas Ecolab/Texas Museum of Natural Science ($42,486 awarded to date)
Phylogeography of two fungus-growing ants of east central Texas.
Does dessication resistance limit the distribution of fungus-gardening ants of east central Texas?
Dispersal biology of a patchily distributed ant in east and central Texas
2015-2018, German Science Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft), The fecundity/longevity tradeoff in a clonal ant. Senior Collaborator.
Lab Manager
Erin McFarland
Lab Manager |
Erin is from Austin, TX. She graduated from Humboldt State University in Northern California in Fall 2021 with a B.S. in Wildlife Biology and a minor in Zoology.
After graduation, she began working doing seasonal field technician positions to get a better feel for what she wanted to research. She worked with Crawfish Frog, varies wetland snake species, Yellow Checked Darters, and varies crawfish species in a couple of different labs at University of Arkansas and studies native bees with North Dakota State University. Having found interest in entomology and genetics she has joined Jon Seal's labs and is excited to start working for the Ant Symbiosis Lab! |
graduate students
See "Joining" for opportunities for joining the lab! Open positions are available.
Matthew Richards-Perhatch V
Graduate Student |
Biography coming soon!
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Elizabeth Boshers
Graduate Student |
Elizabeth is from Longview, TX. She graduated from UT Tyler in Fall 2020 with a B.S. in Biology and a minor in Psychology. She has always been fascinated by behavior; at UT Tyler, she was able to explore those interests through both biology and psychology. As a freshman, she conducted research over psychological moral norms on a travel study to Vietnam. Her research focus shifted from humans to other animals with her undergraduate honors research project, which investigated the impact of wastewater discharge on Sabine River macroinvertebrates.
After graduation, she began working with Jon Seal on a phylosymbiosis project examining connections between the evolutionary history of fungus-gardening ants and the phylogeny of their symbiotic microbiomes. She also take care of managerial duties for the lab. Elizabeth hopes to pursue a graduate degree studying insect behavior and cognition. |
Gabriel McDanield
Graduate Student |
Gabe is form the small town of Big Rapids, Michigan where he also attended Farris State University. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Environmental Biology and a minor in Economics. He has worked for four years surveying, treating and restoring native Michigan habitats form invasive plant species and been a member of the Mycology Club at the university. Being interested in insects from a young age, he has come to UT Tyler to explore his favorite among them, ants! He wishes to grow a greater understanding of ants in their environment and how population structure and dispersal effects genetic diversity.
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UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
Minha Imtiaz, Undergraduate Research Assistant- Fungus culturing, ant colony care, and crayfish eDNA collection
alumni
Lab Manager
Alix Matthews - Fragment analysis of Trachymymex species, fungal phylogenetics, lab ant colonies care and maintenance, lab manager/technician (2017-2019)
Alix Matthews - Fragment analysis of Trachymymex species, fungal phylogenetics, lab ant colonies care and maintenance, lab manager/technician (2017-2019)
Graduate Students
Blake Bringhurst, graduated Spring 2022
Thesis: Microbial dimension of symbiosis and dysbiosis in fungus-gardening ants.
Katherine Beigel, graduated December 2020
Thesis: A cophylogenetic analysis of fungus-gardening ants and their symbiotic fungi.
Matea Allert, graduated Spring 2016
Thesis: Microbiome analysis of two sympatric fungus-gardening ants, Trachymyrmex septentrionalis and Trachymyrmex turrifex
Alex DeMilto, graduated Spring 2015
Thesis: Lignocellulose metabolism in a fungus-gardening ant symbiosis
Thesis: Microbial dimension of symbiosis and dysbiosis in fungus-gardening ants.
Katherine Beigel, graduated December 2020
Thesis: A cophylogenetic analysis of fungus-gardening ants and their symbiotic fungi.
Matea Allert, graduated Spring 2016
Thesis: Microbiome analysis of two sympatric fungus-gardening ants, Trachymyrmex septentrionalis and Trachymyrmex turrifex
Alex DeMilto, graduated Spring 2015
Thesis: Lignocellulose metabolism in a fungus-gardening ant symbiosis
Undergraduate Students
Christine Pawlik - Chemical Ecology of fungus-gardening ants
Chase Rowan, Microsatellite development and microbial ecology
Colby Stone, Microsatellite development
Joey Luiso - Diversity and population genetics of fungus from Trachymyrmex septentrionalis and Trachymyrmex turrifex, lab ant colonies care and maintenance, UT Tyler Darwin Day student coordinator (2015-2018)
Leighanna Mindt - Population genetics of Trachymyrmex septentrionalis and Trachymyrmex turrifex, LSAMP program participant (2016-2018)
Chase Rowan, Microsatellite development and microbial ecology
Colby Stone, Microsatellite development
Joey Luiso - Diversity and population genetics of fungus from Trachymyrmex septentrionalis and Trachymyrmex turrifex, lab ant colonies care and maintenance, UT Tyler Darwin Day student coordinator (2015-2018)
Leighanna Mindt - Population genetics of Trachymyrmex septentrionalis and Trachymyrmex turrifex, LSAMP program participant (2016-2018)