Thiel Biology Professor presents student-faculty collaboration at international conference

Posted December 07, 2018 Print

GREENVILLE, Pa.-- Professor of Biology Michael Balas, Ph. D., presented the collaborative research conducted with four biology majors at the 2018 Joint Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America and Entomological Society of Canada in Vancouver, BC, Canada on November 13, 2018.

The paper, “Seasonal variation and species association in a Pennsylvania leaf litter ant community,” was a research project between biology students, Brooke Gates ’18, Lyndsay Krut ’18, Christopher Simpson ’18, and Hunter Young ’18 and Balas.

Gates is of Middletown, Pa. and is a 2014 of Middletown Area High School.
Krut is of Koppel, Pa. and is a 2014 graduate of Beaver Falls Senior High School.
Simpson is of Grafton, W.Va. and is a 2014 graduate of Grafton High School.
Young is of Worthington, Ohio and is a 2014 graduate of Thomas Worthington High School.

Their collaborative research reports seasonal variation in the appearance of ants in forest leaf litter, as well as a close association between two of the species that were documented.

About the Conference

The 2018 Joint Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America and Entomological Society of Canada is a conference that brought together over 3,800 entomologists from 68 different countries. Over four days, there were 265 scientific sessions featuring 2,430 oral and 569 poster presentations. This annual meeting provides symposia, conferences, submitted papers, and continuing education seminars that provide attendees the opportunity to hear and present research results. The meeting also provides a chance to interact informally with peers and prospective employers.