The NMU Grants and Contracts Office reports that two biology graduate students each received $1,000 from the Sigma Xi Grant-in-Aid Research Program for their research projects under the direction of professor Kurt Galbreath. The Sigma Xi Grant-in-Aid Research Program is a highly competitive process; only about 15 percent of applicants receive any level of funding.

Sarah Gallagher was awarded a grant for her research, “Comparative Phylogeography of a Beringian Mammal-Parasite Assemblage.” She will be examining the biogeographical relationship of a mammal-parasite assemblage across the Holartic region. Gallagher plans to sequence five additional loci for 50 samples from select populations to obtain an independent (nuclear) perspective on the history.

Genevieve Haas obtained funding for her research, “Biogeography and co-evolution of a Beringian tapeworm species complex.” She will be working to answer two questions with her research: Assuming an Asian origin for Arostrilepis (tapeworm), how many times did it colonize the Nearctic? And what types of host-parasite co-evolutionary processes are at work in this system?

Both projects begin Feb. 1 and end Jan. 31, 2017.