College of Arts and Sciences

FSU researcher awarded early career fellowship

Published: September 19, 2019 | 2:22 pm | Posted in: Science & Technology

A Florida State University faculty member has been awarded a prestigious national fellowship, recognizing early career researchers who demonstrate exceptional leadership and promise for contributions to the fields of offshore energy system safety, community health or environmental stewardship. Mariana Fuentes, an assistant professor in the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science, recently received the Gulf […]

Study: Flirty comments from romantic partner may offer confidence boost for women

Published: September 19, 2019 | 2:00 pm | Posted in: Education & Society

Drawing attention to a woman’s sexuality or physical appearance often has negative psychological consequences, but a new study from a Florida State University researcher has found that when the comment comes from the right person, those remarks can be a confidence boost. “This is one of the first studies to demonstrate that when such attention […]

FSU researcher receives early career fellowship for work on algal species

Published: September 18, 2019 | 9:30 am | Posted in: Science & Technology

A Florida State University researcher has won an early career award for her work examining the abundance of algal species that are indistinguishable, even under a microscope. Assistant Professor of Biological Science Sophie McCoy received the Norma J. Lang Early Career Fellowship from the Phycological Society of America to explore the ecological differences and consequences […]

Kīlauea lava fuels phytoplankton bloom off Hawai‘i Island

Published: September 11, 2019 | 2:25 pm | Posted in: Science & Technology

When Kīlauea Volcano erupted in 2018, it injected millions of cubic feet of molten lava into the nutrient-poor waters off the Big Island of Hawai‘i. The lava-impacted seawater contained high concentrations of nutrients that stimulated phytoplankton growth, resulting in an extensive plume of microbes that was detectable by satellite. A Florida State University researcher was […]

An agricultural mystery: FSU researchers work to understand bacteria killing citrus trees

Published: September 11, 2019 | 2:07 pm | Posted in: Science & Technology

A team of biologists has put on their detective hats to investigate the complicated bacterium behind citrus greening, a problematic plant disease that has felled citrus orchards across Florida and threatened the Sunshine State’s once prosperous orange crop production. One problem: The bacteria that causes citrus greening — Liberibacter asiaticus — won’t grow in a […]

Deepwater Horizon oil buried in Gulf Coast beaches could take more than 30 years to biodegrade

Published: September 10, 2019 | 1:31 pm | Posted in: Science & Technology

Golf ball-size clods of weathered crude oil originating from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon catastrophe could remain buried in sandy Gulf Coast beaches for decades, according to a new study by ecologists at Florida State University. In a paper published in the journal Scientific Reports, FSU Professor of Oceanography Markus Huettel and graduate student Ioana Bociu […]

Climate change could bring short-term gain, long-term pain for loggerhead turtles

Published: September 5, 2019 | 9:11 am | Posted in: Science & Technology

An overwhelming scientific consensus affirms that for thousands of species across the globe, climate change is an immediate and existential threat. For the loggerhead turtle, whose vast range extends from the chilly shores of Newfoundland to the blistering beaches of Australia, the story isn’t so cut and dried. New research from conservation biologists at Florida […]

Beliefs about uncommitted sex may put marriages at risk

Published: September 4, 2019 | 2:49 pm | Posted in: Education & Society

A group of Florida State University researchers has found that an individual’s pre-marital views about uncommitted sex may make it more difficult to remain blissfully married. In a study published today in the journal Psychological Science, researchers outline several factors that can contribute to a marriage’s long-term happiness or dissolution. One big red flag: An […]

Oxygen depletion in ancient oceans caused major mass extinction

Published: August 30, 2019 | 2:36 pm | Posted in: Science & Technology

Late in the prehistoric Silurian Period, around 420 million years ago, a devastating mass extinction event wiped 23 percent of all marine animals from the face of the planet. For years, scientists struggled to connect a mechanism to this mass extinction, one of the 10 most dramatic ever recorded in Earth’s history. Now, researchers from […]

Archaeologist unearths history in Mississippi River Valley

Published: August 28, 2019 | 11:22 am | Posted in: Arts & Humanities

In the farmlands of the Mississippi River Valley, earth is continuously cleared and leveled — a result of the region’s booming agriculture industry. But beneath the soil lies an important piece of American history, one a Florida State University anthropology professor is working to piece together. In 2007, a planned farming operation at what’s known […]

Eminent scientist, National Academy member to join FSU faculty

Published: August 27, 2019 | 3:00 pm | Posted in: Science & Technology, University News

An esteemed evolutionary biologist and member of the National Academy of Sciences is joining the Florida State University faculty. Steven Stanley will join FSU’s Department of Biological Science where he will collaborate with several different researchers on projects ranging from dinosaur evolution to the intricacies of gastropods. He also will mentor younger faculty members who […]

Survival of the fittest: Research team finds that population density is key to evolution

Published: August 26, 2019 | 12:13 pm | Posted in: Science & Technology

A multiuniversity research team including a Florida State scientist has found that a lack of predators creates an environment that is key to evolutionary changes found in guppies. Florida State University Robert O. Lawton Professor of Biological Science Joseph Travis and a team of researchers have been studying guppies for more than a decade. The […]