One of the great things about going to big meetings always used to be, frankly, partying with my old comrades from grad school. As we age, I have to say I am starting to get just as excited about interacting with the up-and-comers who are transforming science as we watch. Though this is a belated shout-out to her, I met UC Davis graduate student Morgan Kelly at those meetings and was really impressed with her work on Tigriopus. I was even more surprised last week when one of my newer grads brought this paper to me. I’ve spent most of my research on acorn barnacles and thought I knew them pretty well, but this paper really opens up the door toward understanding reproductive behavior and strategies in this diverse group. What is particularly intriguing is thinking about some systems I know about where parasites can induce a change in reproductive strategy, e.g. from hermaphroditism to androdioecy. Whether this turns into a new project or not it is too early to say, but thanks to Morgan and Eric Sanford for a really interesting read!

Tags: barnacles, sex, meeting