There are over 20 presentations from UMass Biology Department labs at the 2026 Society for
Integrative and Comparative Biology Conference in Portland Oregon. The annual conference attracts
researchers from around the nation. Can you guess the labs from these titles?
1. The genetic basis of parallel climatic adaptation within and among Junco taxa.
2. Comparative morphology of shark species derived from digital 3D models
3. 3D photogrammetry for quantifying body shape in Southern right whales
4. How does a bird brain respond to a cold world? Transcriptomic insights from Dark-eyed Juncos
5. From mitochondria to movement: linking cellular bioenergetics to winter bird behavior
6. Ecophysiology and evolution of leaf-litter lizards in the Atlantic Forest of northeastern Brazil
7. Studying the scaling of shark morphology through 3D modelling
8. Evolution and genetic basis of complex spatiotemporal behaviors in cichlids
9. Tick-tock! Do clock genes underlie variation in circadian rhythm activity patterns within cichlids?
10. Integration and evolution of complex morphologies: Lessons from the cichlid feeding apparatus
11. Learning activities to queer biology
12. Multiple selection pressures and genetic compensation in high-elevation deer mice
13. The immediate and long-term consequences of a storm-induced mass mortality event
14. Changes in flap-glide behavior for European Starlings in small group flight
15. Using 3D modelling to build conservation tools for estimating mass remotely in wild animals
16. A double triple threat: molluscan insulin evolution by gene duplication in nudibranchs
17. Quantifying body temperature of birds in the wild with subcutaneous PIT-tags and low-cost
readers
18. Exploring the genetics of trait tradeoffs in Astyanax mexicanus using a cave x surface hybrid
cross
19. Post-metamorphic neurogenesis in the nudibranch Berghia stephanieae
20. Modular phenotypic and genetic architectures shape extreme jaw morphologies in a Lake
Malawi cichlid
21. Genetic basis and evolutionary consequences of soft- and hard-tissue integration in cichlid jaws
22. Transcriptomics reveals novel Gα signaling and CR-like receptors in molluscan chemosensation