UCF Department of Biology

Check out the article below about Dr. Martin's research on turtles and their levels of immune gene variations!

UCF Researcher Reveals How Genetic Variation Shapes Sea Turtle Immune System Evolution New research from a UCF biology researcher shows how genetic variation shapes sea turtles’ immune systems, with implications for disease resilience and conservation strategies.

Congratulations to our newest PhD graduates from UCF Biology:

Alison Malay, Ashley Reaume, Samuel Greaves, Landon Myers, and George Zaragoza, Lok P**n (not pictured), and Ryan Welsh (not pictured)!

Your dedication, resilience, and passion for discovery have brought you to this incredible milestone. We can’t wait to see the impact you’ll make next—Charge On!

UCF Biology is proud to celebrate Dr. Linda Walters, Orlando Magazine’s Orlando Women of the Year 2026 Honoree. For nearly 30 years, she’s transformed lives, restored coastlines, and brought science into the community.

Check out the article here: https://www.orlandomagazine.com/orlando-women-of-the-year-2026-honorees-dr-linda-walters-dr-sherry-paramore-and-marsha-lorenz/

Congratulations Dr. Walters!

Our students took their learning beyond the classroom—presenting research posters at the Central Florida Zoo! This incredible experience allowed them to share their work with the community while connecting science, conservation, and real world impact. We’re so proud of their hard work and dedication!

Each Spring, the Department of Biology selects an Outstanding M.S. and Ph.D. graduate that demonstrates exceptional achievement in the areas of research, teaching and service during the time of their degree. This year, our winners are: Luciana Banquero (M.S.) and Davide Dal Pos (Ph.D.). These students will have their names added to the plaques outside of BIO 301.

Please help me congratulate them on this great achievement, as well as recognize the accomplishments of all our graduates this past year!

Luciana Banquero (M.S. in Biology, Spring 2026)

Luciana joined the Coastal and Estuarine Ecology Lab at the University of Central Florida in 2022 as an undergraduate student. She started the M.S. program in the Department of Biology in Fall 2023. Her research focused on restoration of seagrasses in the Indian River Lagoon, FL, and interactions between seagrass and the seaweed Caulerpa prolifera.

Davide Dal Pos (Ph.D. in Integrative and Conservation Biology, Summer 2025)

Davide’s research explores the evolutionary morphology and systematics of Hymenoptera, with a special focus on parasitoid wasps (Ichneumonidae), integrating novel morphological techniques (e.g., micro-CT scanning), phylogenetic methods, and comparative approaches. He studies how morphological evolution shapes the phenotype and drives host associations and diversification across lineages. He also leads biodiversity informatics initiatives, including the World Ichneumonidae Database and the Syrphidae of Italy platform, to advance taxonomy, data accessibility and scalability, and global collaboration in insect biodiversity research.

Congratulations to all the presenters and winners at the ShORE Conference for undergraduates focused on regional marine biology research held in New Smyrna Beach.

Dr. Linda Walter’s CEELAB and her Advanced Marine Biology undergraduate class were judged meritorious in the following categories:

Student Oral Presentations:
• 1st place: Lindsay Dolan
• 2nd place: Lee Nguyen
• 3rd place: Natalia Knapp-Seale
Student Poster Presentations:
• 1st place: Advanced Marine Biology class
• 2nd place: Otis Woolfolk

Check out their official page for more pictures from the event and to stay updated on CEELAB’s activities!

New research from recently graduated PhD student Lok P**n and his advisor, Dr. Will Crampton, in UCF Biology reveals how lunar light cycles can regulate the behavior of nocturnal animals. Published in Biology Letters, the study shows that a nocturnal Amazonian electric fish adjusts its activity across the lunar cycle, foraging only during periods of darkness to reduce exposure to visually hunting predators.

Using field recordings and laboratory experiments with the sand knifefish Gymnorhamphichthys rondoni, the researchers found that this pattern is driven not only by immediate responses to changing light conditions, but also by an internal rhythm that anticipates when moonlight will make activity dangerous. Evidence for this kind of endogenous lunar rhythm in non-reproductive behavior is rare in vertebrates, making the discovery especially notable.

These findings show that changing light conditions across the lunar cycle create shifting “timescapes of fear,” structuring when animals can safely forage and revealing how external cues and internal biological rhythms work together.

Read the paper here: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsbl/article/22/4/20250704/481167/Timescapes-of-fear-exogenous-and-endogenous

Photo legends and credits:

1. Biology Letters cover featuring a sand knifefish, Gymnorhamphichthys rondoni, emerging from the sand to forage at night. Photo: Lok P**n.
2. Rainforest stream study site in the Colombian Amazon. Photo: Lok P**n.
3. Moonlight over an Amazonian rainforest stream. Photo: Lok P**n.
4. Sand knifefish foraging over a sand bank. Photo: Lok P**n.
5. Lok P**n feeding sand knifefish during an experiment in a light- and temperature-controlled chamber. Photo: Will Crampton.