Emily Sexton

Sheldon Lab | University of Tennessee, Knoxville

● Conducting independent research on the impact of rising temperatures on behavioral plasticity and maternal nesting strategies in the dung beetle Dichotomius carolinus.
● Assessing whether reproductive behaviors (e.g., brood ball size and burial depth) buffer offspring against climate stress
● Carefully extracting and measuring brood balls and recovering adult beetles from soil-filled experimental buckets to ensure accurate morphological and behavioral data collection.
● Additionally, coming up with a solution to get Onthophagus hecate to breed in the lab, which could not be done previously.

Derryberry Lab | University of Tennessee, Knoxville

● Conduct independent nestbox monitoring for tree swallow populations, including routine nest checks and egg assessments, while adhering to ethical and safety protocols in the field
● Develop hands-on experience in avian field research, gaining familiarity with ecological monitoring methods and the practical importance of data collection in behavioral ecology

Schilling Lab | University of Tennessee, Knoxville

● Conducted a phylogenetic analysis of several species within the genus Platanthera to test whether the single gene (ITS) data would produce the same phylogeny as the multiple gene data
● Constructed phylogenetic trees using Geneious to analyze genetic relationships
● Performed plant DNA extractions, PCRs, and Gel Electrophoresis of samples from the genus Lobelia

Presentations and Outreach

Southeastern Conference for Animal Behavior

● At this conference I presented a poster on behavioral responses to temperature change in the dung beetle Phanaeus vindex
● This was a field project conducted in the Sheldon lab in which it was found that this species, in response to climate change, adjust their burial depth and brood ball mass

Early Learning Center | University of Tennessee, Knoxville

● Aided in teaching children about dung beetles using craft activities, reading books, and showing them real dung beetles

Mentoring

● Trained five new undergraduates and two postdoctoral researchers on lab tasks such as beetle identification, brood ball identification, beetle collection in the field, breaking down beetle colonies, and setting up buckets for experiments.
● Mentoring Gracie Bixler and Nathan Rhodes on the soil moisture project that I am leading.