Spring & summer 2026 updates

It’s high time we share an update on some recent activities and successes in the lab. The crew has been busy- researching, writing, traveling, hiking, publishing, speaking, and, occasionally, relaxing (it’s summer, after all).

On April 1^st 2026, we kicked off a busy start to spring with a month-long field trip to California to search for the most beautiful snakes in the world: Speckled Rattlesnakes. We were fortunate to call the Owens Valley Field Station home base while also embarking on excursions to other field sites across the Great Basin and Mojave Desert. We had a really successful season, working alongside collaborators and friends, including Drs. Blair Perry, Mike Hogan, Matt Holding, and Jesse Meik. We spent many hours hiking and night-cruising, searching at different times for two rattlesnake species: Crotalus pyrrhus (Southwestern Specked rattlesnake) and Crotalus stephensi (Panamint rattlesnake). We wrapped up the trip by meeting up with a other collaborators, Drs. Marjorie Matocq, Danny Nielsen, and Ally Coconis, for small mammal trapping in Nevada for rattlesnake venom/prey resistance work. All in all, we had a productive month out West enjoying wild, open spaces and contemplating rattlesnake evolution.

After returning from the field, the lab shifted gears from snake tongs and hiking boots to PowerPoints and posters as we prepared for the Evolution 2026 conference in Cleveland, OH. All members of the lab shared current work at the meeting, with talks from Drew, Dylan, Keaka and Megan and a poster presentation from Ellie.

A cherished and early-established tradition of the lab is to make a mid-summer visit to UVA’s Mountain Lake Biological Station where we enjoy a retreat from the office and oppressive Virginia summer heat. Drew, Megan, Dylan, and Ellie spent a week in the mountains working on writing projects and enjoying the change of scenery. We were fortunate to overlap with a few collaborators and friends with whom we study monarch butterflies (Dr. Jaap de Roode from Emory University and Dr. Scott Villa from Davidson College). But not all time was spent thinking deeply about genetic drift and signatures of selection; we also enjoyed multiple evening porch jam sessions, including everything from Radiohead to Jess Williamson, and even a tune in Dutch!

Post by Megan Alderman