Biology  
 

Focus on Summer Silvieus, Assistant Professor of Biology
 
Dr. Summer Silvieus
Dr. Summer Silvieus
Assistant Professor of Biology
308 Albertus Hall
(616) 632-2448
E-mail: silvisum@aquinas.edu
 
"More things are learnt in the woods than from books; trees and rocks will teach you things not to be heard elsewhere." - St. Bernard of Clairvaux
Educational Background
B.S. Biology; Minor - Music
Westminster College
 
Ph.D. Plant Biological Sciences;
Minor - Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
University of Minnesota
 
Summer Silvieus has taught the following Aquinas College courses:
BY161 Botany: Introduction to plant biology, including plant morphology, physiology, and diversity. >>Syllabus (pdf)
 
BY264 Plant Taxonomy: A study of the concepts and principles of classification, study of the local flora, and training in the identification of vascular plants.
 
BY352 Ecology: Population, community, and ecosystem ecology with an emphasis on interactions between species.
 
BY499 Biology Seminar: Concentrated study of a chosen single topic, Community Genetics.
 
BY231 Microbiology: Morphology, taxonomy, and physiology of bacteria and other microorganisms. (Co-taught with Dr. Hess) >>Syllabus (pdf)
 
BY160 Introduction to Biology: Introduction to the processes pertinent to the functioning of cells.
 
BY161 Zoology: Introduction to animal biology, including morphology, physiology, and diversity. (Co-taught with Dr. McKelvey)
 
AQ Biology Class
AQ Biology Class
 
Research Interests
My research interests are varied from studying flowering plants in their natural habitats and their interactions with insects to extracting organism DNA in the lab for the purpose of identification and DNA bar coding.
 
Determining Oak species with the matK gene
Determining Oak species with the matK gene This project allowed me to combine my enjoyment of the outdoors with my interest in DNA bar coding work. Oak trees can be difficult to identify since they can hybridize easily and especially if no acorns are present. To aid in this, and to help build with Barcodes of Life international project (BOLD), my student and I explored the use of matK sequences as a means of determining oak species. For the first part of the summer, my student and I roamed the grounds of Pierce Cedar Creek Institute while identifying five species of oak trees based on their morphological features. From these trees, we collected samples for herbarium specimens and for DNA extraction. Back at Aquinas, we amplified and sequenced a region of the mat K gene. We then compared the DNA sequences to note if any differences corresponded to the oak species limits.
 
Common Garden Plant DNA
PCR bands of amplified DNA
Above: PCR bands of amplified DNA
The idea that scientists will sequence a section of DNA for all organisms and that this portion of DNA will be used for quick identification is a goal that is currently being realized!  Research that involves the development and employment of DNA bar coding technique is fairly recent and there are laboratories around the world working toward the goal of bar coding all of life. In the plant kingdom, universal primers and a universal region for DNA amplification is still being agreed upon.  Here at Aquinas, this project allowed my student and I to explore the potential of a set of primers for the use of universal DNA amplification across diverse plant families. Then, we sequenced the DNA to see if the region amplified was different enough between species to be used for possible bar coding identification. With the ABI377 sequencer, we can go from plant extraction to DNA sequence all in the laboratory at Aquinas College. 
There are many potential future projects that involve this idea of bar coding plant species. Future work may include using the matK gene for amplification, exploring additional plant species and families, looking at sequence differences between different common hybrid garden plants and delimitating species limits.
 
Figs and Fig Wasps
Fig Wasps
Above: Fig wasps (Ceratosolen)
My dissertation work involved exploring the coevolution and host specificity of non-pollinating fig wasps found in the Old World. These tiny insects, about the size of your fingernail, interact with fig fruits and other fig wasps, usually with harmful consequences. My research involved determining species identification and limits, meaning I used DNA sequences and morphological characteristics to determine what insects belonged to what species. Many of these wasps had not been identified before, and so were placed into new species categories. Once their taxonomy was obtained, I examined how host specific these wasps were in their communities. This involved again using DNA sequences along with field observations to determine which species interacted directly with each other in nature. Finally, I analyzed the data and reconstructed wasp phylogenies that were then compared to each other to investigate their shared evolutionary histories.

Further work to be done on these wasps includes officially naming and describing wasp species (I’m looking for great micro-artists) and to continue with analyzing host specificity and coevolution.
 
Interactive Tree Key
AQ Student Molly Soper (left) and I at PCCI.
AQ Student Molly Soper (left) and I at PCCI.
I enjoy research and projects that end with a product that can be quickly used in the lab or by the public. The construction of this interactive tree key allowed for my research student and me to explore the diversity of angiosperm plants at Pierce Cedar Creek (PCCI) and create something useful. This project involved using morphological characteristics to identify flowering plants along a trail at PCCI.  Once identified, the characteristics were then entered into a computer-generated key. When completed, this interactive key allows a user to have an unknown plant, enter in observed characteristics, and the database will aid in correct identification. 
 
Herbarium Curation
AQ student Molly Soper (right) and I holding a Swamp Oak specimen from the early 1900s.
AQ student Molly Soper (right) and I holding a Swamp Oak specimen from the early 1900s.
Besides studying plants in the field and in the lab, some need to be kept in a herbarium for future work or study during the winter months.  Our herbarium at Aquinas College consists of 685 species from 145 plant families.  The plant specimens range in age from the founding of the college to the present and were collected from all over the United States.  Just recently, I re-organized the collection to follow current DNA species identification trends. This meant that some older plant families contained species that were renamed and moved to other families based on recent sequence information. I maintain this collection for its use in the classroom and for research.

Future work with our herbarium includes the re-mounting of specimens from older paper (dated 1890s-1920s) to newer acid-free paper.  I’m also continuously adding to the collection with species found around the Grand Rapids area.
 
Mentoring Experiences
Aquinas Tree Guide / Aquinas College
Throughout our Aquinas campus, we have many native Michigan trees and shrubs growing.  A variety of these trees have been marked with wooden stakes and their locations have been mapped onto our Aquinas Tree Guide Brochure (pdf). Students and I, along with several others, completely updated this brochure so that it reflects accurate locations, species names, and identifying characteristics of the trees.
  • Cris Madziar & Elliot Sedlecky, 2010
 
Local Tree Surveys / Grand Rapids
Students and I work with local groups to survey the species and health of trees.  These surveys can then be used to determine where new trees might be planted to create more green spaces.
  • Kirsten Borek & Kaila Crisler, 2010. Eastown Shade Tree Survey
  • Kaila Crisler & Cris Madziar, 2009. Wilcox Park Tree Survey
 
Thomson-Mohler Summer Research Grant / Aquinas College
Students and faculty team-up to explore a research project for 10-weks during the summer months.
  • Ivana Pasalic, 2008. Amplifying and Sequencing DNA from Common Garden Plants Utilizing Universal Primers for the potential use in DNA Barcoding. (Aquinas College)
 
Undergraduate Research Grant for the Environment (URGE) / Pierce Cedar Creek Institute
This funding opportunity allows for students and faculty mentors to work together conducting research at the Pierce Cedar Creek biological field station. Students design and execute a 12-week research project examining an ecological aspect of the Pierce Cedar Creek environment. >>More Information
  • Kirsten Borek, 2009. DNA barcoding of local Oak (Quercus) species at Pierce Cedar Creek using the matK gene (Aquinas College)
  • Molly Soper, 2007. Formation of Pierce Cedar Creek Institute Interactive Tree Key for Common Plants Along Trails.  (Aquinas College)
 
Selected Publications and Presentations
Formation of Pierce Cedar Creek Institute Interactive Tree Key for Common Plants Along Trails. Molly Soper, S.I. Silvieus.  Oral presentation given by student Molly Soper, Pierce Cedar Creek Institute, Michigan, (September 2007).
 
Cophylogeny of fig pollinators, parasites and parasitoids. S. I. Silvieus, G. Weiblen, W. Clement. In press. In K. Tilmon (ed.) Evolutionary Biology of Plant and Insect Relationships. University of California Press, Berkely, California.
 
Exploring host specificity and species limits of non pollinating fig wasps, Talk, Joint meeting of the Soc. for the study of Evolution, Soc. of Syst. Biologists, and the American Soc. of Naturalists (Evolution Conference), Fairbanks, Alaska (2005).
 
Reconstructing a fig wasp parasitoid phylogeny, Poster presentation with undergraduate Erika Blackwell, Joint meeting of the Soc. for the study of Evolution, Soc. of Syst. Biologists, and the American Soc. of Naturalists (Evolution Conference), Fairbanks, Alaska (2005).
Co-cladogenesis in the fig-fig wasp community, Poster presentation with graduate Wendy Clement, Community Genetics Symposium, U. of Minnesota (2005)
 
Examining co-speciation between figs and their non pollinating wasps, Poster presentation, Joint meeting of the Soc. for the study of Evolution, Soc. of Syst. Biologists, and the American Soc. of Naturalists (Evolution Conference), Chico, California (2003)
 
Grants and Distinctions
  • Mohler-Thompson Research Grant, Biology Department, Aquinas College (2008)
  • Mini-Grant, Aquinas College (2007) [Evolution Conference]
  • URGE Grant, Pierce Cedar Creek Institute, Michigan (2007)
  • Mini-Grant, Aquinas College (2006) [Botany Conference]
  • National Science Foundation GK-12 Fellowship (2005-2006)
  • Outstanding Performance Award for Teaching Assistants, U. of M. (2005)
  • Summer Travel Grant, Plant Biology Department, U. of M. (2005) [Evolution Conference]
  • Travel Grant, Center for Community Genetics, U. of M. (2005) [Evolution Conference]
  • Research Grant, Center for Community Genetics, U. of M. (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005)
  • Summer Research Fellowship, U. of Minnesota (2002, 2004)
  • Outstanding Performance Award for Teaching Assistants, Nomination, U. of Minnesota (2003)
  • Summer Travel Grant, Plant Biology Department, U. of M. (2003) [Evolution Conference]