M.Sc. Biology (Botany), 1995
Julius-Maximilians Universität, Würzburg (FRG) and Christian-Albrechts Universität, Kiel (FRG)

My interests span a wide range of fields in evolutionary biology: ecology, phylogenetics, population genetics and bioinformatics. I am fascinated by microorganisms with their unique advantages and challenges, as well as their hidden beauty.

To date, fundamental questions of the evolutionary significance of sexual and asexual reproductive modes and their continued coexistence are still unsolved, despite the in-depth theoretical attention the issue has received. This situation is in particular due to the scarcity and disparate nature of empirical data which do not allow stringent tests of proposed hypotheses. Within my Ph.D. research project I have collected extensive data sets at the inter- and the intraspecific level for a group of lichenized ascomycetes. These data sets allow me to test a priori hypotheses about the evolutionary history of the contrasting reproductive modes in the investigated group.

The overall research objectives of my Ph.D. project are to clarify the relationships within the genus Porpidia (lichenized Ascomycota), and the distribution and interdependence of transitions between reproductive modes within and among its species. I chose the genus due to its accumulation of closely related taxa that show contrasting reproductive modes. The P. flavocoerulescens (sexual)/P. melinodes (asexual) "species pair" was selected for detailed population-level analyses. Hypothetical patterns of changes between the two modes of reproduction within the genus and related allies as well as within the "species pair" are being tested using phylogenetic approaches. The underlying population structure and history within the "species pair" is being studied using integrated nested cladistic and coalescent analyses.

My study is the first in lichenized ascomycetes to integrate phylogenetic and population-genetic approaches. It will not only infer patterns of evolutionary history, but also provide insight into the underlying population processes and historical events shaping the patterns found.

Buschbom, J. (2001): Evolutionary Relationships of a "species pair" in the lichen-forming genus Porpidia (Ascomycota) (Poster). in: Evolution Meeting, Knoxville, June 25-28, 2001.

Buschbom, J.; Lutzoni, F. (2000): A molecular phylogenetic study of the genus Porpidia (Porpidiaceae, Ascomycota). in: The Fourth IAL Symposium: Progress and Problems in Lichenology at the Turn of the Century (Abstracts), webpage: http://www.ncsa.es/aopc/ial4/ cons1.asp

Buschbom, J.; Lutzoni, F. (1999): Is the genus Porpidia (lichenized Ascomycetes) monophyletic? Consequences for the interpretation of anatomical and morphological characters in the Porpidiaceae. in: Int. Botanical Congress, St. Louis, USA, August 1-8, 1999 (Abstracts). p. 324

Buschbom, J.; Kappen, L. (1998): The role of microclimate for the lichen vegetation pattern on rock surfaces in the Subarctic. Sauteria 9: 79-94

Buschbom, J.; Kappen, L. (1996): The role of microclimate for the community pattern on rock surfaces in the Subarctic. in: The Third Symposium IAL3: Progress and Problems in Lichenology in the Nineties, Salzburg, Austria, September, 1-7 1996 (Abstracts). p. 148

Zimmer, D.; Buschbom, J.; Abel, H. (1995): Untersuchungen zur Luftqualität mit epiphytischen Flechten als Bioindikatoren im Rahmen der Umweltverträglichkeits-untersuchung (UVU) zur Erweiterung der thermischen Restabfallbehandlungsanlage der Fa. Edelhoff Entsorgung Nord GmbH & Co. bei Bramsche-Achmer. Report to the University of Osnabrück. 66 ps.

Fellowships:

Women in Science Fellowship, Field Museum of Natural History (Sept. 00 - Aug. 01)
Graduate Student Fellowship, Mycological Society of America (Aug. 00 - July 01)
Fellowship of the German Academic Exchange Service (Oct. 97 – Sept. 98)
Internship in the Bot. Dept. at the Field Museum of Nat. History (Apr. 97 – June 97)
Fellowship of the "Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes" (July 90 – Oct. 92)

Grants and Awards:

Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant, National Science Foundation (2001)
MSA Meeting Travel Award, Mycological Society of America (2000)
Karling Graduate Student Award (2000)
Gino Watkins Memorial Fund, Scott Polar Research Institute (2000)
Graduate Student Research Grant-Exploration Fund, Explorers Club (2000)
Graduate Grant of the American Society of Plant Taxonomists (1998)
Hinds Fund Student Grant, University of Chicago (1997, 1999, 2000, 2001)

Current Position:

www.buschbom.de/jutta/