Julia Butler
M.Sc. Candidate, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2021 - Present
B.A. in Biology, Oberlin College, 2019
Email
jbutle63@vols.utk.edu
Address
430 Hesler Biology Building
Additional Links:
ResearchGate -
ORCID -
LinkedIn -
Current CV
J. Butler Studio: Naturally Inspired Art
My Research: I am interested in bryology, phylogenetics, botany, and ecology and am currently attempting to illuminate the relationships within and between aquatic subgroups of the Fissidens mosses. These species are highly reduced morphologically making them extremely difficult to differentiate based on morphological characteristics alone. Through next generation sequencing (NGS) of herbarium specimen DNA and phylogenetic analysis, I hope to better understand the interspecific relationships between the aquatic taxa historically classified in Subgenus Octodiceras and Section Sarawakia.
Outreach: I am active in the bryology community and led moss walks in the 2023 Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage in the Great Smoky Mountains and plan to continue to do so in the coming years. I have also collaborated with GLOBAL (Global Consortium of Bryophytes and Lichens) project leader Miranda Zwingelberg to start a weekly herbarium transcription event that brings together community scientists to help the effort to transcribe and document the bryophyte specimens in the University of Tennessee Herbarium (TENN). Through this project, I have also participated and led transcription work groups during WeDigBio (Worldwide Engagement for Digitizing Biocollections) events.
About Me: I am originally from Madison, Wisconsin where the green space and plethora of natural areas strongly influenced my curiosity for the outdoors and processes that surround us. When not at a lab bench or analyzing data, you can find me rock climbing, hiking, biking, and watercolor painting. My love for science extends into my art in which many of my pieces are botanical in nature.
