- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The UC Davis team, captained by Matan Shelomi and coached by Extension research entomologist Larry Godfrey of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, won a very close game, 50 to 20.
Team members are four doctoral candidates Shelomi, Rei Scampavia, Jenny Carlson and Danica Maxwell. Shelomi studies with major professor Lynn Kimsey; Scampavia with major professors Edwin Lewis and Neal Williams; Carlson with major professors Anthony Cornel and Greg Lanzaro; and Maxwell with major professors Michael Parrella and Edwin Lewis.
“All 50 points were won by Rei, our MVP--most valuable player--for the day,” Shelomi said.
The rounds continue on Tuesday, Nov. 12. (See schedule)
The Linnaean Games are college bowl-style games based on entomological facts and insect trivia.
Shelomi and Carlson represented UC Davis last year at the nationals. Others on last year’s team were doctoral candidates Kelly Hamby, studying major professor Frank Zalom; and Kelly Liebman, studying with major professor Tom Scott.
Some of the sample questions the UC Davis team answered correctly Sunday:
Question:
“According to the recent American Entomologist, two popular insects whose numbers are decline are the boney bee and what?”
Answer:
Monarch butterfly.
Question:
“In a 2011 paper a new species of Halictidae, Lasioglossum gotham, was described. From what city was it discovered and what is its proposed common name?”
Answers:
New York City and the Gotham Bee
Question:
“What is the name of the society devoted solely to the conservation of endangered invertebrates?”
Answer:
The Xerces Society
Question:
“What are the two families of truly eusocial bees?”
Answers: Apidae and Halictidae
The UC Davis Linnaean Team won the right to compete in this year's ESA competition after winning second place at the Linnaean Games hosted by the Pacific Branch of ESA (PBESA). First-place honors went to UC Riverside team. The UC Davis team that placed in the PBESA included Shelomi and Scampavia; Mohammad-Amir Aghaee, who studies with Larry Godfrey; and Alexander Nguyen, an undergraduate entomology major student who volunteers at the Bohart Museum of Entomology.
The UC Davis team has won either first or second place in the PBESA Linnaean Games since 2010. They won the regional championship in 2012 and 2011, and second in 2010.
In last year’s national finals, held in Knoxville, Tenn., UC Davis lost to the University of Wisconsin, which went on to compete in the finals. The University of Georgia took home the trophy.
The Linnaean Games are named for Swedish-born Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778), a renowned taxonomist, ecologist and botanist.
Links:
Rules of Linnaean Games
Watch video of 2012 Championship Linnaean Games, Knoxville, Tenn.
You Tube Video Announcing 2013 competition
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Matan Shelomi, who is studying for his doctorate in entomology with major professor Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology, captains the 2013 UC Davis Linnaean Team. Others on the team are Mohammad-Amir Aghaee, doctoral student of research entomologist Larry Godfrey; Rei Scampavia, doctoral student who studies with major professors Edwin Lewis and Neal Williams; and Danica Maxwell, who is studying for her master's degree with major professors Michael Parrella, chair of the Department of Entomology, and Edwin Lewis, vice chair. Larry Godfrey serves as the coach.
Linnaean Games are college bowl-style games based on entomological facts and insect trivia. Team members respond to the moderator's questions by buzzing in with the answers. The preliminary rounds conclude with the finals, set for Tuesday, Nov. 12 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
The UC Davis Debate team is captained by Aghaee and coached by Parrella. Team members are Shelomi, Danny Klittich, doctoral student of Parrella; and Irina Shapiro, a doctoral student of Lewis. The UC Davis debaters have been assigned the "con" side of the debate, "Using GMOs to Increase Food-Security in Regions Where the Technoogy is Not Universally Accpeted." They will be facing Auburn University, Alabama, which has been assigned the "pro" side. The event takes place at 3:49 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 12.
The UC Davis Linnaean Team won the right to compete in the ESA competition after winning second place at the Linnaean Games hosted by the Pacific Branch of ESA (PBESA). First-place honors went to UC Riverside team. The UC Davis team that placed in the PBESA included Shelomi, Aghaee, Scampavia, and Alexander Nguyen, an undergraduate entomology major student who volunteers at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. Shelomi and Aghaee are veteran competitors in the Linnaean Games.
The UC Davis team has won either first or second place in the PBESA Linnaean Games since 2010. They won the regional championship in 2012 and 2011, and second in 2010.
In last year’s national finals, held in Knoxville, Tenn., UC Davis lost to the University of Wisconsin, which went on to compete in the finals. The University of Georgia took home the trophy.
The Linnaean Games are named for Swedish-born Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) a renowned taxonomist, ecologist and botanist.
Also at the ESA meeting, Shelomi will be honored as the recipient of the John Henry Comstock Award from the Pacific Branch of ESA.
Links:
Rules of Linnaean Games
Watch video of 2012 Championship Linnaean Games, Knoxville, Tenn.
You Tube Video Announcing 2013 competition