Ben Wiens

Profile picture of KU EEB graduate student, Ben Wiens
  • Doctoral Candidate

Contact Info

BI - Dyche Hall

Biography —

Advisor: Jocelyn Colella

Research Interest: Population genetics, phylogeography, genomic basis of adaptation in wild mammals

Hometown: Goessel, Kansas

Education —

B.A. in Biology, Bethel College, North Newton, KS
M.S. in Biology, Kansas State University

Selected Publications —

  • Hope, A. G., Headlee, K. M., Olson, Z. H., & Wiens, B. J. (2023). Systematics, biogeography and phylogenomics of northern bog lemmings (Cricetidae), cold-temperate rodents of conservation concern under global change. Systematics and Biodiversity, 21(1), 2237050.
  • Wiens, B.J., Combe, F.J., Dickerson, B., Divine, L.M., Padula, V.M., Sage, G.K., Talbot, S.L. and Hope, A.G. (2022). Genetic drift drives rapid speciation of an Arctic insular endemic shrew (Sorex pribilofensis). Molecular Ecology, 31(20), 5231-5248.

Selected Presentations —

  • Wiens, B.J., Colella, J.P. Patterns of red-backed vole hybridization across three contact zones and four decades of sampling. Meeting of the American Society of Mammalogists. Anchorage, Alaska, July 2023. Oral presentation.
  • Wiens, B.J., Colella, J.P. A target capture kit for efficient, hierarchical genomic sequencing across the weasel family (Mustelidae). Meeting of the American Society of Mammalogists. Tucson, Arizona, June 2022. Oral presentation.
  • Wiens, B.J., Combe, F.J., Hope, A.G. Genetic drift drives differentiation of an endangered insular shrew (Sorex pribilofensis). Meeting of the American Society of Mammalogists. Virtual meeting, June, 2021. Invited oral presentation.

Awards & Honors —

  • Wiens, B.J. Anna M. Jackson Award. American Society of Mammalogists. $2,000. Spring 2021.
  • Wiens, B.J. Best Oral Presentation. Meeting of the Central Plains Society of Mammalogists. $50. Fall 2020.

Grants & Other Funded Activity —

  • Wiens, B.J. Travel Grant. Meeting of the American Society of Mammalogists. $600. 2023 Wiens, B.J. Travel Grant. Meeting of the American Society of Mammalogists. $400. 2022
  • Wiens, B.J. Graduate Student Research Award. Society of Systematic Biologists. $3,000. 2022 Wiens, B.J. Grant-in-aid of Research. American Society of Mammalogists. $1,500. 2022
  • Wiens, B.J. Leaman Harris Biodiversity Scholarship. University of Kansas. $3,000. 2021 Wiens, B.J. Anna M. Jackson Award. American Society of Mammalogists. $2,000. 2021
  • Wiens, B.J. Best Oral Presentation. Meeting of the Central Plains Society of Mammalogists. $50. 2020
  • Wiens, B.J. Research Grant. Biology Graduate Student Association, Kansas State University. $500. 2020
  • Wiens, B.J. Travel Grant. Meeting of the American Society of Mammalogists. $400. 2020