As a student of ant systematics, my primary interests lie in understanding the spell-binding diversity of ants. My doctoral research focuses on characterizing the diversity of Fiji’s ant fauna through space and time. For a small cluster of islands in the remote reaches of the Pacific Ocean, the Fijian archipelago supports an enigmatically rich ant fauna. Over two thirds of the ant species are endemic to the islands and, in addition to harboring its own endemic ant genus, Poecilomyrma, other ant genera such as Lordomyrma, Pheidole, Camponotus, Leptogenys and Cerapachys have radiated into endemic clades. While142 ant species in 41 genera are named from Fiji, I am estimating an additional 40-60 species await scientific description.
I am currently working on a series of taxonomic revisions to describe some of Fiji’s more spectacular endemic ant radiations. In addition to describing new species and producing identification keys, I am collaborating with other ant systematists (Andrea Lucky – UC Davis and Corrie Moreau – UC Berkeley) to study the evolution and biogeography of the several endemic clades. The resulting phylogenies, which include outgroup taxa from across the region, will elucidate evolutionary patterns and processes both within the archipelago and throughout the southwestern Pacific.
In an attempt to frame Fiji’s ant diversity at the landscape level, I am collaborating with Evan Economo (UT Austin) to identify tens of thousands of specimens collected from across the archipelago by litter sifting, malaise trapping and hand collecting. Once identified and analyzed, these specimen records will provide a unique set of data for testing a wide range of island biogeography questions.
The greatest threat to Fiji’s native ant fauna are invasive ants such as Anoplolepis gracilipies, Pheidole megacephala and Solenopsis geminata. While neither Wasmannia auropunctata nor Solenopsis invicta are known to have invaded Fiji, it is only a short matter of time before they arrive on its shores. In order to assist the quarantine personnel and conservationists in Fiji and across the Pacific, I am working with a USDA APHIS team to develop an interactive Lucid key to Pacific invasive ants.
