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Department of Entomology
University of Illinois
505 S Goodwin Ave
Urbana, IL 61801
(520)548-8134
Curriculum Vitae
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Research Interests
Systematics, natural history, and evolution
of insects. Current projects include higher-level phylogenetic studies
of Coleoptera, molecular systematics of braconid wasps, and a molecular
phylogeny of the ant genus Linepithema. Additional interests include
the use of photography for biodiversity outreach and the role of alpha
taxonomy in an increasingly genomic and bioinformatic world.
Professional Preparation
| 2005 |
University of
California at Davis. Ph.D. in Entomology. |
| 1995 |
Bowdoin College,
Brunswick, ME. A. B.
summa cum laude in Biology and Environmental
Studies. |
Academic and Professional
Appointments
| 2008
– present |
Research Associate,
Department of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Currently working in a postdoctoral position in the laboratory of Dr. James
Whitfield to conduct systematic work on braconid wasps. Responsibilities
include the development of protein-coding nuclear genes for phylogenetic
analysis in the genus Heterospilus, gathering molecular data for a diversity
of projects, and specimen imaging. |
| 2006
– 2008 |
Research Associate, Department
of Entomology, University of Arizona. Held a postdoctoral position
on an Assembling the Tree of Life (NSF - ATOL) grant to reconstruct the
phylogeny of the Coleoptera. Responsibilities included assisting
in the development of a bioinformatics workflow system, the development
of new protein-coding nuclear genes for phylogenetic analysis, and specimen
curation and imaging. |
| 1999 – 2005 |
Doctoral Student, Department
of Entomology, U. C. Davis. Conducted externally funded phylogenetic
and revisionary research in the ant genera Linepithema and Pachycondyla,
carried out molecular work for an NSF - ATOL project to reconstruct the
phylogeny of the Formicidae, and worked in the curation of the entomology
collections at the Bohart Museum of Entomology and the California Academy
of Sciences. |
| 1998 – 1999 |
Agriculture Sector
Coordinator, U. S. Peace Corps/Paraguay. Activities included re-designing
the Peace Corps agriculture plan to boost emphasis on no-till agriculture
and to increase Peace Corps’ coordination with local organizations, interacting
with Paraguayan communities to determine placement of incoming volunteers,
organizing several week-long workshops in sustainable agriculture for Paraguayan
subsistence farmers and Peace Corps volunteers, providing logistical support
to volunteers, and editing a monthly newsletter. |
| 1995 – 1998 |
Apiculture Extensionist,
U. S. Peace Corps/Paraguay. Responsibilities included teaching beekeeping
with Africanized honeybees in several subsistence farming communities and
performing extension in agroforestry and sustainable agriculture. |
| 1995 – 1999 |
Associate Curator,
Museo Nacional de Historia Natural del Paraguay. Curated the ants
in the Paraguayan National Museum on a part-time basis. |
| 1995 |
Invertebrate
Laboratory Intern, Archbold Biological Station, Lake Placid, Florida.
Assisted in the curation of the Archbold insect collection under the supervision
of
Dr. Mark Deyrup. |
Reviewed Publications
-
Wild, A. L. 2008. Evolution
of the Neotropical Ant Genus Linepithema. Systematic Entomology,
in press.
-
Wild, A. L., and D. R. Maddison.
2008. Evaluating
nuclear protein-coding genes for phylogenetic utility in the Coleoptera.
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, in press.
-
Wild, A. L. 2007. A Catalogue
of the Ants of Paraguay (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa 1622: 1–55.
[pdf
available on request]
-
Wild, A. L. 2007. Taxonomic
revision of the ant genus Linepithema (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).
University of California Publications in Entomology 126. [download
PDF]
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Roura-Pascual, N., A. V. Suarez
, K. McNyset, C. Gómez, P. Pons, Y. Touyama, A. L. Wild, F. Gascón,
and A. T. Peterson. 2006. Niche differentiation and fine-scale projections
for Argentine ants based on remotely sensed data. Ecological Applications
16(5): 1832–1841.
[pdf available on request]
-
Donoso, D. A, J. M. Vieira,
& A. L. Wild. 2006. Three
new species of Leptanilloides Mann from Andean Ecuador (Formicidae:
Leptanilloidinae). Zootaxa 1201: 47-62. [download
PDF]
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Wild, A. L., and F. Cuezzo.
2006. Rediscovery of a fossil dolichoderine ant lineage (Hymenoptera: Formicidae:
Dolichoderinae) and a description of a new genus from South America. Zootaxa
1142: 57-68. [pdf available on request]
-
Wild, A. L. 2005. Taxonomic
revision of the Pachycondyla apicalis species complex (Hymenoptera:
Formicidae). Zootaxa 834: 1-25. [pdf available on request]
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Roura-Pascual, N, A. V. Suarez
, C. Gómez, P. Pons, Y. Touyama, A. L. Wild, & A. T. Peterson.
2004. Geographic potential of Argentine ants (Linepithema humile
Mayr) in the face of global climate change. Proceedings of the Royal
Society of London, Series B 271:2527-2534. [download
PDF]
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Wild, A. L. 2004. Taxonomy
and distribution of the Argentine ant Linepithema humile (Hymenoptera:
Formicidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America 97(6):
1204-1215. [download
PDF]
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Orians, C. M., C. H. Huang,
A. Wild, K. A. Dorfman, P. Zee, M. T. T. Dao, and R. S. Fritz. 1997. Willow
hybridization differentially affects preference and performance of
herbivorous beetles. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 83: 285-294.
Additional Publications
-
Wild, A. L. 2008. Book
Review of Snelling et al 2007 Festschrift to E. O. Wilson. Myrmecological
News, online early.
-
Wild, A. L. 2008. A
Feast for the Initiated. Bioscience 58: 80–81.
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Wild, A. L. 2008. The Argentine
Ant. Encyclopedia entry in Capinera, J., ed. 2008, Encyclopedia of Entomology,
2nd edition. Springer, 4768pp.
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Wild, A. L. 2005. Observations
on larval cannibalism and other behaviors in a captive colony of Amblyopone
oregonensis. Notes from Underground 11: 9. [Online
article]
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Wild, A. L. 2003 (“2002”). The
genus Pachycondyla (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Paraguay. Boletín
del Museo Nacional de Historia Natural del Paraguay 14: 1-18. [download
PDF]
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Suarez, A.V., M. Benard, N.D.
Tsutsui, T.A. Blackledge, K. Copren, E.M. Sarnat, A.L. Wild, W.M. Getz,
P.T. Starks, K. Will, P.J. Palsbøll, M.E. Hauber, C. Moritz, and
A.D. Richman. 2002. Correspondence: Conflicts around a study of Mexican
crops. Nature 417: 897.
Selected Presentations
-
Wild, A. L. 2008. An Evolutionary
Context for the Argentine Ant. Invited Talk, Section 13, International
Congress of Entomology, Durban, South Africa.
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Wild, A. L. 2007. Can 18th and
21st century science get along? The fate of taxonomy in the genomic era.
Invited talk, University of Texas Population Biology seminar series, Austin,
Texas.
-
Wild, A. L. 2006. Multi-locus
molecular phylogeny and the “Species Problem”: insights from Linepithema
ants. Invited talk, Symposium 12, International Union for the Study of
Social Insects conference, Washington D.C.
-
Wild, A. L. 2006. Beyond the
Argentine Ant: Evolution of the Neotropical ant genus Linepithema.
U.C. Davis Department of Entomology Seminar Series.
-
Wild, A. L. 2005. Panelist,
“Monographs in the 21st Century”, Bay Area Biosystematists November meeting.
-
Wild, A. L. 2005. Entomologizing
in South America. Panel presentation on international biological
collections and the permit process, Bay Area Biosystematists April meeting.
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Wild, A. L. 2004. An Overview
of Latin American Regulations. Invited Talk, Section A, Entomological Society
of America Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
-
Wild, A. L. 2004. Phylogeny
and Male Trait Evolution in the Neotropical Ant Genus Linepithema.
Oral Presentation, Section A, Entomological Society of America Annual
Meeting, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
-
Wild, A. L. 2004. Distribution
of the Argentine ant (Linepithema humile) in South America. Oral
Presentation, Section 17, International Congress of Entomology, Brisbane
Australia.
Relevant Skills
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Over ten years of professional
experience in insect collection, curation, and identification. Curation
experience includes several institutional collections in North and South
America. Identification skills span all insect and some other arthropod
groups at the family or genus level, with species-level skills strongest
for Nearctic and Neotropical ants.
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Over ten years of experience
in the design and implementation of scientific research in entomology and
systematics.
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Strong grant-writing skills;
received over $95,000 in funds as a graduate student from several sources,
including a fellowship and a research grant from the National Science Foundation.
-
Insect photography. Photographs
have appeared in venues such as Discover Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine,
Ranger Rick, Natural History, BBC Wildlife, Nature, PNAS, USA Today, the
Washington Post, the History Channel, the Discovery Channel, and in numerous
museum exhibits, books, newspapers, and websites. Online gallery
is viewable at www.myrmecos.net.
-
Molecular laboratory skills
include DNA extraction, amplification, purification, primer design, and
sequence analysis.
-
Bioinformatics software experience
includes BioLink, EstimateS, Lucid, Auto-Montage, Cartograph, Archimed,
PAUP*, Clustal, MacClade, Mesquite, Mr Bayes, Chromaseq, and Sequencher.
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International research experience
in over 15 countries, with an emphasis in Latin America.
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Excellent public outreach skills.
Experience includes agriculture extension, classroom and science center
visits, photography workshops, and campus outreach events.
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Fluency in English, Spanish
and Guaraní, with additional communications skills in Portuguese
and French.
Teaching Experience
| 2005 |
Teaching assistant for the
“Ant Course” at the Southwestern Research Station in Portal, Arizona, an
annual intensive course on ant diversity. |
| 2000
– 2005 |
Teaching assistant and lecturer
for the following classes at U. C. Davis:
Molecular and Cellular Biology 10: Human Genetics.
Entomology 109: Insect Diversity in the California Sierra Nevada.
Entomology 107: California Insect Diversity. |
| 1995
– 1999 |
U. S. Peace Corps/Paraguay.
Taught classes in apiculture, soil conservation, crop
diversification, and agroforestry
to various groups of Peace Corps volunteers, Paraguayan farmers, and Aché
and Guaraní indigenous communities. |
Grants/Awards
2003 National Science Foundation
Dissertation Enhancement Award ($21,205)
2002 U.C. Davis Jastro
Shields Research Award ($2,500)
2002 U.C. Davis Center
for Population Biology, Graduate Research Award ($1,124)
2001 U.C. Davis Jastro
Shields Research Award ($2,500)
2001 U.C. Davis Center
for Biosystematics, Graduate Research Award ($1000)
2001 U.C. Davis Center
for Population Biology, Graduate Research Award ($1000)
2001 U.C. Davis Center
for Biosystematics, Graduate Research Award ($1000)
2000 U.C. Davis Jastro
Shields Research Award ($1,800)
2000 National Science
Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship ($22,000/year for three years)
1995 Macomber Prize,
awarded by Bowdoin College to the outstanding graduating senior in Biology
Professional Affiliations
Member, Entomological Society
of America; 2004-2005 ESA Education and Youth Committee
Member, International Union
for the Study of Social Insects
Member, Society of Systematic
Biologists
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