about.
I am a Ph.D. Student in Biology at York University, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I'm an entomologist and systematist, and I'm interested in just about anything to do with biodiversity and evolution - especially insect taxonomy, diversity, and biogeography. Hymenoptera are my specialty. I'm also a quick & resourceful learner, an enthusiastic problem-solver, and I have a knack for communicating knowledge in a clear, accessible, and engaging fashion.
view my cvresearch.
Diversity and phylogeography of the sawfly genus Pristiphora in the Nearctic region
Presently I'm working on an integrative systematic revision of Nearctic sawflies in the genus Pristiphora. These sawflies are diverse and abundant in North America - like the rest of the Nematinae, their diversity is higher in northern regions than in the tropics. As part of this work I'm looking into patterns of sawfly distribution in the Nearctic, in order to better understand the reasons for their diversity here. My research takes place at PCYU.Packer Lab
Revision of Chilicola (Heteroediscelis), a subgenus of bees endemic to Chile (Master's thesis)
My Master's thesis focused on the systematics and biogeography of a subgenus of bees in the genus Chilicola (Colletidae, Xeromelissinae). These are small, slender bees that nest in plant stems and are found throughout much of Chile, having apparently diversified via north-south disjunctions roughly corresponding with Chile's varied biogeographic regions. I described 8 of the 17 species of Heteroediscelis, and produced a thoroughly-illustrated ID key. You can see the finished work here ZooKeys (open access).
publications.
Elm zigzag sawfly, Aproceros leucopoda (Hymenoptera: Argidae), recorded for the first time in North America through community science
Martel, V., Morin, O., Monckton, S.K., Eiseman, C.S., Béliveau, C., Cusson, M., Blank, S.M. 2021. The Canadian Entomologist, 154: 1-18. doi: 10.4039/tce.2021.44
Inadequate treatment of taxonomic information prevents replicability of most zoological research
Monckton, S.K., Johal, S., Packer, L. 2020. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 98: 633-642. doi:10.1139/cjz-2020-0027
view online download pdfParasitoids indicate major climate-induced shifts in arctic communities
Kankaanpää, T., Vesterinen, E., Hardwick, B., ... Monckton, S.K., ... Roslin, T. 2020. Global Change Biology, 26: 6276-6295. doi: 10.1111/gcb.15297
The evolutionary history of the cellophane bee genus Colletes Latreille (Hymenoptera: Colletidae): Molecular phylogeny, biogeography and implications for a global infrageneric classification
Ferrari, R.R., Onuferko, T.M., Monckton, S.K., Packer L. 2020. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 146: 106750. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2020.106750
Validating taxonomic identifications in entomological research
Packer, L., Monckton, S.K., Onuferko, T.M., Ferrari R.R. 2018. Insect Conservation and Diversity, 11: 1-12. doi: 10.1111/icad.12284
view online download pdf
A revision of Chilicola (Heteroediscelis), a subgenus of xeromelissine bees (Hymenoptera, Colletidae) endemic to Chile: taxonomy, phylogeny, and biogeography, with descriptions of eight new species.
Monckton, S.K. 2016. ZooKeys, 591: 1-144. doi:10.3897/zookeys.591.7731
Case 3670 - Chilicola vicugna Toro & Moldenke, 1979 (Insecta, Hymenoptera, COLLETIDAE): proposed replacement of the holotype by a neotype.
Monckton, S.K. 2014. Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature, 71(4): 234-236. doi:10.21805/bzn.v71i4.a13
Fruit ripening signals and cues in a Madagascan dry forest: haptic indicators reliably indicate fruit ripeness to dichromatic lemurs.
Valenta, K., Miller, C.N., Monckton, S.K., Melin, A.D., Lehman, S.M., Styler, S.A., Chapman, C.A., Lawes, M.J. 2016. Evolutionary Biology. doi:10.1007/s11692-016-9374-7
It’s not easy being blue: a cost analysis of plant signal trade-offs.
Valenta, K., Brown, K.A., Melin, A.D., Monckton, S.K., Styler, S.A. Jackson, D.A., Chapman, C.A. 2015. PLoS ONE, 10(6): e0131725. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0131725
education.
B.Sc.
Biology (Hon.), 2011
University of Ottawa
M.Sc.
Biology, 2015
York University
Ph.D.
Biology, In progress
York University
skills.
maps
I love to put dots on maps. I've produced publication-quality maps of species distributionsExample distribution map, biogeographic regionsMap via ZooKeys, and geophylogenies, and I regularly use ArcGIS, QGIS, and Google Earth to put biodiversity data into a geographic context.
illustrations
I am an aspiring illustrator. I produce high-quality figures for publicationsFigure via ZooKeys and reportsBombus illustration, I design logos for research groupsRehan lab logo and conferencesESO-ESC JAM 2021 logo, and I have an Etsy shopPhytophaga on Etsy where I sell insect stickers. I'm happy to take on new projects on a freelance basis.
communication
Beyond talks and publications, I've led bioblitz walks, delivered lunch-and-learns, spoken in children's classrooms, and written for The Canadian EncyclopediaTCE author page and The ConversationAuthor profile for The Conversation. I enjoy finding clear and intuitive ways to explain biology to non-experts.
curation
Having processed and curated thousands of specimens, I'm familiar with curatorial best practices and I have experience building and maintaining databases. I have also visited and worked in several large natural history collections.