John Mathew

Research Interests

I come to evolutionary biology with a profound interest in animal behaviour, ecology, and most importantly, conservation, especially in the context of my native India, and more generally, the developing world. My current research focuses on life-history aspects and phylogenetic/ phylogeographic considerations in two genera of the wholly entomophagous lycaenid subfamily, Miletinae. The first, the genus Thestor (trivially called the Skolly), is wholly endemic to Southern Africa, with all but one of the 27 morphologically designated species within it confined to the political boundaries of South Africa, and most of these to the Western Cape Province. We are currently investigating the validity of these morphological designations using molecular phylogenetic techniques, whilst attempting to answer more broad-based questions such as a possible explanation for the astonishing radiation of this genus in such a small geographic area, especially given a life-habit that is distinctly rare in the Lepidoptera.

The other genus in question is Feniseca, a monotypic taxon including the species Feniseca tarquinius, which is North America's only miletine,indeed, only carnivorous butterfly species. Unlike Thestor, Feniseca has not undergone a spectacular radiation and appears to maintain its specific integrity across a very broad range - Nova Scotia down through Florida, across to Texas and up through Manitoba. Feniseca typically feeds on woolly aphids (Aphididae: Pemphiginae) found on such species as Alnus rugosa (speckled alder), and beech (Fagus grandiflora) among others. The harvester, as Feniseca tarquinius is colloquially known, occurs ephemerally, which has led to calls for conservation of the species across its range. We are currently occupied with assessing the phylogeographic status of different populations of Feniseca using nested clade analyses, which we hope will throw more light on population structure, inter-populational differences in, and conservation implications for, a still remarkably little-studied and little known species.

Education and Honors

1995-present. Ph.D programme in Ecological Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA
1992-1994.    M.Phil. in Zoology. Madras University, Madras, India
1990-1992.    M.Sc. in Zoology. Madras Christian College, Madras, India.
1987-1990.    B.Sc. in Zoology. Madras Christian College, Madras, India.
Certificate of Teaching Distinction: 1999, 2000 Science B-29(Human Behavioural Biology) Harvard University.
Certificate of Teaching Distinction: 1999. Biology 22 (Animal Behaviour) Harvard University.

Publications

Mathew, J., M. A. Travassos, M. Canfield, D. Murawski, R. Kitching, and N. E. Pierce. 2001. The singing reaper: diet, morphology, and vibrational signalling in Feniseca tarquinius (Lycaenidae: Miletinae) Holoarctic Lepidoptera (in review).

Pierce, N.E., M.F. Braby, A. Heath, D.J. Lohman, J. Mathew, D.B. Rand and M. Travassos. 2001.The ecology and evolution of ant associations in the Lycaenidae. Annual Review of Entomology (in review).

Helgen, K., J. Mathew, and C. Monta. 2001. The Harvard collection of South Asian mammals. The Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society (in review).

Mathew, J. 2001. Book Review of The Variety of Life: A Survey and a Celebration of All the Creatures that Have Ever Lived by Colin Tudge. Science Books and Film, American Assocation for the Advancement of Science. Vol. 37(1):19.

Mathew, J. 2001. Book Review of The Myth of Monogamy: Fidelity and Infidelity in Animals and Plants by David P. Barash. Science Books and Film, American Association for the Advancement of Science. Vol. 37(5):210.

Mathew, J. and D. A. Waller. 1998. Competition between two sympatric termite congeners (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae: Reticulitermes). (in prep).

Mathew, J. 1997. Camouflage and mimicry - nature's superlative artifices. The Virginia Butterfly Bulletin Vol. 5(1):4-5, 10.

Daniel, J.C., P. Mikulka, and J. Mathew. 1997. Color discrimination in the white rhinoceros. Proceedings of the Association of American Zoos and National Parks (1997):592-593.

Mathew, J., and S.M. Selvarathinam. 1995. The possible role of the shikra as a top predator in the ecological framework of the Madras Christian College campus. Newsletter for Birdwatchers. 1995 (1):37.

Mathew, J. 1994. The butterflies of the Madras Christian College campus. M.Phil. dissertation submitted to the Madras Christian College and Madras University.

Selvarathinam, S.M., J. Mathew, A. M. Devadason, and L. Madhavan. 1993. Checklist of the birds on the Madras Christian College campus from 1990-1993. Proceedings of the Ornithological Society of India. Vol.1:69-72.

Narasimhan, D., J. Mathew, K. Paulraj, S.M. Selvarathinam, and P. Dayanandan. 1993. Frugivorous birds and the conservation of dry evergreen forest. Proceedings of the Ornithological Society of India. Vol 1:28-30.

Mathew, J. 1992. The bio-ecology of the avifauna of the Madras Christian College campus. M.Sc. dissertation submitted to the Madras Christian College.

Abstracts and Presentations

Alpert, G., B. Sello, J. Mathew, S. Cover, and B. Farrell. 2000. A web-based guide to the pest ants of the north-eastern United States.Proceedings of the Joint Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America. Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Mathew, J, E. Buck, and N. E. Pierce. 1999. Radiation of the genus Thestor - a molecular phylogenetic approach. Proceedings of the 2nd International Lepidopterists' Conference of Africa. Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa.

Mathew, J., and D.A. Waller. 1998. Competition between two congeners of the termite Reticulitermes. Proceedings of the Virginia Academy of Sciences. Fairfax, Virginia, USA.

Mathew, J., T. Selvam, and C. Bharadwaj. 1995. Conservation of the olive Ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) on the Madras coast. Proceedings of the Worldwide Fund for Nature and Natural Resources (Madras). Madras, Tamil Nadu, India.

Mathew, J. and L. Madhavan. 1993. Habitat utilisation by avifauna in the dry evergreen forest of the Madras Christian College campus. Proceedings of the Ethological Society of India. Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India.