Corrie Moreau

Research Interests:

I have a passion for both molecular systematics and ant evolution, and I have been investigating the phylogenetic relationships of ants using molecular techniques. My dissertation included a reconstruction of the molecular phylogeny of the ant genus Pheidole. Edward O. Wilson’s (2003) revision of Pheidole's New World species has provided the framework with which to examine the evolution of this “hyperdiverse” genus. The ecological dominance and fascinating biology of Pheidole pose many questions about life history evolution; by answering them, I hope to understand not only those factors leading to diversification of this dynamic genus, but of all other ants as well.

I am also interested in the question of ant subfamily relationships. Resolution at the subfamily level has been attempted several times using morphological characters, but with limited success. By using molecules instead of morphology, we may be able to shed light on a question that has been puzzling ant taxonomists for decades. Once the relationship of the major ant lineages has been resolved, we can begin to unravel the mysteries of this exciting and important group of organisms.

Positions:

2008 – Forward: Assistant Curator, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL in the Department of Zoology, Division of Insects.

2007 – 2008: Miller Postdoctoral Fellow at University of California, Berkeley in Integrative Biology and Environmental Science, Policy and Management Departments working with Profs. Craig Moritz, George Roderick, and Rosemary Gillespie.

Education:

Science (7-April-2006) cover photograph taken in Peru by C.S. Moreau.

2003 – 2007: Ph.D., Harvard University
2000 – 2003: Master’s degree, San Francisco State University
1996 – 2000: Bachelor’s degree, San Francisco State University

Publications and Manuscripts:

Moreau, C.S., Bell, C.D., Vila, R., Archibald, S.B., & Pierce, N.P. (2006). Phylogeny of the Ants: Diversification in the Age of Angiosperms. Science 312 (5770): 101-104. [Full Text] (Cover)

Archibald, S.B., Cover, S.P., & Moreau, C.S. (2006). Bulldog Ants of the Eocene Okanagan Highlands and History of the Subfamily (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmeciinae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America 99 (3): 487-523. [pdf]

Blackburn, D.C. & Moreau, C.S. (2006). Ontogenetic diet change in the arthroleptid frog Schoutedenella xenodactyloides. Journal of Herpetology 40 (3): 388-394. [pdf]

A. Dejean, J. Le Breton, J.P. Suzzoni, J. Orivell, C. Saux-Moreau. (2005). Influence of interspecific competition on the recruitment behavior and liquid food transport in the tramp ant species Pheidole megacephala. Naturwissenschaften 92: 324-327. [pdf]

Saux, C., Fisher. B.L. , & Spicer, G.S. (2004). Dracula Ant Phylogeny as Inferred by Nuclear 28S rDNA Sequences and Implications for Ant Systematics(Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Amblyoponinae). Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution 33(2): 457-468. [pdf]

Saux, C., Simon, C.M. , & Spicer, G.S. (2003). Phylogeny of the Dragonfly
and Damselfly Order Odonata as Inferred by Mitochondrial 12S rRNA Sequences.
Annals of the Entomological Society of America 96 (6): 693-699. [pdf]

* I was married in September 2004 and changed my name to Corrie Saux Moreau (previously Corrie Saux). I published a paper in 2005 under a hyphenated name for continuity. All future publications will be under the name Moreau.

Professional Meetings:

Oral Paper – Moreau, C.S., Bell, C.D., Vila, R., Archibald, S.B., & Pierce, N.P. 2006. Ants, Clocks, and Rocks: The Phylogeny and Diversification of Modern Ants. Evolution Meetings (Society for the Study of Evolution), Stony Brook, New York.

Oral Paper – Moreau, C.S., Bell, C.D., Vila, R., Archibald, S.B., & Pierce, N.P. 2006. Ants, Clocks, and Rocks: The Phylogeny and Diversification of Modern Ants. Social Insect Meetings (International Union for the Study of Social Insects), Washington, D.C.

Oral Paper – Saux, C., B.L. Fisher and G.S. Spicer. 2003. Dracula Ant Relations and Implications for Systematics. Evolution Meetings (Society for the Study of Evolution), Chico, California.

Poster Presentation - Saux, C., B.L. Fisher and G.S. Spicer 2001 Monophyly of Amblyoponini ants evaluated based on molecular evidence. Entomological Society of America Meeting, San Diego, California.

Poster Presentation - Saux, C., B.L. Fisher and G.S. Spicer. 2001 Molecular systematics of ants (tribe Amblyoponini) based on three genes. Evolution Meetings (Society for the Study of Evolution), Knoxville, Tennessee.

Poster Presentation - Holder, K., C. Saux and T.B. Smith. 2000. Testing alternative models of evolutionary divergence in rainforest avifauna. Annual Meeting of the American Ornithologists' Union, St. John's, NF, Canada.

International Field Biology and Related Experiences:

Australian field expedition. August 2007– September 2007. Collection of ant specimens for my postdoctoral research in the Australian Wet Tropics, Queensland.

South American field expedition. February 2004 – May 2004. Collection of ant specimens for my doctoral dissertation in Ecuador and Peru.

Madagascar field expedition. December 2001 – March 2002. Field team member with an expedition led by Dr. Brian Fisher, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California, USA. The expedition collected ants and other invertebrates for an invertebrate faunal study of the island of Madagascar. Our field sites were in areas that had not been previously surveyed, requiring us to stay in tents and pack in all of our equipment and supplies.

South African Museum in Cape Town, South Africa. March 2002 – April 2002. For five weeks, I managed the ant-processing lab, which is affiliated with the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California, USA. My duties included overseeing the 6-person staff, instructing them in curation as necessary, and training the new manager to take over from me.

The Ant Course at SWRS in Portal, Arizona, USA. August 2001 (18 days), August 2002 (16 days), August 2003 (15 days) and August 2007 (11 days). The Ant Course is co-sponsored by Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California, USA. I attended once as a student, twice as the teaching assistant, and finally as an instructor.

Grants and Awards:

Collecting army ants in Ecuador

NAS/IUSSI Graduate Student Travel Grant for travel costs to present a talk at the 2006 international meetings in Washington, D.C.

Green Fund Award from Harvard University to support a project investigating the evolutionary relationships of the ant genera of the world.

Putnam Travel Grant to participate in an expedition to collect ants in the Dominican Republic led by Professor Edward O. Wilson.

Graduate Teaching Fellow Certificate of Distinction at Harvard University (2004-2005).

University’s Graduate Student Award for Distinguished Achievement from the College of Science and Engineering at San Francisco State University. This is the highest honor that San Francisco State University grants to graduate students with only one student recipient from the college. Award based on demonstration of academic excellence in graduate studies.

Nelson Fellowship from the Department of Biology at San Francisco State University. Award based on demonstration of academic excellence in graduate studies (Spring 2002).

Research Grant from the Graduate Student Council in Biology for field equipment. (Spring 2002).

College of Science and Engineering Student Project Fund for field equipment (Fall 2001)

California Academy of Sciences Graduate Fellowship. Award for two years of graduate funding to complete research for Master’s Degree (September 2000- August 2002).

Funding to attend the Evolution Meetings in Knoxville, Tennessee. Award was granted from both the Entomology Department and the Research Committee at the California Academy of Sciences.

San Francisco State University Graduate Equity Fellow. Award for one academic year based on academic achievement (August 2000- June 2001).

University Scholarship. Award given based on academic achievements and financial need (August 2000- June 2001).

Department of Defense Science Scholars Program. Award for two years of undergraduate funding to complete research in the biological sciences (August 1998- June 2000).

Dean’s List (Undergraduate & Graduate)

Additional Training:

Workshop in Molecular Evolution: Woods Hole, MA. (August 2005) The Workshop consists of a series of lectures, demonstrations, and computer labs that cover various aspects of molecular evolution.

CIPRES Graduate Student Retreat: Taos, NM. (July 2005) The retreat brings together biologists and computer scientists to discuss networks, multiple sequence analysis, phylogenetic reconstruction, modeling and simulation, and databases.

Societies and Committees:

Sigma Delta Epsilon/Graduate Women in Science, member 2005-present

Harvard Graduate Women in Science, member 2005-present

Society of Systematic Biologists, member 2004-present

Society for the Study of Evolution, member 1999-present

Entomological Society of America, member 1999-present

San Francisco Naturalist Society, Co-founder and vice- president,

1998-2003; member 2003-present

Xerces Society, member 1998-present

Acarological Society of America, member 1999-2003

American Arachnological Society, member 1999-2003

Pacific Coast Entomological Society, member 1997-present

Cambridge Entomology Club, member 2003- present