Douglas B. Booher, Ph.D.
USDA Forest Service – Southern Research Station – Insects, diseases, and invasive plants
(Sep 30, 2024)
email dbooher(at)antmuseum.com
Professional Preparation:
University of Georgia, Ecology, B.S. 1998
University of California Los Angeles, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, PhD. 2018
NSF Biological Collections Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of Illinois and the Field Museum 2019
Yale University, Postdoctroral Researcher, Center for Biodiversity and Global Change Macroecology 2020
Select Appointments in Science:
2023 USDA Forest Service – Southern Research Station – Insects, diseases, and invasive plants
2023 Invited Instructor – The Ant Course, Papua New Guinea, New Guinea Binatang Research Center
2020 Yale Postdoctoral Research Associate – Global Change and Biodiversity
2018 National Science Foundation Biological Collections Postdoctoral Fellow
2017 Dissertation Year Fellowship, University of California Los Angeles
2016 Invited Instructor – The Ant Course, Mozambique: Edward O. Wilson Laboratory at Gorongosa National Park
2016 UCLA Graduate Awards and Subcommittee Fellowship
2013-2017 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow
2013-2015 Volunteer curator of ants, Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History.
2011-present. Collections Associate, University of Georgia Collection of Arthropods.
Scholarships, Awards, and Fellowships:
2024 UGA Riverview Research research grant, COI metabarcoding optimization to improve ant detection – $60,000
2018 National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship – 2 funding years – $138,000
2017 Dissertation Year Fellowship – University of California Los Angeles – $20,000
2017 Received the Ernst Mayr grant for Systematics from the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, $1500
2017 Received travel and research support from the California Academy of Sciences to curate and identify collections of Malagasy Strumigenys ants.
2016 Student Transition and Early Professionals Committee (STEP) grant award for travel to the 25th International Congress of Entomology. From the Entomological Society of America $1000
2016 Grant award for conference travel and research awards from the UCLA Graduate Awards and Subcommittee. $2000
2016 Fellowship awarded from the UCLA Graduate Awards and Subcommittee. $6500
2014-2016 Received travel and research support from the Economo Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology for the genetic portion of my research on the phylogenetic relationships of ants in the genus Strumigenys $50,000.
2015 Invited speaker National Institute of Ecology (NIE), South Korea, received travel and funding to present current research at the NIE.
2015 Received travel and research support from the California Academy of Sciences to curate and identify collections of African Strumigenys ants.
2014 Participant of “The Ant Course” in Sabah, Malaysia, 2014. Course participants were partially funded by the California Academy of Sciences and the E.O. Wilson Foundation.
2014 Grant award for conference travel and research awards from the UCLA Graduate Awards and Subcommittee. 2014 – $2000
2013 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship – $96,000, 3 years of funding.
2013 Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Internship – $5000
2001 California Academy of Science, Participant, The Ant Course.
Publications:
2024 Prebus, Matthew M., Nguyen, N., Doering, G. N., Booher, D. B., Temnothorax caryaluteus sp. nov. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): a new ant species from the eastern United States. European Journal of Taxonomy. In Press.
2024 Ohyama, L., Booher, D. B., & Lucky, A. (2024). Diel Patterns Hold Promise as an Ecological Trait for Ants. Sociobiology, 71(1), e1008, https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v71i1.10081
2023 Wetterer, J. K., & Booher, D.B., Geographic Distribution of Eurhopalothrix floridana (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Transactions of the American Entomological Society 149:315-324.
2023 Emily L. Sandall, E.L, Maureaud, A.A., Guralnick, R., McGeoch, M.A., Sica, Y.V., Rogan, M.S, Booher, D.B., Edwards, R., Franz, N., Ingenloff, K., Lucas, M., Marsh, C.J., McGowan, J., Pinkert, S., Ranipeta, A., Uetz, P., Wieczorek, J., Jetz, W. A globally integrated structure of taxonomy to support biodiversity science and conservation, Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 2023, ISSN 0169-5347, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2023.08.004.
2023 Booher, D.B., Ohyama, L., Economo, E.P., Fisher, B.L., Guénard, B., Lucas, M., Lucky, A., and Jetz, W. Diet and climate mediate the global variation in ant body sizes. Pending review with revision, PNAS.
2023 Ohyama, L., Booher, D. B., & King, J. R. (2023). Ecological traits of social insects: Colony, queen and worker size relationships reveal a nexus trait with broad ecological relevance. Functional Ecology, 37, 2194–2206. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.14355
2023 Douglas B. Booher, Nicholas J. Gotelli, Matthew P. Nelsen, Leo Ohyama, Mark Deyrup, Corrie S. Moreau, Andrew V. Suarez, Six decades of museum collections reveal disruption of native ant assemblages by introduced species, Current Biology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.03.044.
2022 Wetterer, J.K., Jovonn, G.H., MacGown, J.A., Booher, D. B. Populations of the Graceful Twig Ant, Pseudomyrmex gracilis, Now Bridge the Distribution Gap between Their Native Range in Texas and Non-Native Range in Florida, USA. Transactions of the American Entomological Society 148(1):51-58. https://doi.org/10.3157/061.148.0104
2022 MacGown, J.A., Booher, D. B., Richter, H., Wetterer, J.K., Jovonn, G.H. An Updated List of Ants of Alabama (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) with New State Records Transactions of the American Entomological Society, 147(4):961-98. https://doi.org/10.3157/061.147.0409
2021 Booher, D. B., The ant genus Strumigenys Smith, 1860 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in western North America North of Mexico. Zootaxa, 5061(2), 201–248. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5061.2.1
2021 Gotelli, N. J., Booher, D. B., Urban, M. C., Ulrich, W., Suarez, A. V., Skelly, D. K., Russell, D. J., Rowe, R. J., Rothendler, M., Rios, N., Rehan, S. M., Ni, G., Moreau, C. S., Magurran, A. E., Jones, F. A. M., Graves, G. R., Fiera, C., Burkhardt, U., & Primack, R. B. Estimating species relative abundances from museum records. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 00, 1– 13. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.13705
2021 Booher, D. B., J. C. Gibson, C. Liu, J. T. Longino, B. L. Fisher, M. Janda, N. Narula, E. Toulkeridou, A. S. Mikheyev, A. V. Suarez and E. P. Economo. Functional innovation promotes diversification of form in the evolution of an ultrafast trap-jaw mechanism in ants. Plos Biology 19(3) https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.30010
2021 Booher, D.B., Hoenle P.O. A new species group of Strumigenys (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from Ecuador, with a description of its mandible morphology. ZooKeys 1036: 1-19. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1036.62034
2020 Liu, C., Sarnat, E.M., Friedman, N.R., Hita Garcia, F., Darwell, C., Booher, D., Kubota, Y., Mikheyev, A.S. and Economo, E.P., Colonize, radiate, decline: Unraveling the dynamics of island community assembly with Fijian trap-jaw ants. Evolution, 74: 1082-1097. https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.13983
2019 Booher, D. B., Prebus, M., Lubertazzi, A taxonomic revision of the Strumigenys nitens and simulans groups (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), two Caribbean radiations of leaf litter ants. Zootaxa 4656 (2): 335–358, 14 August 2019. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4656.2.7
2019 Booher, D. B., Taxonomic clarification of two Nearctic Strumigenys (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa 4664 (3): 401–411, 4 September 2019. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4664.3.7
2019 Longino, J.T., Booher, D. B., Expect the unexpected: a new ant from a backyard in Utah. Western North American Naturalist. 79(4):496–499, October 2019. https://doi.org/10.3398/064.079.0403
2019 Gochnour, B.M., Suiter D.R., and Booher D., Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Fauna of the Marine Port of Savannah, Garden City, Georgia (U.S.A.), Journal of Entomological Science. 54(4):417-429 https://doi.org/10.18474/JES18-132
2017 D. Booher, J. A. MacGown, S.P. Hubbell, and R. M. Duffield, Colony structure and spatial partitioning of cavity dwelling ant species in nuts of eastern US forest floors. Transactions of the American Entomological Society 143(1):79-93 ·https://doi.org/10.3157/061.143.0105
2016 Guénard, B, J.Z. Shik, D. Booher, D. Lubertazzi, and G. Alpert. Extreme polygyny in the previously unstudied subtropical ant Temnothorax tuscaloosae with implications for the biogeographic study of the evolution of polygyny. Insect Sociaux pp. 1-9. 29 July 2016. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-016-0498-7
2015 Wetterer, James K.; Guenard, Benoit; Booher, Douglas B. Geographic spread of Vollenhovia emeryi (Hymenoptera: Formicidae.) ASIAN MYRMECOLOGY Volume: 7 Pages: 107-114 Published: 2015. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-016-0498-7
2012 D. Booher, J. A. MacGown, and R. M. Duffield, Colony structure and spatial partitioning of cavity dwelling ant species in nuts of eastern US forest floors. Abstracts of the 59th Annual Conference of the Mississippi Entomological Association, October 22-23, 2012. Midsouth Entomologist 6:96
2005 Tuberville, T. D., K. A. Buhlmann, R. K. Bjorkland and D. Booher 2005. Ecology of the Jamaican slider turtle (Trachemys terrapen) with implications for conservation and management. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 4:908-915.
Current Submissions and Manuscripts:
2021 Booher, D.B., Gotelli N.J., Nelsen M.P., Deyrup, M., Moreau C.S. & Suarez A.V., Six decades of museum collections reveal disruption of native ant assemblages by global invaders. PNAS in review.
2021. Booher, D.B., Hubbell, S.P. Strumigenys (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) ant communities of the Southeastern United States: Characterization on two local scales introducing new rapid-sampling methods. In prep
2021. Booher, D.B., Duffield, R.M. Reproductive investment in a genetically invariant population of U.S. Vollenhovia emeryi. In prep
2021. Azorsa, F., Gibson, J., Booher, D.B., New records and description of two new ants species of the Strumigenys Smith (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Peru. In prep
Plenary, Symposia, and Workshops:
2019. Doug Booher co-instructor with Dr. Andrea Lucky – Invasive Ant Bootcamp: July 22-24. University of Florida, Gainesville.
2018. Doug Booher – Invasive Insect Workshop Lecture: Impacts of Invasive Ants on Natural Communities – What We Do and Do Not Know. July 13, 2018. University of Florida, Gainesville.
2018. Doug Booher – Invited Speaker, University of Georgia Entomology Department Seminar, Evolution and Maintenance of Biodiversity and Biomechanical Complexity in the Predatory Ant Genus Strumigenys Smith, 1860. March 19, 2018, Athens, GA.
2017 Doug Booher – Invited Speaker – Micro CT analyses reveal repeated morphological evolution of a complex innovation in hyper-diverse trap-jaw ants Strumigenys. XXII Simposio Mirmecologia, 18-22 October, Ilhéus, Bahia, Brasil
2017 Doug Booher Ernst Mayr Symposium Finalist – Evolution 2017 – June 23-27 Portland. The evolution of biomechanical complexity during the global radiation of Strumigenys
2016 Doug Booher – Invited Speaker – International Congress of Entomology 2016 Session title: Advances in Ant Systematics: Global Sampling, New Phylogenetic Methods and Major Taxonomic Changes. September 27, 2016. The evolution of biomechanical complexity during the global radiation of Strumigenys
2015 Doug Booher, – Invited Symposia Speaker – The congruence of Morphologies Observed in Co-occurring Strumigenys Species. 5th NIE forum and workshop held on 9-10 November, 2015. The National Institute of Ecology, South Korea.
Contributed Papers at Scientific Meetings & Presentations:
2016 Doug Booher – Ecology and Evolutionary Departmental Presentation, UCLA. Convergent evolution of Power Amplified Mandibles in the Ant Genus Strumigenys, September 27, 2016.
2016 Josh Gibson, Doug Booher, & Andrew Suarez. Presentation – 2016 International Congress of Entomology. Comparative functional morphology and kinematics of miniature trap-jaw ant (Strumigenys spp.) mandible strikes.
2016 Josh Gibson, Doug Booher, & Andrew Suarez. Presentation- North Central Branch Meeting. Entomology Society of America. Comparative functional morphology and kinematics of miniature trap-jaw ant (Strumigenys spp.) mandible strikes.
2015 Doug Booher, Presentation – Graduate Ten-Minute Paper Competition: SysEB – Behavior, Coevolution, and Symbiotic Associations. Session date/time: Monday, November 16, 2015, Reproductive investment strategies in genetically invariant ants Vollenhovia emeryi
2015 Doug Booher, Summary Report. Rare Habitats and Ant Species of Special Concern. Document provided to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Terrestrial Invertebrates Technical Team.
2015 Doug Booher, Morphological Congruence in Co-occurring Strumigenys, Berry College Biology Seminar – Invited Speaker, McAllister Auditorium Berry College, GA, 3 March 2015, Oral Presentation.
2015 Doug Booher, Mixed Modes of Reproduction in Vollenhovia emeryi, Berry College Biology Seminar – Invited Speaker, McAllister Auditorium Berry College, GA, 3 March 2015, Oral Presentation.
2014 Douglas B. Booher, Congruence of Morphological Characters in Habitats Occupied by Strumigenys Species? International Union for the Study of Social Insects, Cairns, Australia, 13-18 July, Oral Presentation
2014 Douglas B. Booher, Phylogenetic relationships of Strumigenys ant species-groups, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Okinawa, Japan, 14 Dec., Oral Presentation.
2012 Douglas B. Booher, Joe A. MacGown, Richard M. Duffield, Stephen P. Hubbell. Density and Dispersion of Cavity Dwelling Ant Species in Nuts of Eastern US Forest Floors. November 2012 Entomological Society of America, Knoxville TN. Poster presentation.
Synergistic Activities:
2017 – Identifications – Brian Fisher, PhD. Curator of Entomology, California Academy of Sciences. Identified > 21,000 Madagascan Strumigenys for the California Academy of Sciences.
2016 Doug Booher – Invited Faculty – The Ant Course, July 28 – August 7: Mozambique: Edward O. Wilson Laboratory at Gorongosa National Park
2014-2016 – Identifications – Brian Fisher, PhD. Curator of Entomology, California Academy of Sciences. Identified > 5000 Afrotropical Strumigenys for the California Academy of Sciences.
2016 – Identifications – Steve Taylor, PhD. Illinois Natural History Survey, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Identified ant species collected in the Galapagos associated with caves.
2015 – Identifications – Milan Janda, PhD. The Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Identified ant species collected in Papua New Guinea.
2015 – guest entomologist for Chase Street Elementary where I brought microscopes and collections of insects to classrooms and talked about ants to 2nd grade students.
2014 – Internship coordinator – Georgia Collection of Arthropods. I led three interns and one graduate researcher through a ten-week internship.
2013 – Developed an online educational tool to promote discovery of natural history for K-5th graders at antmuseum.com
2014 – Handled the donation and transfer of John Graham’s Identified ant collection associated with his ecological research to the Georgia Collection of Arthropods. The collection contained more than 100,000 identified ants with the associated ecological and collections data.
2014 – Identifications – Andrea Lucky and Eli Sarnat, PhDs. Identified ant species they and their research team collected in Papua New Guinea.
2014 – Promoting interest with nest casts – field trips, fostering greater knowledge field trip nest cast– led field trip funded by the Los Angeles Natural History Museum to cast ant nest using molten aluminum. Attended by volunteers and staff of the museum and displayed and answered questions about the nest at the annual bug fair, the most attended annual public event of the museum.
Collaborators & Other Affiliations.
Dr. Patricia Adair Gowaty, University of California Los Angeles; Dr. Stephen P. Hubbell, University of California Los Angeles; Dr. Evan Economo, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology; Dr. Andrew Suarez, University of Illinois; Dr. Benoit Guenard, University of Hong Kong; Dr. Richard M. Duffield, Emeritus Howard University; Dr. Milan Janda, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; Dr. Steve Taylor, University of Illinois; Dr. Jack Longino, University of Utah; Dr. John Shik, University of Copenhagen; Dr. David Lubertazzi, Harvard University; Dr. James Wetterer, Florida Atlantic University; Dr. Misato Okamoto, National Institute for Basic Biology – Japan; Joseph A. MacGown, University of Mississippi; Josh Gibson, University of Illinois.
Graduate Advisors:
Distinguished professors Dr. Patricia Adair Gowaty and Dr. Stephen P. Hubbell, of the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology dept. at the University of California Los Angeles acted as co-advisors.
Other Graduate Thesis Advisors:
Dr. Peter Nonacs of the University of California Los Angeles, and Dr. Corrie Moreau of the Field Museum of Chicago.