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Erica McAlister

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Erica McAlister
Hon.FRES
NationalityBritish
Alma materUniversity of Manchester (BSc)
University of Surrey, Roehampton (PhD)
Scientific career
FieldsEntomology
Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Public engagement
Diptera
InstitutionsNatural History Museum, London, Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, University of Adelaide
Thesis Invertebrate Colonisation and Succession on a Grazing Marsh, The Wetland Centre, London  (2002)
Websitewww.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/departments-and-staff/staff-directory/erica-mcalister.html

Erica McAlister Hon.FRES is an entomologist, museum curator and presenter in the United Kingdom.[1] She is an expert in flies (Diptera) and is senior curator at the Natural History Museum, London.[2] She is a past President of the Amateur Entomologists' Society.[3]

Education and career

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McAlister had a fascination for insects as a child[4] and became seriously interested in entomology on a field course as part of her undergraduate degree at the University of Manchester,[5][6] during which she did placements at the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology (now UKCEH) and the University of Adelaide in Australia. She graduated from Manchester in 1996 and then moved to the University of Surrey, Roehampton (now University of Roehampton) where she was awarded a PhD in 2002 for community ecology research at The London Wetland Centre.[7] After volunteering at the Natural History Museum, lecturing part-time at the University of Roehampton and working elsewhere in the evenings, she joined the museum as a curator of Diptera in 2006, where her current position is senior curator of Diptera and Siphonaptera.[8]

Research

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Her research involves systematics work on flies,[9][10] and the hosts of flies that are parasites.[11] She has carried out extensive field research, including in Costa Rica, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam.[12] She has researched the pollinators and herbivores of potatoes and tomatoes in Peru, and has worked in Dominica with Operation Wallacea collecting insect specimens and inspiring young people.[12] She has also looked at mosquitoes in Tajikistan[13] and more recently she has looked at the genomes of historic fly specimens as part of project 'Neandersquito'.[14]

Public activities

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McAlister is an advocate for the importance of flies, highlighting their ecosystem services such as pollination and decomposition, and the need for more research into Diptera as they are an understudied group compared to Coleoptera (beetles) and Lepidoptera (Moths and Butterflies)[15] She is president of the Amateur Entomologists' Society, which she uses as a platform for science outreach and research communication. In 2019 she was part of the team running The Year of the Fly.[16][17]

She gives regular public talks, such as about Insect Sex at the Natural History Museums's DinoSnores for Adults events[18] and at the Royal Society's Summer Science Exhibition evening event in 2014'.[19] In 2016 she gave keynote lecture at the EntoSci16 event for young people at Harper Adams University[20] and has taken part in the Science Showoff and Museums Showoff comedy evenings.[21] She is a regular speaker at London's PubSci events.[22][23] In 2019 she took part in Hullabaloo on the Isle of Wight,[24] with the National Poo Museum.[25] In 2020 she talked at Cafe Scientifique Crystal Palace,[26] gave an online talk as part of North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences' BugFest and in 2021 gave the Royal Entomological Society's Verrall Lecture 'A Fascination of Flies'.[27]

McAlister has presented several BBC Radio 4 programmes, including Who's the Pest? in 2013,[28] an episode on George Henry Verrall as part of the Natural History Heroes series in 2015,[29] and Metamorphosis - How Insects Transformed Our World in 2021.[30][31] In 2019 she was interviewed by Jim Al-Khalili for The Life Scientific.[32] She has also contributed to Radio 4 panel programmes such as The Living World where she talked to Miranda Krestovnikoff about winter flies,[33] the Museum of Curiosity in 2012,[34] Nature Table in 2020[35] and the Infinite Monkey Cage in 2021.[36] In 2019 she featured on the BBC World Service programme The Real Story as part of discussion 'Is capitalism killing our planet, or is it our only hope?'[37] and she talked on ABC's The Science Show about insects and climate change,[38] in 2021 she contributed to NPR's All Things Considered talking about how hard it is to swat houseflies.[39] She has also appeared on several podcasts including Science Friday,[40][41] the SETI Institute[42] and Scientific American in 2018.[43]

She appeared in BBC2's Museum of Life television programme in 2010,[44] on Christmas University Challenge in 2016 as part of the University of Manchester team[45] and on Channel 5's Natural History Museum: World of Wonder in 2020.[46]

The first edition of her book The Secret Life of Flies was published in 2017[47][48] and the sequel The Inside Out of Flies was published in 2020.[49][50][51] In 2022 she published a book for children A Bug's World with illustrator Stephanie Fizer Coleman.[52]

Honours and awards

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  • Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Entomological Society in 2019
  • ZSL/Clarivate Award for Communicating Zoology in 2018 for The Secret Life of Flies[53]
  • President of the Amateur Entomologist's Society from 2018[54]

Select publications

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  • McAlister, E. 2020. The Inside Out of Flies. Natural History Museum.
  • McAlister, E. 2017. The Secret Life of Flies. Natural History Museum.
  • McAlister, E.; Fizer Coleman, S (illustrator) 2022. A Bug's World. Hachette Children's Group.
  • Rodrigues, P. F. M., McAlister E. Lamas, C.J.E. 2017. "Review of Marmasoma White with lectotype designation of M. sumptuosum White and an identification key to the Australasian/Oceanian genera of Ecliminae (Diptera, Bombyliidae)", Zootaxa 4232 (2).
  • Habirov, Z., Kadamov, D., Iskandarov, F., Komilova, S., Cook, S., McAlister, E., and Harbach, R.E. 2012. "Malaria and the Anopheles mosquitoes of Tajikistan. Journal of Vector Ecology, 37 (2), 419-427.
  • Lavigne, R. and McAlister, E. 2011. "A new species of Cerdistus (Insecta: Diptera: Asilidae) from Monarto Zoological Park, South Australia, with notes on its behaviour", The South Australian Naturalist, 85 (2), 76–84.

References

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  1. ^ Erica McAlister's ORCID 0000-0002-8558-3510
  2. ^ Anon (31 May 2012). "MOD staff are recruited to collect insects in Wiltshire". BBC News. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  3. ^ "Council officers - Amateur Entomologists' Society (AES)". www.amentsoc.org. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  4. ^ Gorman, James (13 November 2017). "Trillions of Flies Can't All Be Bad". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  5. ^ Travis, Kate (6 February 2009). "Darwin's Legacy: Keeping Order". sciencemag.org. AAAS. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  6. ^ Bardgett, Richard D.; McAlister, Erica (1999). "The measurement of soil fungal:bacterial biomass ratios as an indicator of ecosystem self-regulation in temperate meadow grasslands". Biology and Fertility of Soils. 29 (3): 282–290. doi:10.1007/s003740050554. ISSN 0178-2762. S2CID 39678566.
  7. ^ McAlister, Erica (2002). Invertebrate Colonisation and Succession on a Grazing Marsh, The Wetland Centre, London (PhD thesis). University of Surrey, Roehampton.
  8. ^ "Dr Erica McAlister". nhm.ac.uk. Natural History Museum London. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  9. ^ Townson, Harold; Dyer, Naomi; Mcalister, Erica; Satoto, Tri Baskoro T.; Bangs, Michael J.; Harbach, Ralph E. (2013). "Systematics of Anopheles barbirostris van der Wulp and a sibling species of the Barbirostris Complex (Diptera: Culicidae) in eastern Java, Indonesia". Systematic Entomology. 38 (1): 180–191. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3113.2012.00653.x. ISSN 1365-3113. S2CID 85422102. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  10. ^ Rodrigues, Paula Fernanda Motta; Mcalister, Erica; Lamas, Carlos José Einicker (15 February 2017). "Review of Marmasoma White with lectotype designation of M. sumptuosum White and an identification key to the Australasian/Oceanian genera of Ecliminae (Diptera, Bombyliidae)". Zootaxa. 4232 (2): 185–196. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4232.2.3. ISSN 1175-5334. PMID 28264390. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  11. ^ Ancillotto, L.; Studer, V.; Howard, T.; Smith, V. S.; McAlister, E.; Beccaloni, J.; Manzia, F.; Renzopaoli, F.; Bosso, L.; Russo, D.; Mori, E. (1 November 2018). "Environmental drivers of parasite load and species richness in introduced parakeets in an urban landscape". Parasitology Research. 117 (11): 3591–3599. doi:10.1007/s00436-018-6058-5. ISSN 1432-1955. PMID 30167793. S2CID 253980220. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  12. ^ a b Smithers, Peter (2021). "Honorary Fellow Interviews: Erica McAlister". Antenna. 45 (3): 144–146.
  13. ^ Habirov, Zamonidin; Kadamov, Dilshod; Iskandarov, Firuz; Komilova, Saodat; Cook, Shelley; McAlister, Erica; Harbach, Ralph E. (2012). "Malaria and the Anopheles mosquitoes of Tajikistan". Journal of Vector Ecology. 37 (2): 419–427. doi:10.1111/j.1948-7134.2012.00246.x. ISSN 1948-7134. PMID 23181867. S2CID 22754672. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  14. ^ Dance, Amber (21 January 2020). "Sharing space with 34 million dead insects". Nature. 577 (7791): 590. Bibcode:2020Natur.577..590D. doi:10.1038/d41586-020-00115-3. PMID 31965102. S2CID 210834728.
  15. ^ Davis, Josh (2019). "The world's insect populations are plummeting everywhere we look". Natural History Museum London. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  16. ^ Bittel, Jason (28 March 2019). "There Are Thousands of Reasons to Love Flies. Chocolate Is Just One". NRDC. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  17. ^ "International Year of the Fly: Why flies are important - CBBC Newsround". BBC Newsround. 30 December 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  18. ^ Lanxon, Nate (29 May 2012). "Dino Snores: an adults-only sleepover at the Natural History Museum". Wired. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  19. ^ "Twilight science". royalsociety.org. 30 June 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  20. ^ "#EntoSci16. Insect science event a resounding success". Harper Adams University. 28 April 2016.
  21. ^ S, Rachel (10 January 2017). "Museums Showoff, Jan 24 – LINE UP ANNOUNCED!". Museums Showoff. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  22. ^ PaoloViscardi (16 August 2017). "Dr Erica McAlister – The Secret Life of Flies". PubSci. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  23. ^ MarshalledThoughts (11 March 2021). "PubSci Online | Dr Erica McAlister – The Inside Out of Flies". PubSci. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  24. ^ "Hullabaloo". Shademakers UK. 12 May 2019. Archived from the original on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  25. ^ "Hullabaloo a huge success as thousands flock to Sandown". OnTheWight. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  26. ^ "The secret life of flies". Cafe Scientifque. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  27. ^ "The Verrall Lecture". Royal Entomological Society. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  28. ^ "Who's the Pest?". BBC. March 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  29. ^ "Natural History Heroes: George Verrall". BBC. October 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  30. ^ "Metamorphosis - How Insects Transformed Our World". BBC. March 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  31. ^ Reynolds, Gillian (28 February 2021). "Radio picks of the week ahead". The Times. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  32. ^ "The Life Scientific: Erica McAlister". BBC. 16 April 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  33. ^ "Living World, Winter Flies". BBC. 26 February 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  34. ^ "The Museum of Curiosity". BBC. 1 October 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  35. ^ "Nature Table". BBC. 2 March 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  36. ^ "The Infinite Monkey Cage: In Praise of Flies". BBC. 11 January 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  37. ^ "The Real Story: Is capitalism killing our planet, or is it our only hope?". BBC. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  38. ^ Robyn Williams (9 November 2019). "Insects feeling the heat of changing climate". ABC Radio National. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  39. ^ "All Things Considered". NPR. 13 January 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  40. ^ "The Unexpected Pollinator Of The Cocoa Tree". Science Friday. 29 December 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  41. ^ "Disappearing Insects Could Trigger Ecological Calamity". Science Friday. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  42. ^ "The X-Flies". SETI Institute. 19 March 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  43. ^ Intagliata, Christopher (31 October 2018). "For Halloween, Consider the Chocolate Midge". Scientific American. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  44. ^ "Museum of Life". BBC. 15 April 2010. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  45. ^ "Christmas University Challenge 2016". BBC. 11 December 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  46. ^ "Natural History Museum: World of Wonder". Channel 5. January 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  47. ^ McAlister, Erica (12 April 2018). The Secret Life of Flies (1st ed.). Natural History Museum. p. 248. ISBN 9780565094751. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  48. ^ McAlister, Erica (14 April 2017). "How the humble fly can help to solve our most gruesome crimes". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  49. ^ McAlister, Erica (3 September 2020). The Inside Out of Flies (1st ed.). Natural History Museum. p. 256. ISBN 9780565094898. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  50. ^ Robinson, Andrew (22 September 2020). "Think international to end climate change, the wonder of flies, and the fourth wave of globalization: Books in brief". Nature. 585 (7826): 501. Bibcode:2020Natur.585..501R. doi:10.1038/d41586-020-02670-1. S2CID 221864913. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  51. ^ McAlister, Erica (15 October 2020). "Evolution made mosquitos into stealthy, sensitive vampires". Popular Science. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  52. ^ McAlister, Erica; Fizer Coleman, Stephanie (17 March 2022). A Bug's World (1st ed.). Hachette Children's Group. ISBN 9781526363060. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  53. ^ "ZSL Awards". Zoological Society London. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  54. ^ "Presidents past and present". Amateur Entomologists' Society. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
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