New Papers Published!
Baratelli, E., C. Tillberg, A. Suarez, S. Menke, I. Naughton, and D. Holway. 2022. Variation in Argentine ant (Linepithema humile) trophic position as a function of time. Biological Invasions.
Perez, A., L. Chick, S. Menke, JP Lessard, N. Sanders, I. Del Toro, N. Sundebo Meldgaard, and S. Diamond. 2022. Urbanization dampens the latitude-diversity cline in ants. Insect Conservation and Diversity. This paper is a collaborative project that began with data collection in my Biogeography (Bio374) course.
Boeing, J., K.Cuper, and S.B. Menke. 2022. Ant species richness in the urban mosaic: size is more important than location. Urban Ecosystems.
[21 December 2022]
New Paper Published!
Elmore, J.A., S.B. Hager, B.J. Cosentino, T.J. O'Connell, C.S. Riding, M.L. Anderson, M.H. Bakermans, T.J. Boves, D. Brandes, E.M. Butler, M.W. Butler, N.L. Cagle, R. Calderon-Parra, A.P. Capparella, A. Chen, K. Cipollini, A.A.T. Conkey, T.A. Contreras, R.I. Cooper, C.E. Corbin, R.L. Curry, J.J. Dosch, K.L. Dyson, E.E. Fraser, R.A. Furbush, N.D.G. Hagemeyer, K.N. Hopfensperger, D. Klem Jr, E.A. Lago, A.S. Lahey, C.S. Machtans, J.M. Madosky, T.J. Maness, K.J. McKay, S.B. Menke, N. Ocampo-Penuela, R. Ortega-Alvarez, A.L. Pitt, A. Puga-Caballero, J.E. Quinn, A.M. Roth, R.T. Schmitz, J.L. Schnurr, M.E. Simmons, A.D. Smith, C.W. Varian-Ramos, E.L. Walters, L.A. Walters, J.T. Weir, K. Winnett-Murray, I. Zuria, J. Vigliotti, S.R. Loss. 2020. Correlates of bird collisions with buildings across three North American countries. Conservation Biology. This paper is a collaborative project through EREN, a consortium of ecologists at liberal arts colleges, and the data for Lake Forest College were aquired by students in our Evolution & Ecology (Bio220) course.
[24 August 2020]
Seminar
I just gave a presentation; Ants in a changing world for the Mellody Pond Seminar Series in Lake Forest, IL
[11 February 2020]
New Paper Published!
Menke & Holway 2020. Historical resurvey indicates no decline in Argentine ant site occupancy in coastal southern California. Biological Invasions.
[24 January 2020]
Seminar
I just gave a presentation; The enduring ecological impacts of Argentine ant invasions for the Ecological Society of America's annual conference in the invited symposium - Advancing Towards a General Theory of Invasive Species Impacts: How Do Ecological Effects Vary Across Time and Space?
[14 August 2019]
Personal Update
I have just become a member of the Buell/Braun Awards Subcommittee for the Ecological Society of America. The Buell & Braun Awards are presented to students for the best paper and poster presentation at the annual ESA meeting.
[29 November 2018]
New Paper Published!
Arnan et al. 2018. Dominance-diversity relationships in ant communities differ with invasion. Global Change Biology 24:4614-4625.
[2 May 2018]
New Paper Accepted!
Global Change Biology just accepted our paper "Dominance-diversity relationships in ant communities differ with invasion". This paper is a collaborative project by a global group of myrmecologists.
[19 June 2018]
New Paper Published!
Menke, S.B., P.S. Ward, and D.A. Holway. 2018. Long-term record of Argentine ant invasions reveals enduring ecological impacts. Ecology 99(5):1194-1202.
[2 May 2018]
Seminar
I just gave a presentation; The value of ants, living with and loving them for the Citizens for Conservation
[14 April 2018]
New Paper Published!
Ksiazek-Mikenas, K., J. Herrmann, S.B. Menke, and M. Kohler. 2018. If you build it, will they come? Plant and Arthropod diversity on urban green roofs over time. Urban Naturalist Special Issue 1:52-72.
[17 January 2018]
Seminar
I just gave a presentation Small But Mighty: Why Ants Rock for the Audobon Society of Lake/Cook Co.
[17 October 2017]
In The News
The Chicago Reader just published a short piece about urban ants in Chicago featuring Dr. Eleanor's Book of Common Ants of Chicago and mentioning research by my lab. Dr. Eleanor and I were in the same lab at North Carolina State University.
[6 September 2017]
In The News
The Chicago Tribune just published a short piece on urban ants in Chicago about my work with the Urban Wildlife Institute at the Lincoln Park Zoo featuring my student Olivia Parrott.
[1 August 2017]
New Paper Published!
Hager, S.B., B.J. Cosentino, M.A. Aguilar-Gomez, M.L. Anderson, M. Bakermans, T.J. Boves, D. Brandes, M.W. Butler, E.M. Butler, N.L. Cagle, R. Calderon-Parra, A.P. Capparella, A. Chen, K. Cipollini, A.A.T. Conkey, T.A. Contreras, R.I. Cooper, C.E. Corbin, R.L. Curry, J.J. Dosch, M.G. Drew, K. Dyson, C. Foster, C.D. Francis, E. Fraser, R. Furbush, N.D.G. Hagemeyer, K.N. Hopfensperger, D. Klem Jr., E. Lago, A. Lahey, K. Lamp, G. Lewis, S.R. Loss, C.S. Machtans, J. Madosky, T.J. Maness, K.J. McKay, S.B. Menke, K.E. Muma, N. Ocampo-Penuela, T.J. O'Connell, R. Ortega-Alvarez, A.L. Pitt, A.L. Puga-Caballero, J.E. Quinn, C.W. Varian-Ramos, C.S. Riding, A.M. Roth, P.G. Saenger, R.T. Schmitz, J. Schnurr, M. Simmons, A.D. Smith, D.R. Sokoloski, J. Vigliotti, E.L. Walters, L.A. Walters, J.T. Weir, K. Winnett-Murray, J.C. Withey, and I. Zuria. 2017. Continent-wide analysis of how urbanization affects bird-window collision mortality in North America. Biological Conservation 212:209-215.
[7 March 2017]
New Paper Accepted!
Biological Conservation just accepted our paper "Continent-wide analysis of how urbanization affects bird-window collision mortality in North America". This paper is a collaborative project through EREN , a consortium of ecologists at liberal arts colleges, and the data for Lake Forest College were aquired by students in our Evolution & Ecology (Bio220) course.
[16 June 2017]
Personal Update
I have just finished my visit to Earlham College where I had the pleasure of serving as a external examiner for their graduating seniors.
[30 March 2017]
Seminar
I just presented on The Uses of Biological Collections as a Historical Lens to Understand the Present for the UIUC Entomology Seminar Series.
[13 March 2017]
New Paper Published!
Gibb, H., R.R. Dunn, N.J. Sanders, B.F. Grossman, M. Photakis, S. Abril, D. Agosti, A.N. Andersen, E. Angulo, I. Armbrecht, X. Arnan, F.B. Baccaro, T.R. Bishop, R. Boulay, C. Brühl, C. Castracani, X. Cerda, I. Del Toro, T. Delsinne, M. Diaz, D.A. Donoso, A.M. Ellison, M.L. Enriquez, T.M. Fayle, D.H. Feener Jr., B.L. Fisher, R.N. Fisher, M.C. Fitzpatrick, C. Gómez, N.J. Gotelli, A. Gove, D.A. Grasso, S. Groc, B. Guenard, N. Gunawardene, B. Heterick, B. Hoffmann, M. Janda, C. Jenkins, M. Kaspari, P. Klimes, L. Lach, T. Laeger, J. Lattke, M. Leponce, J.P. Lessard, J. Longino, A. Lucky, S.H. Luke, J. Majer, T.P. McGlynn, S.B. Menke, D. Mezger, A. Mori1, J. Moses, T.C. Munyai, R. Pacheco, O. Paknia, J. Pearce-Duvet, M. Pfeiffer, S.M. Philpott, J. Resasco, J. Retana, R.R. Silva, M.D. Sorger, J. Souza, A. Suarez, M. Tista, H.L. Vasconcelos, M. Vonshak, M.D. Weiser, M. Yates, and C.L. Parr. 2017. A global database of ant species abundances. Ecology 98(3):883-884.
[7 March 2017]
In The News
A local Chicago online newsource dna-info just published a short piece about urban ants in Chicago featuring my work with students at Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum and the greater Chicago area.
[27 April 2016]
Seminar
I just presented on The unnoticed splendor of ants AND their use as indicators of successful habitat restoration for the West Cook Wild Ones.
[21 February 2016]
Class Updates
The Community Ecology (Bio373) and Invasion Biology (Bio131) webpages are up to date with their respective syllabi.
[12 January 2016]
Personal Update
I have earned tenure at Lake Forest College and been awarded the title Associate Professor!
[14 December 2015]
Bio220 Update
I updated the Bio220 class website for the start of the new semester.
[27 August 2015]
In The News
WTTW's Chicago Tonight just aired a short reviewing my take on the movie Ant Man.
[23 July 2015]
Seminar
Schuyler Kogan has just presented the results from his Richter research this summer - The Ephermeral Life of Mayapples (Podophyllum peltatum) - at the Richter Symposium.
[17 July 2015]
New Paper Published!
Menke, S.B., E. Gaulke, A. Hamel, and N. Vachter. 2015. The effects of restoration age and prescribed burns on grassland ant community structure. Environmental Entomology, DOI: 10.1093/ee/nvv110.
[15 July 2015]
New Paper Published!
Heloise, G., N.J. Sanders, R.R. Dunn, S. Watson1, M. Photakis, S. Abril, A.N. Andersen, E. Angulo, I. Armbrecht, X. Arnan, F.B. Baccaro, T.R. Bishop, R. Boulay, C. Castracani, I. Del Toro, T. Delsinne, M. Diaz, D.A. Donoso, M.L. Enrıquez, T.M. Fayle, D.H. Feener Jr, M.C. Fitzpatrick, C. Gomez, D.A. Grasso, S. Groc, B. Heterick, B.D. Hoffmann, L. Lach, J. Lattke, M. Leponce, J.P. Lessard, J. Longino, A. Lucky, J. Majer, S.B. Menke, D. Mezger, A. Mori, T.C. Munyai, O. Paknia, J. Pearce-Duvet, M. Pfeiffer, S.M. Philpott, J.L.P. de Souza, M. Tista, H.L. Vasconcelos, M. Vonshak, and C.L. Parr. 2015. Climate mediates the effects of disturbance on ant assemblage structure. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 282:20150418.
[27 May 2015]
New Paper Published!
Menke, S.B. and N. Vachter. 2014. A comparison of the effectiveness of pitfall traps and Winkler litter samples for characterization of terrestrial ant (Formicidae) communities in temperate savannas. The Great Lakes Entomologist, 47(3-4):149-165.
[3 March 2015]
Seminar
I just presented on The unnoticed splendor of ants AND their use as indicators of successful habitat restoration as part of the Research Roundup at McHenry County Conservation District.
[15 November 2014]
Seminar
Jeremy Boeing has just presented part of his second thesis chapter - Physical Adaptations to Urban Environments in Ants - at the Argonne Undergraduate Research Symposium.
[7 November 2014]
Lab Member Update
Nicole Vachter has taken on a new position as the Aviculture Intern at the International Crane Foundation.
[1 May 2014]
Senior Thesis Defense
Kaya Cuper successfully defended her senior thesis Ant Diversity on Urban Green Rooftops and was awarded Distinction by her committee for excellence in her thesis and her oral defense!
[15 April 2014]
Class Updates
The Community Ecology (Bio373) webpage has been updated with the answer key for Exam 1.
[19 March 2014]
Class Updates
The Community Ecology (Bio373) webpage has been updated with the information needed for lab projects.
[6 February 2014]
New Paper Published!
Menke, S.B., J. Harte, R.R. Dunn. 2014. Changes in ant community composition caused by 20 years of experimental warming vs. 13 years of natural climate shift. Ecosphere 5(1):1-17.
[18 May 2011]
Class Updates
The Community Ecology (Bio373) and Biology of Extinctions (Bio484) webpages are up to date with their respective syllabi.
[15 January 2014]
Personal Update
Lake Forest College has just awarded me the Gustav E. Beerly, Jr. endowed chair.
[4 September 2013]
Lab Research Updates
Please welcome the two new lab members this year, Manda Gibbs and Alexis Rossanova. Both are Richter Scholars and will be working with me in McHenry County. Jeremy Boeing is returning to continue his work on urban ant communities and Kaya Cuper is returning to continue her work on ant communities on green rooftops for her senior thesis.
[20 May 2013]
Lab Research Updates
We are starting off the summer field season with good news. McHenry County Conservation District has funded us for a third year. This year we will be documenting ant communities in sedge meadows
[19 May 2013]
Bio374 Update
The answer key for the first exam is posted online.
[18 March 2013]
Bio484 Update
The class webpage is up to date with the syllabus.
[15 January 2013]
Bio374 Update
The class webpage is up to date with readings and syllabus.
[15 January 2013]
Biology 220 update
The GIS lab write-up and readings are posted online
[20 November 2012]
Seminar
Nicole Vachter gave a presentation at the 22nd Annual Argonne Symposium in Chicago about her research on ant diversity restored savannahs.
[26 October 2012]
Seminar
Kaya Cuper gave a presentation at the Cities Alive 10th Annual Green Roof & Wall Conference in Chicago about her research on ant diversity on green rooftops.
[18 October 2012]
h3>Invited SeminarCorrie Moreau at the Chicago Field Museum invited me to give a talk to her lab group on the common ant genera in the Chicago region.
[18 September 2012]
In The News
Northwestern University's Medill Reports just featured a short video of Jeremy Boeing and a Chicago citizen collecting ants for the School of Ants.
[2 August 2012]
In The News
Chicago Public Radio WBEZ 91.5 just featured a short piece on our work sampling ants along metra lines for the School of Ants.
[30 July 2012]
In The News
The Chicago Tribune just featured a front page story on the research conducted by my students Jeremy Boeing and Gabe Trujillo, who were working in collaboration with the School of Ants.
[27 July 2012]
Student Blog Update
Jeremy Boeing just had an essay he wrote about working on the School of Ants published for his summer Richter research. Check it out!
[27 July 2012]
Lab Research Updates
I have uploaded all of this years student researcher webpages on my people website. I have also updated some links on my ant keys website
[20 July 2012]
Photography Update
I have uploaded photos from my trip to Hawaii on my pictures website.
[6 April 2012]
Kaya Cuper
Kaya presented her Richter research in an invited seminar for the college during Homecoming!
[30 September 2011]
The Ants of Illinois
Check out our new on-line key to the Ants of Illinois!
[19 July 2011]
Guest Seminar
Corrie Moreau invited me to give a talk to her lab group on species distribution modeling.
[23 May 2011]
New paper in press
Jenkins, C.N., N.J. Sanders, A.N. Andersen, X. Arnan, C. Bruhl, X. Cerda, A.M. Ellison, B.L. Fisher, M.C. Fitzpatrick, N.J. Gotelli, A.D. Gove, B. Guénard, J.E. Lattke, J. Lessard, T.P. McGlynn, S.B. Menke, C.L. Parr, S.M. Philpott, H.L. Vasconcelos, M.D. Weiser, R.R. Dunn. In Press. Global diversity in light of climate change: the case of ants. Diversity and Distributions.
[18 May 2011]