njdowdy

README.md



Dr. Nicolas J. Dowdy

0000-0002-5453-2569


IDAAT-1537-2021


Head of Zoology

Director of Collections Informatics

Director of the Puehlicher Butterfly Vivarium

Milwaukee Public Museum


Associate Professor, Department of Biology

Marquette University


Assistant Research Professor, Department of Biology

Wake Forest University

See my GitLab here: https://gitlab.com/njdowdy

👋 Hello, World! 👋


🔭 I’m currently working on studying the evolution of tiger moth anti-predator defenses

🌱 I’m currently learning BioGeoBEARS and Next.js


👯 I’m looking to collaborate on lepidopteran evolution & taxonomic resource management

💬 Ask me about taxonomy, lepidoptera, evolution, phylogenetics, programming, data science, etc!

📫 How to reach me: njdowdy[at]gmail.com

📹 https://www.youtube.com/@arctiinae


😄 Pronouns: he/him

⚡ Fun fact: Lover of horror, board games, and good food 🍜!

🌎 I co-organize an annual international meeting of tiger moth researchers. I also co-organize a meeting for researchers of Noctuoidea. Get in touch if you are interested in joining us!


Research Experience & Training

2022-current. Head of Zoology & Director of Collections Informatics, Milwaukee Public Museum
2018-current. Assistant Research Professor, Wake Forest University
2023-current. Associate Professor, Marquette University
2024-current. Director of the Puehlicher Butterfly Vivarium, Milwaukee Public Museum
2018-2022. NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology (DBI-1811897), Milwaukee Public Museum
2020. Postdoctoral Researcher (PI: Jennifer M. Zaspel): Purdue University (Terrestrial Parasite Tracker TCN: DBI-1901932)
2017-2018. Postdoctoral Researcher (PI: Jennifer M. Zaspel): Purdue University (PERC CSBR: DBI-1561448)
2017. Entomological Collections Management Workshop

2011-2017. Ph.D. Biology (PI: William E. Conner): Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, USA
2007-2011. B.S. Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Minors: Mathematics, Chemistry: University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA


Peer-Reviewed Publications (* = co-first authors)

Submitted. Sisson, M.S.*, Dowdy, N.J.*, Fisher, M.L., Gall, L.F., Goldstein, P.Z., Homziak, N.T., Schmidt, B.C., Simmons R.B., Weller, S.J., Zahiri, R., Zaspel, J.M., Zilli, A. Erebidae Systematics: Past, present, and future – Progress in understanding a diverse lepidopteran lineage. Insect Systematics and Diversity.
2024. Lopez-Cacacho, I., de Bem Oliveira, I., Markee, A., Dowdy, N.J., Kawahara, A.Y. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids in tiger moths: trends and knowledge gaps. Chemoecology. 10.1007/s00049-024-00411-8

2023. Sullivan, K.A., Tucker, E.M., Dowdy, N.J., Allen, J.M., Barve, V., Boone, J., Bush, S.E., Evenhuis, N.L., Hastriter, M., Light, J.E., Mayfield-Meyer, T., O’Connor, B.M., Poelen, J.H., Racz, G.R., Seltmann, K.C., Zaspel, J.M. Building a community-based taxonomic resource for digitization of parasites and their hosts. Insect Systematics and Diversity. 10.1093/isd/ixad023

2023. Chesshire, P.R., Fischer, E.E., Dowdy, N.J., Griswold, T.L., Hughes, A.C., Orr, M.C., Ascher, J.S., Guzman, L.M., Hung, K.J., Cobb N.S., McCabe, L.M. Completeness analysis for over 3000 United States bee species identifies persistent data gap. Ecography. 10.1111/ecog.06584

2022. Fernández, Y., Dowdy, N.J., Conner, W.E. High click rates generate the sonar-jamming strategy of tiger moths (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae). Journal of Experimental Biology. 10.1242/jeb.244187

2021. Dowdy, N.J. TaxoTracker: A collaborative platform for taxonomic resource maintenance. Biodiversity Information Science and Standards. 10.3897/biss.5.73867

2020. Dowdy, N.J., Keating, S., Lemmon, A.R., Lemmon, E.M., Conner, W.E., Scott Chialvo, C.H., Weller, S.J., Simmons, R.B., Sisson, M.S., Zaspel, J.M. A deeper meaning for shallow‐level phylogenomic studies: nested anchored hybrid enrichment offers great promise for resolving the tiger moth tree of life (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae). Systematic Entomology. 45(4), p. 874-893. 10.1111/syen.12433

2020. Fernández, Y., Dowdy, N.J., Conner, W E. Extreme Duty Cycles in the Acoustic Signals of Tiger Moths: Sexual and Natural Selection Operating in Parallel. Integrative Organismal Biology. 2(1). 10.1093/iob/obaa046

2019. Dowdy, N.J., Conner, W.E. Nonchalant Flight in Tiger Moths (Erebidae: Arctiinae) Is Correlated With Unpalatability. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 7. 10.3389/fevo.2019.00480

2019. Cobb, N.S., Gall, L.F., Zaspel, J.M., Dowdy, N.J., McCabe, L.M., Kawahara, A.Y. Assessment of North American arthropod collections: prospects and challenges for addressing biodiversity research. PeerJ. 7. e8086. 10.7717/peerj.8086

2019. Dowdy, N.J., Conner, W.E. Characteristics of tiger moth (Erebidae: Arctiinae) anti-bat sounds can be predicted from tymbal morphology. Frontiers in Zoology. 16(1). 10.1186/s12983-019-0345-6

2016. Dowdy, N.J., Conner, W.E. Acoustic Aposematism and Evasive Action in Select Chemically Defended Arctiine (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) Species: Nonchalant or Not? PLoS ONE. 11(4): e0152981. 10.1371/journal.pone.0152981

2014. Perlman, S., Dowdy, N.J., Harris, L.R., Khalid, M., Kelly, S.E., Hunter, M.S. Factors Affecting the Strength of Cardinium-Induced Cytoplasmic Incompatibility in the Parasitic Wasp Encarsia pergandiella (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae). Microbial Ecology. 67(3): 671-678. 10.1007/s00248-013-0359-0


Presentations
* = presenter

2024. Dowdy, N.J.* MPM Zoology Research: Introduction and Updates. Wisconsin Entomological Society 2024. Milwaukee, WI, USA.
2024. Dowdy, N.J.*, Sullivan, K.A., Lam, A.W., Wilson, B., Murrah, A., Zhang, S., Agrawal, A., Zaspel, J.M. The Dawn of Arctiine Genomics (Lepidoptera: Erebidae). International Congress of Entomology 2024. Kyoto, Japan.
2024. Dowdy, N.J.* Prisma.bio: a web-based tool for rapidly updating and curating biodiversity data. Noctuoidea Research Group Meeting 2024. Virtual.
2024. Dowdy, N.J.* Prisma.bio: a web-based tool for rapidly updating and curating biodiversity data. Arctiinae Research Community Meeting 2024. Virtual.
2024. Oudendijk, Z.*, Mappes, J., Wahlberg, N., de Souza Moraes, S., Oliveira Carreira, J.Y., Dowdy, N.J., Silvonen, K. De novo synthesized pyrazines in tiger moths: ecology, evolution and prevalence. Arctiinae Research Community Meeting 2024. Virtual.
2024. Murrah, A.J.*, Dowdy, N.J. How to Make a Wasp: Characterizing Wasp-like Traits of Tiger Moths. Arctiinae Research Community Meeting 2024. Virtual.
2024. Dowdy, N.J.* Unraveling the evolutionary origins of anti-bat sonar jamming in tiger moths (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae). California Academy of Sciences Center for Comparative Genomics
2024. Dowdy, N.J.* Unraveling the evolutionary origins of anti-bat sonar jamming in tiger moths (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae). "Essig Brunch" Series. University of California, Berkeley, Essig Museum of Entomology
2023. Dowdy, N.J.* Defense Against the Dark Arts: Hidden Hexes Moths Use To Ward Off Bats. Scholl Seminar Series. Marquette University.
2023. Lopez-Cacacho, I.*, de Bem Oliveira, I., Markee, A., Dowdy, N.J., Kawahara, A.Y. Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids in Tiger Moths: Trends and Knowledge Gaps. Entomological Society of America 2023. Annapolis, MD
2023. Dowdy, N.J.* Unraveling the evolutionary origins of anti-bat sonar jamming in tiger moths (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae). Michigan & Wisconsin Entomological Societies Combined Meeting. Ludington, Michigan.
2023. Dowdy, N.J.* Recent advances in the phylogenomics of the Arctiinae (Noctuoidea: Erebidae). Noctuoidea Research Group Meeting. Virtual.
2023. Dowdy, N.J.* Progress towards a stable genus-level phylogeny of Ctenuchina and Euchromiina. Arctiinae Research Community Meeting. Virtual.
2023. Dowdy, N.J.* Recent advances in tiger moth phylogenomics and implications for the evolution of anti-bat sonar jamming. Thomas C. Emmel Seminar Series presents: Expanding Horizons in Lepidoptera Research. University of Florida, McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity (virtual).
2022. Dowdy, N.J.* Misunderstood "Monsters" – Bats and Moths. North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences' "Misunderstood Monsters" presentation series. Virtual.
2022. Dowdy, N.J.*, Lemmon A.R., Lemmon E.M., Conner W.E., Zaspel J.M. Neotropical tiger moths (Erebidae: Arctiinae) have repeatedly evolved anti-bat sonar jamming. Entomological Society of America. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
2022. Dowdy, N.J.*, Lemmon A.R., Lemmon E.M., Conner W.E., Zaspel J.M. Anti-bat sonar jamming has evolved repeatedly in the phaegopterine tiger moths (and beyond). Arctiinae Research Community Meeting. Virtual.
2022. Sullivan, K.*, Dowdy, N.J. Museomics, phylogenomics, and bioinformatics in resolving the tiger moth tree of life. Arctiinae Research Community Meeting. Virtual.
2021. Dowdy, N.J.* Aerial warfare between bats & moths. Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata's "Unravelling the Moth Mysteries" presentation series. Virtual.
2021. Dowdy, N.J.*, Fisher, M.L., Lemmon, A.R., Lemmon, E.R., Conner, W.E., Zaspel, J.M. Recent advances in the phylogenomics of the Arctiinae (Lepidoptera: Erebidae). Arctiinae Research Community Meeting. Virtual.
2021. Fernández, Y.*, Dowdy, N.J.,Conner, W.E. Sexual and natural selection mold the acoustic signals of tiger moths in parallel. Arctiinae Research Community Meeting. Virtual.
2021. Barve, V., Dowdy, N.J., Mayfield-Meyer, T. Maintaining the taxonomic backbone (or connecting those who try). Symposium organizers and moderators. Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG). Virtual.
2021. Dowdy, N.J.* TaxoTracker: A collaborative platform for taxonomic resource maintenance. Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG). Virtual.
2020. Fisher, M.L.*, Dowdy, N.J., Lemmon, A.R., Lemmon, E.M., Sweet, A., Cameron, S., Zaspel, J.M. Phylogenetic assessment of the lichen-feeding tiger moth subtribe Cisthenina (Erebidae: Arctiinae: Lithosiini) by combining anchored hybrid enrichment data with traditional loci. Entomological Society of America. Virtual.
2020. Dowdy, N.J.*, Fisher, M.L., Lemmon, A.R., Lemmon, E.M., Zaspel, J.M. The best of both worlds: Assessing the utility of the CO1 locus in the phylogenomic age. Entomological Society of America. Virtual.
2019. Dowdy, N.J.* The Distribution and Evolution of the Sonar-Jamming Anti-Bat Defense of Tiger Moths. Boise State University Departmental Seminar Series, Boise, ID, USA.
2018. Dowdy, N.J.*, Conner, W.E., Lemmon A.R., Lemmon, E.M., Zaspel, J.M. Behavioral and chemoecology on the pin: utilizing collections to transform our understanding of the bat-moth arms race. International Society of Behavioural Ecology. Minneapolis, MN, USA.
2018. Zaspel, J.M., Kawahara, A., McCabe, L., Cobb, N.S., Dowdy, N.J.* The Distribution, Size and Digitization Productivity of North American Entomology Collections. Entomological Collections Network. Vancouver, Canada.
2018. Dowdy, N.J.* Behavioral and Chemoecology on the Pin: Utilizing Museum Collections to Better Understand the Bat-Moth Arms Race. Lepidopterists' Society and Societas Europaea Lepidopterologica Joint Annual Meeting. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
2018. Dowdy, N.J.* Behavioral And Chemoecology on the Pin: Utilizing Museum Collections to Better Understand the Bat-Moth Arms Race. Purdue University's EcoLunch series. West Lafayette, IN, USA.
2018. Dowdy, N.J.* Aerial warfare between bats & moths. University of Wisconsin-Waukesha's EcoLunch series. Waukesha, WI, USA.
2017. Dowdy, N.J.* Can characteristics of tiger moth (Erebidae: Arctiinae) anti-bat sounds be predicted from morphology? Entomological Society of America. Denver, CO, USA.
2017. Dowdy, N.J.* Co-option of sexual structures as novel anti-bat defenses among males of certain tiger moths (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae). Entomological Collections Network. Denver, CO, USA.
2017. Dowdy, N.J.* Aerial warfare between bats and moths. Milwaukee Public Museum, Lunch and Lecture Series. Denver, CO, USA.
2016. Dowdy, N.J.* Different Strokes for Different Folks? Can we distinguish sonar-jamming and acoustic aposematism in tiger moths (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae)? International Congress of Entomology. Orlando, FL, USA.
2015. Dowdy, N.J.* Acoustic Aposematism in Tiger Moths: Efficacy in the Field.  International Meeting on Invertebrate Sound & Vibration. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.


Software


CREEPI Reports. This is a web service built for the Milwaukee Public Museum to allow employees to track effort and automatically generate activity reports for each fiscal quarter/year.

Prisma.bio. This is a web service built to centralize and simplify the collaborative management of biodiversity data online.


Funding, Awards, & Grant Support ($USD)

2024. Appointed to Fulbright Specialist Roster (United States Dept. of State Fulbright Specialist Program) -- NA
2024. NSF 24-543 DEB Core Programs -- Evolution of Anti-bat Acoustic Mimicry Rings in Moths (DEB #188912) -- $310,238 -- Submitted

2023. NSF 24-543 DEB Core Programs -- Evolution of Anti-bat Acoustic Mimicry Rings in Moths (DEB #2345525) -- $299,613 -- Not Funded

2022. NSF 21-501 DBI Capacity: Biological Collections -- Securing and Digitizing the Fluid-Stored Zoology Collections at the Milwaukee Public Museum (DBI #2229624)-- $687,551 -- Not Funded

2021. NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology Supplement (DBI 1811897) -- $69,000
2018. John J. Brander and Christine E. Rundblad Research Fellowship -- $10,000
2018. NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology (DBI 1811897) -- $138,000
2017. ESA Student Competition for the President’s Prize in the Lepidoptera Section -- $186
2017. Grady Britt Award -- $2,500
2017. Elton C. Cocke Outstanding Graduate Student Award -- $500
2017. Entomological Collections Network Travel Grant -- $1,000
2015. Company of Biologist’s Award -- $500
2013. Theodore Roosevelt Research Grant, American Museum of Natural History -- $2,000
2013. Wake Forest University Vecellio Travel Grant -- $950
2013. Workshop in Next-Generation Sequencing Student Travel Award -- $200


Broader Impacts & Public Engagement

2024. Co-organizer, Noctuoidea Reseach Group Meeting 2024. Virtual. Conference Booklet

2024. Co-organizer, Arctiinae Reseach Community Meeting 2024. Virtual. Conference Booklet

2024. Professional Development Panel Discussion: Careers in Science Outside of the Tenure-Track University System, Cornell University
2023. Zoology Team Lead, Milwaukee Public Museum 8th Annual BioBlitz, Havenwoods State Forest, WI, USA
2023. Co-organizer, Noctuoidea Reseach Group Meeting 2023. Virtual. Conference Booklet

2023. Co-organizer, Arctiinae Reseach Community Meeting 2023. Virtual. Conference Booklet

2022. Zoology Team Lead, Milwaukee Public Museum 7th Annual BioBlitz, Pringle Nature Center, WI, USA
2022. Co-organizer, Arctiinae Reseach Community Meeting 2022. Virtual. Conference Booklet

2021. Consultant. American Museum of Natural History. Extinct and Endangered: Insects in Peril Exhibit. LINK

2021. Zoology Team Lead, Milwaukee Public Museum 6th Annual BioBlitz, Wehr Nature Center, WI, USA
2021. Co-organizer, Arctiinae Reseach Community Meeting 2021. Virtual. Conference Booklet

2020. MPM Breakfast with the Curators 2020. LINK

2019. The many ways species interact in the rainforest. Milwaukee Public Museum Exhibit.
2019. Lepidopterist, Milwaukee Public Museum 5th Annual BioBlitz, Riveredge Nature Center, WI, USA
2018. Lepidopterist, Milwaukee Public Museum 4th Annual BioBlitz, Lake Farm County Park, WI, USA
2017. Lepidopterist, Milwaukee Public Museum 3rd Annual BioBlitz, Fox River Park, WI, USA
2016. Lead Presenter & Guide, Moth Week, Prairie Ridge Ecostation, Raleigh, NC, USA
2015. Lead Presenter & Guide, Moth Week, Prairie Ridge Ecostation, Raleigh, NC, USA
2014. Lead Presenter & Guide, Moth Week, Prairie Ridge Ecostation, Raleigh, NC, USA
2013. Lead Presenter & Guide, Moth Week, Prairie Ridge Ecostation, Raleigh, NC, USA
2012. BugFest Booth: BUGS VS. BATS!, North Carolina Natural Science Museum, Raleigh, NC, USA


Other Media & Press

2024. Can I Bug You?: Ep. 13. Bats vs. moths LINK

2024. ConnectMKE "Summer of Cicadas" Interview LINK

2024. CBS15 "Song of the summer: Cicada emergence promises to be one for the ages" Interview LINK

2024. WISN12 "Cicada numbers expected to surge this summer in Southeast Wisconsin" Interview LINK

2024. WISN12 "Midge flies take over Lake Michigan shoreline" Interview LINK

2023. Dinh, J. In the Dead of Night, a Deafening War. Atmos Magazine. LINK

2022. CBS58 "Local enthusiasts ramp up efforts to aid endangered monarch butterfly". LINK

2022. MPM Press Release. Milwaukee Public Museum Hires Three Additional Scientific and Research Curators to Lead Botany, History and Anthropology, and Zoology Departments. Urban Milwaukee LINK

2022. Knight, K. Fast-fire moths are better jammers, but bats can outsmart them. Journal of Experimental Biology. 225 (18): jeb244954. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.244954

2021. Interview with Dylan Gomes on "Conversations with Academics". LINK

2020. NSF News. Chemical defenses allow some moths to escape predatory bats. LINK

2019. SciShow. Why These Moths Don't Run Away from Bats. LINK

2019. Hasting, C. Lazy moths taste disgusting. Frontiers Science News. LINK

2019. PA News Agency. Lazy moths ‘taste disgusting so put less effort into evading predators’. Irvine Times. LINK

2019. Walawalkar, A. Bad taste in the moth: study reveals insect's chemical defence. The Guardian. LINK

2019. Bard, S. Moths Flee or Face Bats, Depending on Toxicity. Scientific American. LINK

2019. Hayes, B. Bitter moths can't be bothered by hungry bats. United Press International. LINK

2019. Katz, B. Some Moths Taste So Bad That They Don’t Bother Fleeing From Bats. Smithsonian Magazine. LINK

2017. PBS Deep Look. These Whispering, Walking Bats Are Onto Something. LINK

2017. Interview with Joy Powers on WUWM (Milwaukee NPR). LINK

2016. Quirks and Quarks: Moths tell bats they taste nasty. LINK

2016. Davis. B. Tiger moths use signals to warn bats: toxic not tasty. Wake Forest News. LINK

2016. 2 New Things. Moth Fends Off Bats With Surprising Puff Of Sticky, White Fluff. LINK

2016. Interviewed for "Nature's Weirdest Events", BBC Two. Miami, FL, USA.
2016. Gough, Z. This new moth has an explosive way of fending off bats. BBC Earth. LINK (broken)

2016. Research & Filming Consultant. BBC. "Skyworlds".
2012. Research & Filming Consultant. National Geographic. Untamed Americas, Season 1, Episode 2: Deserts. CLIP


Other Achievements

2024.  ResearchGate - Most cited research items from your institution LINK

2023.  ResearchGate - Most cited research items from your institution LINK

2022.  Top Cited Article 2020-2021 Systematic Entomology, Wiley LINK


Peer Review
I have served as a primary peer reviewer for the following publications (see Publons profile here: LINK):

American Midland Naturalist
Animal Behaviour
Arthropod Systematics and Phylogeny
Biodiversity Data Journal
Biology Letters
Biotropica
Diversity
Ecology and Evolution
Evolutionary Systematics
Faunitaxys
Insect Conservation and Diversity
Insect Systematics and Diversity
Journal of Comparative Physiology A
Journal of Experimental Biology
Journal of Insect Behavior
Journal of Insect Science
Journal of North American Bat Research
Molecular Ecology
PeerJ
PLoS ONE
Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington
Proceedings of the Royal Society B
Smithsonian Scholarly Press
Systematic Biology
Systematic Entomology
Wellcome Open Research
ZooKeys
Zoologica Scripta
Zootaxa


Field Work
I have conducted field work in the following countries. Ask me more!:

Brazil
Canada
Ecuador
Panama
Peru
United States (Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin)


What I'm Working On

Revisiting the subfamilial relationships within the Erebidae using phylogenomics
Neotropical tiger moths (Erebidae: Arctiinae) have repeatedly evolved anti-bat sonar jamming
Phylogenomics resolves the biogeographic history of the rogue genus, Xenosoma

Mistaken identities and lost species, resolving some taxonomic problems in the genus Hypercompe Hübner
Phylogenomics resolves long-standing higher-level taxonomic confusion within neotropical tiger moths
Predicting the suitability of museum specimens in museomics
The best of both worlds - combining traditional molecular markers with anchored hybrid enrichment to improve taxon sampling
Resolving the higher-level systematics of the Syntomini
Species delimitation in the genus Hypoprepia (Erebidae: Arctiinae: Lithosiini: Cisthenina) using phylogenomics
Teasing apart phylogenetic signal for anchored hybrid enrichment optimization
A novel anti-bat function of pheromone-disseminating structures in the tiger moth Eucereon zizana (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae)
Novel use of moth flocculent as a defense against bat predation
The evolution of host-plant utilization within a major lineage of Arctiinae
The geographic mosaic and the evolution of anti-bat sonar jamming
Biogeographic history of the genus Euchromia

Distribution and evolution of reflex-bleeding in Arctiinae
Phylobiogeography of the genus Haploa (Erebidae: Arctiinae: Arctiini: Callimorphina) using phylogenomics