Jennifer C. Grixti

M.Sc. in Biology candidate
B.Sc. in Environmental Science
York University
Email: jgrixti@yorku.ca

Research Interests

My initial interest in research began with a fascination of the study of insects in the field. It wasn't until I spent three months backpacking and collecting bees in the southwestern desert of Utah, that I found myself interested in bee research. Today, my interests have shifted more specifically towards bee biodiversity, taxonomy and conservation biology. For my Master's I will be determining how bee biodiversity and community composition has changed over a 33-year period, as a result of global warming, succession, and other anthropogenic influences. I will be repeating the only historical study done on Canadian bee biodiversity in 1968/1969, in an old field habitat at the Forks of the Credit River. Bees collected in this study will be entered into a "Bees of Canada" database, that I will be constructing, aimed at documenting the poorly known bee fauna of Canada. This will be the first database available for future reference for bee biologists, ecologists, botanists, taxonomists, and conservationists.

Selected Publications

Packer L, Grixti JC, Roughley RE, Hanner R. 2009. The status of taxonomy in Canada and the impact of DNA barcoding. Canadian Journal of Zoology. 87:1097-1110. doi: 10.1139/Z09-100 Full text
Zayed A, Packer L, Grixti JC, Ruz L, Owen RE, Toro H. 2005. Increased genetic differentiation in a specialist versus a generalist bee: implications for conservation. Conservation Genetics 6(6): 1017-1026. doi: 10.1007/s10592-005-9094-5 Full text
Packer L, Zayed A, Grixti JC, Ruz L, Owen RE, Vivallo F, Toro H. 2005. Conservation genetics of potentially endangered mutualisms: reduced levels of genetic variation in specialist versus generalist bees. Conservation Biology. 19: 195-202. doi: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2005.00601.x Full text
Grixti JC, Zayed A, Packer L. 2004. Behavioral interactions among females of Acamptopoeum submetallicum (Spinola) and Nolanomelissa toroi Rozen (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae). Journal of Hymenoptera Research. 13:48-56. Full text
Packer L, Grixti JC, Douglas H, Janjic J, Sellars R, Sommers M. 2001. Insect survey of a tall-grass prairie in southern Ontario with particular reference to the bees of the Manester Tract. A report prepared for the Ministry of Natural Resources, World Wildlife Fund, and Ontario's Living Legacy. pg. 1-14.