Ellen van Wilgenburg

Assistant Professor of Biology

Behavioral and Evolutionary Ecology
Department of Natural Sciences
Office: Lincoln Center 819B
Email: [email protected]

  • Ph.D., University of Melbourne
    B.Sc., University of Amsterdam

  • I conduct research in ecology, evolutionary biology and behavior, with a specific focus on the behavioral and chemical ecology of insects. My current research investigates the impacts of urbanization on behavior and the evolutionary process. Research in my group encompasses a wide range of species, including ants and spotted lanternflies.

    • General Biology I lab
    • General Biology II lab
    • General Biology II lecture
    • People and the Living Environment
    • Physical Sciences; Today's World
    • Global Ecology
    • Global Ecology lab
    • NSCI 4999 Independent Study

  • For a complete list of publications, please visit my Google Scholar page

    van Wilgenburg, E., Mariotta, M. & Tsutsui, N.D. The effect of diet on colony recognition and cuticular hydrocarbon profiles of the invasive Argentine ant, Linepithema humile. (2022). Insects;13(4):335.

    Franks, S.J. [Fordham faculty], Genovese, N. [Fordham undergraduate], Stockdale, M. [Fordham undergraduate], Weber, J.J., Ansaldi, B. [Fordham graduate student] & van Wilgenburg, E. (2018). The effects of artificial selection for rapid cycling in Brassica rapa on herbivore preference and performance. International Journal of Plant Sciences. 197 (3), 175-181.

    van Wilgenburg, E. & Elgar, M.A. (2013) Why blind is better; High incidence of confirmation bias in studies of animal behaviour. Plos One 8 (1), e53548

    van Wilgenburg, E. §, Felden, A. §, Choe, D.H., Sulc, R., Shea, K.J., Elgar, M.A. & Tsutsui, N.D. (2012) Learning and discrimination of cuticular hydrocarbons in the Argentine ant, Linepithema humile. Biology Letters. 8, 17-20 § Shared first authors

    van Wilgenburg E.§, Symonds, M.R.E. § &  Elgar M.A. (2011) Evolution of cuticular hydrocarbon diversity in ants. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 24, 1188-1198. §Shared first authors

    van Wilgenburg, E., Torres, C. & Tsutsui, N.D. (2010) The global expansion of a single ant supercolony. Evolutionary Applications 3, 136-149

    van Wilgenburg, E., Clemencet, J. & Tsutsui, N.D. (2010) Experience influences aggressive behaviour in the Argentine ant. Biology letters. 6, 152-155.

    van Wilgenburg E., Sulc R., Shea K. & Tsutsui, N.D. (2010) Deciphering the chemical basis of nestmate recognition. Journal of Chemical Ecology 36, 751-758.