Alison Mercer
Alison Mercer ONZM | |
---|---|
Born | 1954 (age 66–67) |
Alma mater | University of Otago |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Zoology |
Institutions | University of Otago |
Thesis |
Alison Ruth Mercer ONZM (born 1954) is a New Zealand zoologist based at the University of Otago.[1]
Education[]
Mercer received her PhD in zoology in 1979 from the University of Otago. Her thesis Visceral innervation in molluscs was concerned with molluscs.[2]
Academic career[]
She is now a professor at the University of Otago.[1] Her current research interests span from understanding the brain and behaviour of honey bees, development genetics, as well as learning and memory.[3]
She has repeatedly made headlines in the popular press with her studies of the effects of chemicals on bees.[4][5][6] She was nicknamed the "Queen of all pheromones" by Otago Daily Times for her work in discovering that exposing a young bee to the pheromone of a queen bee actually alters the composition of the young bee's brain.[7] She has also published on the virroa mite a problematic parasite of honeybees.[8][9]
In the 2008 Queen's Birthday Honours, Mercer was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to science.[10]
Selected works[]
- Mondet, Fanny, et al. "On the front line: quantitative virus dynamics in honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies along a new expansion front of the parasite Varroa destructor." PLOS Pathogens 10.8 (2014): e1004323.
- Mercer, A. R., and R. Menzel. "The effects of biogenic amines on conditioned and unconditioned responses to olfactory stimuli in the honeybeeApis mellifera." Journal of Comparative Physiology A 145.3 (1982): 363–368.
- Flanagan, Daniel, and Alison R. Mercer. "An atlas and 3-D reconstruction of the antennal lobes in the worker honey bee, Apis mellifera L.(Hymenoptera: Apidae)." International Journal of Insect Morphology and Embryology 18.2–3 (1989): 145–159.
- Beggs, Kyle T., et al. "Queen pheromone modulates brain dopamine function in worker honey bees." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104.7 (2007): 2460–2464.
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Professor Alison Mercer, Our People, Department of Zoology, University of Otago, New Zealand". Otago.ac.nz. 16 February 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
- ^ "Visceral innervation in molluscs. – Dunedin Campus". Otago.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
- ^ "Professor Alison Mercer". www.otago.ac.nz. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- ^ "Queen Bees "Brainwash" Workers With Chemicals". News.nationalgeographic.com. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
- ^ Amber Dance (21 July 2007). "Queen bees use mind control to keep young workers in line". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 20 October 2017 – via San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ "Pesticide 'Dumbs Down' Bees, Causes Deficits In Memory And Learning : SCIENCE". Tech Times. 3 March 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
- ^ "The queen of all pheromones". Otago Daily Times. 8 December 2008. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- ^ Rachel Graham (8 February 2016). "Researchers hope for varroa bee mite breakthrough". Radio New Zealand News. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
- ^ Mondet, Fanny; De Miranda, Joachim R.; Kretzschmar, Andre; Le Conte, Yves; Mercer, Alison R. (21 August 2014). "On the Front Line: Quantitative Virus Dynamics in Honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) Colonies along a New Expansion Front of the Parasite Varroa destructor". PLOS Pathogens. 10 (8): e1004323. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1004323. PMC 4140857. PMID 25144447.
- ^ "Queen's Birthday honours list 2008". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 2 June 2008. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
External links[]
- "Emeritus Professor Alison Mercer", Department of Zoology, University of Otago
- 1954 births
- Living people
- New Zealand academics
- New Zealand women academics
- University of Otago alumni
- University of Otago faculty
- People from Dunedin
- New Zealand entomologists
- Women entomologists
- Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit
- New Zealand academic biography stubs