Breadcrumb
Monica Sheffer Ph.D.
Assistant Professor - Entomology
Monica was born in Arcata, but grew up a few hours south, in Santa Rosa. She got her undergraduate degree in Molecular Environmental Biology at UC Berkeley, followed by a PhD in Zoology studying spiders at the University of Greifswald in Germany. Her postdoctoral work on grasshoppers had her “hopping” between UW Seattle, UC Berkeley, and fieldwork at CU Boulder’s Mountain Research Station in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, before beginning her faculty position at Humboldt in 2025.
Research Focus
Our lab studies arthropod responses to environmental change, with a focus on how differences between populations across species’ geographical ranges (especially elevation and latitudinal gradients) shape responses to change.
- BS (2017) University of California, Berkeley, Molecular Environmental Biology
- PhD (2022) University of Greifswald, Germany, General and Systematic Zoology
- General Entomology (ZOOL 358)
- Introductory Zoology (ZOOL 110)
Sheffer, MM … & Uhl, G. 2026. Rapid ecological and evolutionary divergence during a poleward range expansion. Accepted in Ecological Monographs.
Nufio, CR; Sheffer, MM; Smith, JM; Troutman, MT; Bawa, SJ; Taylor, ED; Schoville, SD; Williams, CM & Buckley, LB. 2025. Insect size responses to climate change vary across elevations according to seasonal timing. PLOS Biology.
Lenoir, J; Svenning, J-C & Sheffer, MM. 2023. Latitudinal and Elevational Range Shifts under Contemporary Climate Change. Encyclopedia of Biodiversity, 3rd edition.
Adams, SA ; Graham, NR; Holmquist, AJ; Sheffer, MM; Steigerwald, EC; Sahasrabudhe, R; Nguyen, O; Beraut, E; Fairbairn, C; Sacco, S; Seligmann, ME; Shaffer, HB; Tofferlmier, E & Gillespie, RG. 2023. Reference genome of the long-jawed orb-weaver, Tetragnatha versicolor (Araneae: Tetragnathidae). Journal of Heredity.
Sheffer, MM; Cordellier, M; Forman, F; Grewoldt, M; Hoffmann, K; Jensen, C; Kotz, M; Kral, J; Kuss, AW; Líznarová, E & Uhl, G. 2022. Identification of sex chromosomes using genomic and cytogenetic methods in a range-expanding spider, Argiope bruennichi (Araneae: Araneidae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society.
Sheffer, MM; Hoppe, A; Krehenwinkel, K; Uhl, G; Kuss, AW; Jensen, L; Jensen, J; Gillespie, RG; Hoff, K & Prost, S. 2021. Chromosome-level reference genome of the European wasp spider Argiope bruennichi: a resource for studies on range expansion and evolutionary adaptation. GigaScience.
Winter, S; Prost, S; de Raad, J; Coimbra, RTF; Wolf, M; Nebenführ, M; Held, A; Kurzawe, M; Papapostolou, R; Tessien, J; Bludau, J; Kelch, A; Gronefeld, S; Schöneberg, Y; Zeitz, C; Zapf, K; Prochotta, D; Murphy, M; Sheffer, MM; Sonnewald, M; Nilsson, MA & Janke, A. 2020. Chromosome-level genome assembly of a benthic associated syngnathiformes species: the common dragonet, Callionymus lyra. GigaByte.
Sheffer, MM; Uhl, G; Prost, S; Lueders, T; Urich, T & Bengtsson, MM. 2020. Tissue- and population-level microbiome analysis of the wasp spider Argiope bruennichi identified a novel dominant bacterial symbiont. Microorganisms.