Karen Kapheim
Biology
Associate Professor & Co-Director of Graduate Studies
Contact Information
Office Location: LSB 339Phone: (435) 797-0685
Email: karen.kapheim@usu.edu
Additional Information:
Educational Background
Biography
Karen is an Associate Professor in the Biology Department.
Teaching Interests
ecology, evolution, evolutionary genomics, animal behavior, behavioral ecology
Research Interests
evolution of complex phenotypes, evolution of eusociality, neuromolecular mechanisms of evolution, indirect genetic effects, bees
Awards
USU College of Science Faculty , 2021
USU College of Science
i5k Community Workshop Fellowship Award, 2012
American Genetics Association
International Union for the Study of Social Insects Travel Award, 2012
International Union for the Study of Social Insects - North American Section
NAS Sackler Colloquium Travel Award, 2011
National Academy of Sciences
Scherenbaum Award for Outstanding Research, 2011
UCLA, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
George Bartholomew Research Fellowship, 2010
UCLA Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
UCLA EEB Departmental Travel Award, 2010
UCLA Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
UCLA EEB Special Faculty Award for Outstanding Service, 2010
UCLA, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
American Women in Science Joan Wright Goodman Award, 2009
American Women in Science
Summer Institute for Statistical Genetics Tuition and Travel Scholarship, 2009
University of Washington Biostatistics
UCLA Center for Society and Genetics Graduate Student Fellowship, 2009
UCLA
GAANN Fellowship, 2008
U. S. Department of Education
International Union for the Study of Social Insects Travel Award, 2008
International Union for the Study of Social Insects - North American Section
Smithsonian Institution Pre-doctoral Fellowship, 2008
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Supplementary Research Award, 2008
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
UCLA EEB Departmental Travel Award, 2008
UCLA Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
GAANN Fellowship, 2007
U. S. Department of Education
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institution Short Term Fellowship, 2007
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institution
Honorable Mention - National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, 2006
National Science Foundation
Smithsonian Institution 10-week Graduate Fellowship, 2006
Smithsonian Institution
UCLA Graduate Division Mentor Fellowship, 2006
UCLA Graduate Division
Quality of Graduate Education Fellowship, 2005
UCLA Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Top Teaching Evaluations, 2005
UCLA, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
National Society of Collegiate Scholars Member, 2001
National Society of Collegiate Scholars
Honors College Scholarship, 2000
Michigan State University Honors College
National Society of Collegiate Scholars Member, 2000
National Society of Collegiate Scholars
Student Travel Scholarship, 2000
Michigan State University, College of Natural Science
Coca-Cola Foundation Study Abroad Scholarship, 1999
Coca-Cola Foundation
Honors College Scholarship, 1999
Michigan State University Honors College
National Society of Collegiate Scholars Member, 1999
National Society of Collegiate Scholars
Honors College Scholarship, 1998
Michigan State University Honors College
Honors College Scholarship, 1997
Michigan State University Honors College
Publications | Book Chapters
An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.
Publications | Journal Articles
Academic Journal
- Pope, N.S, Singh, A., Childers, A.K, Kapheim, K., Evans, J.D, Lopez-Uribe, M.M, (2023). The expansion of agriculture has shaped the recent evolutionary history of a specialized squash pollinator. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120, e2208116120.
- Kapheim, K., Johnson, M.M, Jolley, , (2021). Composition and acquisition of the microbiome in solitary, ground-nesting alkali bees. Scientific Reports, 11, 2993. doi: 0.1038/s41598-021-82573-x
- Rego, A., Chaturvedi, S., Springer, A., Lish, A.M, Barton, C.L, Kapheim, K.M, Messina, F.J, Gompert, Z., (2020). Combining experimental evolution and genomics to understand how seed beetles adapt to a marginal host plant. Genes, 11, 400.
- Rodgers, T.W, Kapheim, K., (2017). A high elevation record of the little spotted cat Leopardus tigrinus oncilla from western Panama. Southwestern Naturalist, 62, 225-227. doi: 10.1894/SWNAT-D-17-00024.1
- Rodger, T.W, Xu, C., Giacalone, J., Kapheim, K., Saltonstall, K., Vargas, M., Yu, D., Somervuo, P., McMillan, W.O, Jansen, P., (2017). Carrion fly-derived DNA metabarcoding is an effective tool for mammal surveys: evidence from a known tropical mammal community. Molecular Ecology Resources, 17, e133-e145. doi: 10.1111/1755-0998.12701
- Kapheim, K., Johnson, M.M, (2017). Juvenile hormone, but not nutrition or social cues, affects reproductive maturation in solitary alkali bees (Nomia melanderi). Journal of Experimental Biology, doi: 10.1242/jeb.162255
- Kapheim, K., (2017). Nutritional, endocrine, and social influences on reproductive physiology at the origins of social behavior. Current Opinion in Insect Science, 22, 62-70. doi: 10.1016/j.cois.2017.05.018
- Brand, P., Saleh, N., Pan, H., Li, C., Kapheim, K., Ramírez, S.R, (2017). The nuclear and mitochondrial genomes of the facultatively eusocial orchid bee Euglossa dilemma. G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics, 7:9, 2891-2898. doi: 10.1534/g3.117.043687
- Kapheim, K., Johnson, M.M, (2017). Support for the reproductive ground plan hypothesis in a solitary bee: links between sucrose response and reproductive status. Proceedings of the Royal Society B - Biological Sciences, 284, 2406. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.2406
- Kapheim, K., (2016). Genomic sources of phenotypic novelty in the evolution of eusociality in insects. Current Opinion in Insect Science, 13, 24-32. doi: 10.1016/j.cois.2015.10.009
- Matthew, M.S, Kapheim, K., Axel, B., Tara, M.A, Gene, R.E, (2016). Brain regions and molecular pathways responding to food rewards in the honey bee. Genes, Brain, & Behavior, 15, 305-317. doi: 10.1111/gbb.12275
- Kapheim, K., Chan, T., Smith, A.R, Wcislo, W.T, Nonacs, P., (2016). Ontogeny of division of labor in a facultatively eusocial sweat bee Megalopta genalis. Insectes Sociaux, 63, 185-191. doi: 10.1007/s00040-015-0454-y
- Kapheim, K., Rao, V.D, Yeoman, C.J, Wilson, B.A, White, B.A, Goldenfeld, N., Robinson, G.E, (2015). Caste-specific differences in hindgut microbial communities of honey bees (Apis mellifera). PLoS One, 10:4, e0123911. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0123911
- Kapheim, K., Nonacs, P., Smith, A.R, Wayne, R.K, Wcislo, W.T, (2015). Kinship, parental manipulation and evolutionary origins of eusociality. Proceedings of the Royal Society - Biological Sciences, 282, doi: 10.1098/rspb.2014.2886
- Kapheim, K., Pan, H., Li, C., Salzberg, S.L, Puiu, D., Magoc, T., Robertson, H.M, Hudson, M.E, Venkat, A., Fischman, B.J, Hernandez, A., Yandell, M., Ence, D., Holt, C., Yocum, G.D, Kemp, W.P, Bosch, J., Waterhouse, R.M, Zdobnov, E.M, Stolle, E., Kraus, F.B, Helbing, S., Moritz, R.F, Glastad, K.M, Hunt, B.G, Goodisman, M.A, Hauser, F., Grimmelikhuijzen, C.J, Pinheiro, D.G, Nunes, F.M, Soares, M.P, Tanaka, É.D, Simões, Z.L, Hartfelder, K., Evans, J.D, Barribeau, S.M, Johnson, R.M, Massey, J.H, Southey, B.R, Hasselmann, M., Hamacher, D., Biewer, M., Kent, C.F, Zayed, A., Blatti, III, C., Sinha, S., Johnston, J.S, Hanrahan, S.J, Kocher, S.D, Wang, J., Robinson, G.E, Zhang, G., (2015). Genomic signatures of evolutionary transitions from solitary to group living. Science, 348:6239, 1139-1143. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa4788
- Nonacs, P., Kapheim, K., (2014). Cultural evolution and emergent group-level traits through social heterosis. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 37:03, 266-267.
- Tierney, S.M, Fischer, C.N, Rehan, S.M, Kapheim, K., Wcislo, W.T, (2013). Frequency of social nesting in the sweat bee Megalopta genalis (Halictidae) does not vary across a rainfall gradient, despite disparity in brood production and body size. Insectes Sociaux, 60:2, 163-172.
- Smith, A.R, Kapheim, K., Perez-Ortega, B., Brent, C.S, Wcislo, W.T, (2013). Juvenile hormone levels reflect social opportunities in the facultatively eusocial sweat bee Megalopta genalis (Hymenoptera: Halictidae). Horm Behav, 63:1, 1-4.
- Kapheim, K., Smith, A.R, Nonacs, P., Wcislo, W.T, Wayne, R.K, (2013). Foundress polyphenism and the origins of eusociality in a facultatively eusocial sweat bee, Megalopta genalis (Halictidae). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 67:2, 331-340.
- Enzmann, B.L, Kapheim, K., Wang, T.B, Nonacs, P., (2012). Giving them what they want: manipulating Argentine ant activity patterns with water. Journal of Applied Entomology, 136:8, 588-595.
- Nonacs, P., Kapheim, K., (2012). Modeling Disease Evolution with Multilevel Selection: HIV as a Quasispecies Social Genome. Journal of Evolutionary Medicine, 1, 235553. doi: 10.4303/jem/235553
- Kapheim, K., Smith, A.R, Ihle, K.E, Amdam, G.V, Nonacs, P., Wcislo, W.T, (2012). Physiological variation as a mechanism for developmental caste-biasing in a facultatively eusocial sweat bee. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 279:1732, 1437-1446.
- Kapheim, K., Bernal, S.P, Smith, A.R, Nonacs, P., Wcislo, W.T, (2011). Support for maternal manipulation of developmental nutrition in a facultatively eusocial bee, Megalopta genalis (Halictidae). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 65:6, 1179-1190.
- Kapheim, K., Pollinger, J.P, Wcislo, W.T, Wayne, R.K, (2009). Characterization of 12 polymorphic microsatellite markers for a facultatively eusocial sweat bee (Megalopta genalis). Molecular Ecology Resources, 9:6, 1527-9.
- Smith, A.R, Kapheim, K., O’Donnell, S., Wcislo, W.T, (2009). Social competition but not subfertility leads to a division of labour in the facultatively social sweat bee Megalopta genalis (Hymenoptera: Halictidae). Animal Behaviour, 78:5, 1043-1050.
- Nonacs, P., Kapheim, K., (2008). Social heterosis and the maintenance of genetic diversity at the genome level. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 21, 631 - 635.
- Nonacs, P., Kapheim, K., (2007). Social heterosis and the maintenance of genetic diversity. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 20:6, 2253-2265. doi: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2007.01418.x
- Boydston, E.E, Kapheim, K., Holekamp, K.E, (2006). Patterns of den occupation by the spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta). African Journal of Ecology, 44:1, 77-86.
- Boydston, E.E, Kapheim, K., van Horn, R.C, Smale, L., Holekamp, K.E, (2005). Sexually dimorphic patterns of space use throughout ontogeny in the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta). Journal of Zoology, 267:3, 271-281.
- Boydston, E.E, Kapheim, K., Watts, H.E, Szykman, M., Holekamp, K.E, (2003). Altered behaviour in spotted hyenas associated with increased human activity. Animal Conservation, 6, 207-219.
- Boydston, E.E, Kapheim, K., Szykman, M., Holekamp, K.E, (2003). Individual variation in space use by female spotted hyenas. Journal of Mammalogy, 84:3, 1006-1018.
Professional Journal
An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.
Publications | Other
An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.