Christine A. Johnson
Lead Digitizer
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Phone:
- (212) 769-5605
Education
Ph.D. Psychology, Biopsychology subprogram, January 2000
The Graduate School & University Center of The City University of New York
M.A. Psychology, Biopsychology subprogram, June 1997
The Graduate School & University Center of The City University of New York
B.A. Psychology, May 1992 New York University
Research Interests
Christine A. Johnson, Ph.D., is a behavioral ecologist whose research has focused on the evolution of social behavior, particularly interactions between social parasites and their hosts, with an emphasis on slave-making ants. Her research has explored the behavioral and chemical mechanisms underlying social parasitism, the proximate and ultimate factors driving divergent life-history strategies, and the establishment of reproductive dominance hierarchies in ant societies lacking morphologically distinct reproductive castes. Her taxonomic interests also include a revision of the plant bug genus Reuteroscopus (Miridae: Phylini), whose males possess elaborate feather-like genital structures.
With approximately two decades of experience in the Division of Invertebrate Zoology at the American Museum of Natural History, Christine's work has expanded to encompass collections management, biodiversity informatics, database administration, and the digitization of natural history collections. Previously serving as Curatorial Associate and currently as Lead Digitizer, she has contributed to the stewardship, documentation, and accessibility of the Museum's extensive invertebrate collections.
Her current work focuses on developing and improving workflows for specimen imaging, data capture, transcription, and quality control, including the integration of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies into collections digitization. She coordinates grant-funded digitization initiatives, supports the management and enhancement of collections databases, and works to improve the discoverability and accessibility of biodiversity data through public data-sharing platforms.
Central to her work is the recognition that natural history collections are invaluable scientific resources, and that preserving, enhancing, and sharing their associated data is essential to supporting reproducible research, documenting biodiversity, and enabling future scientific discovery.
If you are interested in volunteering on one of the projects below, reach out! There are many rewarding opportunities! [email protected]
Collections Responsibility: Collections overall
Current Projects:
Digitizing Meliponini Bees, NSF-TCN
Past Projects:
Publications
C.A. Johnson et al. (2026). Unlocking biodiversity data with robotic imaging and AI-driven transcription of natural history collections. Science Advances 12,eaeb6975.
E.G. Postema, L. Briscoe, C. Harder, G.R.A. Hancock, L.D. Guarnieri, T. Eisel, K. Welch, N. Fischer, C.A. Johnson, D. Souza, D. Phillip, R. Baquiran, T. Sepulveda, B.A.S. de Medeiros. DrawerDissect: Whole-drawer insect imaging, segmentation, and transcription using AI. EcoEvoRxiv
Weirauch, C., Seltmann, K. C., Schuh, R. T., Schwartz, M. D., Johnson, C. A., Feist, M. & Soltis, P. S. 2016. Areas of endemism in the Nearctic: a case study of 1,339 species of Miridae (Insecta: Hemiptera) and their plant hosts. Cladistics doi:10.1111/cla.1216
Johnson, C.A.(2012) Reflections on Toby Schuh: His person, his accomplishments, his ways. Entomologica Americana Special Festschrift Volume 118(1): 25-26.
Henry, T. J. & Johnson, C.A. (2012) Randall Tobias Schuh: A celebration of his career and accomplishments on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Entomologica Americana Special Festschrift Volume 118(1): 2-6.
Johnson, C.A. & Sündstrom, L. (2012) Cuticular chemistry in the facultatively polygyne ant Formica truncorum (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Annales Zoologici Fennici, 49(1-2):1-17.
Lommelen, E., Wenseleers, T., Johnson, C.A., Drijfhout, F.P., Billen, J., & Gobin, B. (2010) A combination of fertility signals and aggression regulates reproduction in the ant
Slater, J. A., Schuh, R.T., Cassis, G., Johnson, C.A. & Pedraza-Peñalosa. (2009) Revision of Laryngodus Herrich-Schaeffer, an Allocasuarina feeder, with comments on its biology and the classification of the family (Heteroptera: Lygaeoidea: Rhyparochromidae). Invertebrate Systematics 23:111-133.
Johnson, C.A., Phelan, L.P., & Herbers, J.M. (2008) Stealth and reproductive dominance in a rare parasitic ant. Animal Behaviour
Johnson, C.A. (2008) Slave-maker ant competition for a shared host and the effect on coevolutionary dynamics. Ecological Monographs 78:445-460.
Lommelen, E., Johnson, C.A., Drijfhout, F.P., Billen, J., & Gobin, B. (2008) Egg marking in the queen-less ant Gnamptogenys striatula: the source and mechanism. Journal of Insect Physiology 54:727-392.
Herbers, J.M. & Johnson, C.A. (2007). Social structure and winter survival in acorn ants. Oikos 116:829-835.
Johnson, C.A. & Herbers, J.M. (2006). Impact of parasite sympatry on the geographic mosaic of coevolution. Ecology 87:382-394.
Lommelen, E., Johnson, C.A., Drijfhout, F.P., Billen, J., Wenseleers, T. & Gobin, B. (2006). Cuticular hydrocarbons provide reliable cues of fertility in Gnamptogenys striatula. Journal of Chemical Ecology32:20023-2034.
O’Hara, B., Fowler, M.S., & Johnson, C.A. (2006). Why negatives should be viewed as positives. Nature Correspondence439:782 (non-refereed).
Johnson, C.A., Sundström, L., & Billen, J. (2005). Development of alary muscles in single- and multiple-queen populations of the wood ant Fomica truncorum. Annales Zoologici Fennici 42:225-234.
Johnson, C.A., Topoff, H., Vander Meer, R.K., & Lavine, B. (2005). Do these eggs smell funny to you?: A study of egg discrimination by hosts of a slave-maker ant. Behavioral Ecology & Sociobiology 57:245-255.
Kotze, D.J., Johnson, C.A., O’Hara, R.B., Vepsäläinen, K., & Fowler, M. (2004). The need for a journal of negative results in ecology & evolutionary biology. Journal of Negative Results – Ecology & Evolutionary Biology 1:1-4.
Johnson, C.A., Lommelen, E., Allard, D. & Gobin, B. (2003). The emergence of collective foraging in the arboreal Gnamptogenys menadensis. Naturwissenschaften, 90:332-336.
Johnson, C.A., Topoff, H., Vander Meer, R.K., & Lavine, B. (2002). Host queen killing by a slave-maker ant queen: when is a host queen worth attacking? Animal Behaviour, 64:807-815.
Johnson, C.A., Vander Meer, R.K., & Lavine, B. (2001). Changes in the cuticular hydrocarbon patterns of a slave-maker queen after killing a Formica host queen. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 27:1787-1804.
Johnson, C.A., Agosti, D., Delabie, J.H., Dumpert, K., Williams, D.J., von Tschirnhaus, M. & Maschwitz, U. (2001). Acropyga and Azteca ants with scale insects: 20 million years of intimate symbiosis. American Museum Novitates, 3335:1-18.
Johnson, C.A. (2000). Responses of two potential host species to pupae of the obligatory slave-making ant, Polyergus breviceps. Journal of Insect Behavior, 13:711-720.
Teaching Experience
Richard Gilder Graduate School, AMNH, Biological Specimen Informatics, Spring 2013
New York Botanical Garden, NY. Entomology, Spring 2013
Columbia University, NY. Insect Diversity (Adjunct Faculty), Fall 2009
Pace University, NY. Entomology (Adjunct Faculty). Fall 2007
The Ohio State University, OH. Guest Lecturer, Social Insect Biology - 2004, 2005, Evolution -2006
The Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. Elements of Kin Recognition (Guest Lecturer). Spring 2002.
Hunter College, NY. Psychology (Instructor). September 1996 – December 1997.
Hunter College, NY. Ethology (Instructor). September 1996
School of Visual Arts, NY. Animal Behavior (Adjunct Faculty). September 1996.
Hunter College, NY. Social Psychology (Teaching Assistant). Spring 1997.
Hunter College, NY. Introductory Psychology (Teaching Assistant). Fall 1995 - Spring 1996.
Hunter College, NY. Experimental Psychology (Teaching Assistant). Fall 1993 – Spring 1994.
New York University, NY. Introduction to Statistics (Teaching Assistant). Fall 1992.
Graduate Committees
- Kevin Purce, CUNY
- Sam Marquand, Animal Behavior & Conservation Program, Hunter College
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