1. His PhD (University of Bonn (Universität Bonn), Germany) focuses on the “Origin and diversification of hoverflies: a revision of the genera Asarkina and Allobaccha (Diptera: Syrphidae)” as part of the European Union’s BIG4 Consortium on Biosystematics, informatics and genomics of the big 4 insect groups (http://big4-project.eu/). Trevor will revise Asarkina and Allobaccha of the Afrotropical and Indomalayan regions, and place the genera within the family using the latest Anchored Hybrid-Enrichment techniques.
Unit: Diptera
Project Lead: Dr. Ximo Mengual, Dr. Bernhard Misof (ZFMK)
Funding: European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 642241.
2. His MSc. (Carleton University, Ottawa) thesis under Dr. Jeffrey H. Skevington (AAFG-CNC) involved a revision of the Nearctic Conopidae with research carried out at the Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes. All eight genera were treated with many new species described. Trevor has been published in The Canadian Entomologist and Fossil Record and is working on several revision papers for Zootaxa and other journals, including a paper on specialized conopid genitalia, a new seven-specimen Myopinae fossil description, and a physiology and biomechanics paper on the oviposition of Stylogaster.
Unit: Diptera
Project Lead: Dr. Jeffrey H. Skevington, Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes, Agriculture Canada
Funding: NSERC
3. His honours thesis (Trent University, Peterborough: BSc.) examined species richness and diversity of carabid beetles between disturbed and undisturbed habitats.
Unit: Entomology, Trent University
Project Lead: Trevor Burt
Funding: Black Oaks Savannah Native Reserve
4. The INDOBIOSYS project (financed by the BMBF at Naturkundemuseum Berlin) deals with the integrative inventory of different animal groups at the Halimun-Salak Nationalpark on Java, Indonesia. The goal of this ongoing project is the speedy inventory of the biodiversity of a variety of habitats within the national park in partnership with Indonesian counterparts. The INDOBIOSYS Diptera section of this project was to sample and identify flies from the region with special focus on Syrphidae.
Unit: Diptera
Project lead: Dr. Thomas von Rintelen, Museum für Naturkunde
Funding: Federal Ministry of Education and Research
