Collections & Research Staff

Judith Eger
Senior Curator
Mammalogy

B.A., Zoology, Botany, Carleton University, 1967
M.Sc., Zoology, University of Toronto, 1973
Ph.D., Zoology, University of Toronto, 1984

Judith Eger is Senior Curator of Mammalogy and Deputy Head of the Department of Natural History at the ROM.  She has worked at the ROM since the fall of 1968, completing two graduate degrees in the early part of her career. 

Judith was born and raised in Dryden, Ontario. Her academic interests focus on mammalian systematics and evolution (including speciation, zoogeography and phylogeny), concentrating on bats and arctic mammals, the topics of her M.Sc. and Ph.D. theses. Since 1970, she has conducted and participated in collecting trips in Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Nunavut, Colombia, Caribbean Islands, Kenya, Vietnam and China (see podcast by Burton Lim of Judith at work in China). Her current research focuses on the systematics and biogeography of the bats of southeast Asia, and is an extension of her earlier work on the biogeography of the bats of Madagascar, examining the affinities of Madagascar bats to African and Asian species using morphological and genetic data.

Along with other ROM curators, Judith is working with the University of Guelph on a project to sequence the COI gene for the mammal tissue collection at the ROM. Referred to as the "Bar Code of Life Data Systems" (BOLD), and lead by Paul Hebert at the University of Guelph, the project will provide baseline sequences for mammals from Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, southeast Asia and China. In addition to providing a species identification tool, these sequences are being used in individual research projects.

Recent Publications

In press	Eger, J.L., T.P. Birt, A. Gunn and A.J. Baker. "Genetic Diversity and History of Peary Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) in North America." In Proceedings from the caribou genetics and relationships workshop, Edmonton, Alberta, 8-9 March 2003, edited by K. McFarlane, A. Gunn and C. Strobeck. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Manuscript Report.
2008	Eger, J.L. "Molossidae." In The Mammals of South America, edited by Alfred L. Gardner. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp 399-439.
2007	Clare, E.L., B.K. Lim, M.D. Engstrom, J.L. Eger, and P.D. Hebert. "DNA Barcoding of Neotropical bats: species identification and discovery within Guyana." Molecular Ecology Notes, 7: 184-190.
2003	Eger, J.L. and M.B. Fenton. "Rhinolophus paradoxolophus." Mammalian Species No. 731, pp. 1-4, 3 figs.
2003	Eger, J.L. and L. Mitchell. "Chiroptera, Bats." In The Natural History of Madagascar, edited by  S.M. Goodman and J.P. Benstead. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp 1287-1298.

Research Projects
Phylogenetic relationships among dog-faced bats of the genus Cynopterus
Phylogeny of the tube-nosed bats of the genus Murina
Barcoding mammals at the ROM

Galleries
Bat Cave

ROM Images
Mammals

Podcasts

A Day in the Field
January 25, 2007
Assistant Curator Burton Lim describes a typical day of fieldwork in China, from preparing bat and rodent specimens to recording field notes, and of course enjoying camp meals.

Video Podcast (4 MB, 1m 28s)
Written Transcript (PDF)

Contact Information
Royal Ontario Museum
Department of Natural History
100 Queen's Park
Toronto, ON
M5S 2C6

Tel: 416.586.5767
Fax: 416.586.7921/5553
E-mail: judithe@rom.on.ca

 

 

Judith Eger in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China, 2006. Photo credit: B. Lim.

Judith at the field site, Jing Xin County Nature Reserve, Guangxi, China 2004. © S. Bush.

Rhinolophus paradoxolophus - Bourret's Horseshoe Bat, Huilong, Guizhou, China.