Biology:Sheila Colla
Sheila Colla | |
|---|---|
| Born | 4 May 1982 East York, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | 6 July 2025 (aged 43) |
| Awards |
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| Academic background | |
| Education |
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| Thesis | The Ecology and Conservation of Eastern North American Bumblebees (2012) |
| Doctoral advisor | Laurence Packer |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Conservation biology |
| Sub-discipline | Melittology |
Sheila Rafaella Colla (4 May 1982 – 6 July 2025) was a Canadian conservation biologist specialising in wild bumblebees, and an advocate for increasing diversity in entomology. Her work with the rusty patched bumblebee led to the first listing of a bumblebee as endangered in both Canada and the United States
Early life and education
Sheila Rafaella Colla was born 4 May 1982 in East York,[1] to parents who came from Trinidad and Italy and were teachers.[2] She was brought up in the Greater Toronto area of Canada. She was interested in nature from a young age and studied zoology at University of Toronto, graduating in 2005. She focused on biodiversity and went on to study for a doctoral degree in York University with Laurence Packer,[3] graduating in 2012.[1]
Scientific career
Colla was appointed to York University in 2015, after working at University of Toronto between 2014 and 2015. She was a tenured assistant professor at York University, holding a research chair in interdisciplinary conservation science. She was also executive committee member at the university's Centre for Bee Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation.[4]
Colla's research since 2004 focused on bees, especially wild bee population biology, conservation and their roles as pollinators and in sustainable agriculture. In her PhD research, she recorded the decline in rusty patched bumblebee[5] using museum specimens and field observations[6] and used it to raise public awareness, resulting in this species being listed as endangered in the USA and Canada in 2012. The reasons for the very substantial decline of this species are partly understood.[7]
Colla was the North American Coordinator for the IUCN Red List Bumblebee Specialist Group.[4] Colla also studied community science programmes and stakeholder perception, including writing books about bumblebees for the general public. She was active in raising awareness of the need for more diversity within the academic community of entomologists.[2][8]
Colla was co-founder of Bumble Bee Watch in 2014, a community science project with over 5,000 observers created to track and conserve North America's bumble bees that has received media attention.[9][10][11][12] Her public outreach also addressed strategies for improving Canadian landscapes for insects, particularly in gardens and urban locations.[13][14]
Personal life
Colla married Marc Michalak in 2011. They had 2 children, born in 2013 and 2016. Colla died on 6 July 2025 of mesothelioma.[4][15] She is buried in St. John's Norway Cemetery in Toronto.[1]
Publications
Colla was the author or co-author of 3 books, 2 book chapters and over 50 scientific publications. The books include:
- Johnson, Lorraine; Colla, Sheila (2023). A Northern Gardener's Guide to Native Plants and Pollinators. Washington, DC: Island Press. ISBN 978-1-64283-299-0.
- Johnson, Lorraine; Colla, Sheila (2022). A Garden for the Rusty-patched Bumblebee: Creating Habitat for Native Pollinators. Madeira Park, BC: Douglas & McIntyre. ISBN 978-1-77162-323-0.
- Williams, Paul; Thorp, Robbin W.; Richardson, Leif; Colla, Sheila (2014). Bumble Bees of North America: An Identification Guide. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-15222-6. http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy1410/2013945435-t.html.
Colla's scientific publications include:
- MacPhail, Victoria J.; Hatfield, Richard; Colla, Sheila R. (2024-05-22). "Bumble Bee Watch community science program increases scientific understanding of an important pollinator group across Canada and the USA". PLOS ONE 19 (5). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0303335. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 11111064. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0303335.
- MacPhail, Victoria J.; Colla, Sheila R. (2020-09-01). "Power of the people: A review of citizen science programs for conservation". Biological Conservation 249. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108739. ISSN 0006-3207. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320720307977.
- Kerr, Jeremy T.; Pindar, Alana; Galpern, Paul; Packer, Laurence; Potts, Simon G.; Roberts, Stuart M.; Rasmont, Pierre; Schweiger, Oliver et al. (2015-07-10). "Climate change impacts on bumblebees converge across continents". Science 349 (6244): 177–180. doi:10.1126/science.aaa7031. https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.aaa7031.
- Bartomeus, Ignasi; Ascher, John S.; Wagner, David; Danforth, Bryan N.; Colla, Sheila; Kornbluth, Sarah; Winfree, Rachael (2011-12-20). "Climate-associated phenological advances in bee pollinators and bee-pollinated plants". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108 (51): 20645–20649. doi:10.1073/pnas.1115559108. https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1115559108.
- Colla, Sheila R.; Packer, Laurence (2008-06-01). "Evidence for decline in eastern North American bumblebees (Hymenoptera: Apidae), with special focus on Bombus affinis Cresson". Biodiversity and Conservation 17 (6): 1379–1391. doi:10.1007/s10531-008-9340-5. ISSN 1572-9710. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-008-9340-5.
Awards and honours
Colla was awarded the Entomological Society of Canada C. Gordon Hewitt Award in 2021 for outstanding contribution to entomology in Canada within 12 years of being awarded a PhD.[6], the President's Research Impact Award from York University in 2024 for the way her research had influenced government policy[16], an Ontario Nature Education award in 2024[17] and the NSERC Award for Science Promotion in 2024[18] She received the King Charles III Coronation Medal in 2025.[19]
Colla's 2014 book Bumble Bees of North America: An Identification Guide was listed on the American Library Association's Outstanding References Sources list in 2015.[20]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Sheila Colla Obituary". https://www.heritagefuneralcentre.ca/obituaries/Sheila-Rafaella-Colla?obId=43309105.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Liliefeldt, Mimi (17 April 2024). "Black Lives Here: Dr. Sheila Colla, entomologist, professor and social justice champion, takes on cancer battle". Beach Metro Community News. https://beachmetro.com/2024/04/17/black-lives-here-dr-sheila-colla-entomologist-professor-and-social-justice-champion-takes-on-cancer-battle/.
- ↑ "Laurence Packer lab - current and past members". https://www.yorku.ca/bugsrus/PCYU/LabMembers.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Sheila R. Colla". https://euc.yorku.ca/faculty/sheila-r-colla/.
- ↑ Colla, S R; Packer, L (2008). "Evidence for decline in eastern North American bumblebees (Hymenoptera: Apidae), with special focus on Bombus affinis Cresson.". Biodiversity and Conservation 17 (6): 1379–1391. doi:10.1007/s10531-008-9340-5. Bibcode: 2008BiCon..17.1379C. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-008-9340-5.. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Sheila Colla C. Gordon Hewitt Award /Prix C. Gordon Hewitt". Bulletin - Entomological Society of Canada 53 (3): 128. 2021. https://esc-sec.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2021-3-Sept-ESCBull.pdf. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
- ↑ "Rusty-patched Bumble Bee (Bombus affinis): COSEWIC assessment and status report 2022". 18 October 2023. https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry/cosewic-assessments-status-reports/rusty-patched-bumble-bee-2022.html#toc11.
- ↑ "Women in Conservation – Dr. Sheila Colla". 8 March 2021. https://scbnorthamerica.org/index.php/general/women-in-conservation-dr-sheila-colla/.
- ↑ MacPhail, Victoria J.; Hatfield, Richard; Colla, Sheila R. (2024). "Bumble Bee Watch community science program increases scientific understanding of an important pollinator group across Canada and the USA". PlosONE 19 (5). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0303335. PMID 38776282. Bibcode: 2024PLoSO..1903335M.
- ↑ "Colla Conservation Science Lab". http://www.SaveTheBumbleBees.ca.
- ↑ Munro, Margaret. "To bee or not to bee: Endangered species vanishing without explanation". https://ottawacitizen.com/news/canada/to-bee-or-not-to-bee-endangered-species-vanishing-without-explanation.
- ↑ "What a buzz: How to help save the bees with your smartphone". https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/what-on-earth-newsletter-save-bees-smartphone-1.5225190.
- ↑ Colla, Sheila (13 May 2022). "The surprising downside of #NoMowMay". https://www.rewildingmag.com/no-mow-may-downside/.
- ↑ Johnson, Lorraine; Colla, Sheila. "All about bees: Common misconceptions, helping pollinators and how to actually 'save the bees'". https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/all-about-bees-common-misconceptions-helping-pollinators-and-how-to-actually-save-the-bees/.
- ↑ Allen, Kate (2025-08-03). "‘Sheila just went for it’: York University scientist Sheila Colla remembered as a fierce advocate to save wild bees". The Toronto Star. ISSN 0319-0781. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/sheila-just-went-for-it-york-university-scientist-sheila-colla-remembered-as-a-fierce-advocate/article_404ee61c-94cb-480e-9744-e662840291b2.html.
- ↑ "York honours 68 outstanding faculty members at the annual Research Awards Celebration". 20 September 2024. https://www.yorku.ca/yfile/2024/09/20/york-honours-68-outstanding-faculty-members-at-the-annual-research-awards-celebration/.
- ↑ "Education Award". 9 June 2024. https://ontarionature.org/conservation-awards-2023-blog/#:~:text=Her%20efforts%20galvanized%20a%20community,a%20successful%20community%20science%20project.
- ↑ "NSERC Awards for Science Promotion - Winners 2024 Dr. Sheila Colla — Associate Professor, Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change, York University". https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/prizes-prix/sciencepromotion-promotionscience/Winners-LaureatesLaureats_eng.asp.
- ↑ "Universities Canada congratulates recipients of the King Charles III Coronation Medal". 11 February 2025. https://univcan.ca/news/universities-canada-congratulates-recipients-of-the-king-charles-iii-coronation-medal/.
- ↑ "Outstanding Reference Sources 2015". Reference & User Services Quarterly 54 (4): 69. 2015. ISSN 10949054. https://journals.ala.org/index.php/rusq/article/viewFile/5713/7110. Retrieved 2025-10-23.
External links
- Colla Conservation Science Lab
- {{Google Scholar ID}} template missing ID and not present in Wikidata.
- Expression of Condolence for Sheila Colla by Toronto City Council
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