Ms Emma Sherlock
Senior Curator, Free-living worms
Division: LS Invertebrates Division
Summary
Acting Senior Curator in Charge for the Freeliving and Parasitic worm Collections. My main area for responsibility are the Annelid collections at the Museum. They are the segmented worms incorporating Polychaetes, Oligochaetes and leeches. However I also manage some of the 'worm like' Minor Phyla such as the Nematodes (free-living), Nemerteans, Kinorhynchs and Priapulids.
These collections span hundreds of years of collecting and exploration with specimens from the collection of Sir Hans Sloane and the Challenger expedition through to some of the most recent deep sea explorations.
My taxonomic research focuses on earthworms. I am the Chair of the Earthworm Society of Britain and publish papers on earthworm taxonomy primarily. I also carry out research into Collections best practise across the board from wet collections, slides, risk management and the historical aspects of the collections in my care.
I work closely with Internal colleagues in particular the Polychaeta research group http://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/our-work/biodiversity/deep-sea-systematics-ecology-group.html and Soil biodiversity group and a number of external colleagues globally.
Grants
Investigating the soil biodiversity of western Madagascar for ecosystem restoration
Role: Principal investigatorEggleton P
Role: Co-investigator
Funding: DEFRA
Total value £8,038 (to Museum £8,038)
Dates: 2019 - 2020
Fieldwork
Vietnam
2012 - 2012.
Nicaragua
2009 - 2015.
Romania
2008 - 2008.
UK
2007 - 2018.
Committees
Chair, Earthworm Society of Britain,
Publications
Csuzdi C, Szederjesi T, Sherlock E (2018) Annotated checklist of earthworm species described by András Zicsi. Zootaxa, 4496 : 11 - 42.
Neal L, Linse K, Brasier MJ, Sherlock E, Glover AG (2018) Comparative marine biodiversity and depth zonation in the Southern Ocean: evidence from a new large polychaete dataset from Scotia and Amundsen seas. Marine Biodiversity, 48 (1) : 581 - 601. doi: 10.1007/s12526-017-0735-y
Sherlock E, Csuzdi C, Shen H-P (2018) Two new Lumbricid earthworm occurrences for Taiwan: Eisenia anzac & Eisenia japonica japonica. Taiwanese Journal of Biodiversity, 20 (1) : 1 - 8.
Csuzdi C, Sherlock E, Kouete MT, Doherty-Bone TM (2015) Four New Earthworm Species from the Highlands of Cameroon with Description of a New GenusOkudrilusgen. n. (Oligochaeta: Eudrilidae & Acanthodrilidae). African Invertebrates, 56 (1) : 25 - 38. doi: 10.5733/afin.056.0103
Caroline Ware , miranda lowe , duncan sivell , anne baker , Tristan Bantock , maxwell barclay , Gay Carr , Larissa Cooper , Len Ellis , Martin Hall , Eric Hollowday , Martin Honey , Dave John , John Martin , Notton DG, Daniel Osborne , Adrian Rundle , Emma Sherlock , Bryan Tabor , Thomas J. Thomas , Holger Thüs , John Tovey , Pat Wolseley (2016) Further developments of the flora and fauna of the Wildlife Garden at the Natural History Museum, London –Twenty years of species recording. London Naturalist, 95 : 45 - 159.
Hall A, Sherlock E, Sykes D (2015) Does Micro-CT scanning damage DNA in museum specimens?. Journal of Natural Science Collections, 2 : 22 - 28.
Sherlock E, Neal L, Glover AG (2014) 100 years of deep-sea tubeworms in the collections of the Natural History Museum, London. Journal of Natural Science Collections, 2 : 47 - 53.
Allington-Jones L, Sherlock E (2014) Snagged setae: Evaluating alternatives to cotton wool bungs for liquid-stored specimens. Collection Forum, 28 (1-2) : 1 - 7. doi: 10.14351/0831-0005-28.1.1
Carpenter D, Sherlock E, Sandhu R, Eggleton P (2013) Differences in nest structure influence the importance ofFormica rufagroup (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) wood ant nests as refugia for earthworms. Journal of Natural History, 47 (35-36) : 2305 - 2309. doi: 10.1080/00222933.2012.763063
Sherlock E, Csuzdi C (2013) Two new earthworm species from Belize (Oligochaeta: Acanthodrilidae). Journal of Natural History, 47 (29-30) : 1911 - 1919. doi: 10.1080/00222933.2013.770931
Carpenter D, Hammond PM, Sherlock E, Lidgett A, Leigh K, Eggleton P (2012) Biodiversity of soil macrofauna in the New Forest: a benchmark study across a national park landscape. Biodiversity and Conservation, 21 (13) : 3385 - 3410. doi: 10.1007/s10531-012-0369-0
Carpenter D, Sherlock E, Jones DT, Chiminoides J, Writer T, Neilson R, Boag B, Keith AM, Eggleton P (2012) Erratum to: Mapping of earthworm distribution for the British Isles and Eire highlights the under-recording of an ecologically important group. Biodiversity and Conservation, 21 (8) : 2173 - 2175. doi: 10.1007/s10531-012-0310-6
Carpenter D, Sherlock E, Jones DT, Chiminoides J, Writer T, Neilson R, Boag B, Keith AM, Eggleton P (2012) Mapping of earthworm distribution for the British Isles and Eire highlights the under-recording of an ecologically important group. Biodiversity and Conservation, 21 (2) : 475 - 485. doi: 10.1007/s10531-011-0194-x
Sherlock E, Berridge L (2012) In Memoriam Reginald William Sims. Opuscula Zoologica (Budapest), 43 : 101 - 105.
SHERLOCK E (2012) A Key to the Earthworms of the UK and Ireland.. AIDGAP (Aids to the Identification of Difficult Groups of Animals and Plants) :
SHERLOCK E, Lee S, McPhee S, Steer M, Michel J, Maes & Csaba Csuzdi. (2011) The first earthworm collections from Nicaragua with description of two new species (Oligochaeta). Zootaxa, 49 - 58.
Boros G, Sherlock E (2010) Catalogue of the enchytreid collection (Oligochaeta: Enchytreidae) of the Natural History Museum in London. Spirit Collection. Opuscula Zoologica Instituti Zoosystematici et Oecologici Universitatis Budapestinensis, 41 (1) : 19 - 27.
Eggleton P, Inward K, Smith J, Jones DT, Sherlock E (2009) A six year study of earthworm (Lumbricidae) populations in pasture woodland in southern England shows their responses to soil temperature and soil moisture. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 41 (9) : 1857 - 1865. doi: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2009.06.007
Sherlock E, Carpenter D (2009) An updated earthworm list for the British Isles and two new ‘exotic’ species to Britain from Kew Gardens. European Journal of Soil Biology, 45 (5-6) : 431 - 435. doi: 10.1016/j.ejsobi.2009.07.002
Sherlock E, JONES DT (2008) A field guide to British earthworms to support a national survey, In: Advances in Earthworm Taxonomy III (Annelida: Oligochaeta). Proceedings of the 3rd International Oligochaeta Taxonomy Meeting. Platres, Cyprus, 2nd to 6th April, 2007, Pavlicek T, Cardet P (Eds). ProEnvironmental Services of the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources & Environment of the Republic of Cyprus : 225 - 228.
Allington-Jones L, Sherlock E (2007) Choosing a microscope slide sealant: a review of aging characteristics and the development of a new test, using low oxygen environments. NatSCA News, 12/13 : 12: 28-32 - 13: 11-13.
Sherlock E, Berridge L (2012) History of the earthworm collections at the Natural History Museum, London (Oligochaeta), In: null, null : 177 - 187.
Invited and keynote speaker
Keynote speaker, Earthworms: The state of the nation, Advances in Soil Biology: Advances in Soil Biology, University of Roehampton, London Borough of Wandsworth, United Kingdom, 18/4/2018.
Invited speaker, Inselect - applying computer vision to facilitate rapid record creation and metadata capture, Entomological Collections Network 2016 annual meeting: Orlando, United States, 24/9/2016.
"To slide or not to slide" – How do we scan the Natural History Museum's slide collections?, SPNHC 2016: 24/6/2016.
Media
Broadcasts
Gardeners World, Earthworms in gardens- ecological groups and importance, BBC, Don M, 12/10/2018.
Autumnwatch, British earthworms, BBC, Hughes-Games M, 25/10/2017.
Midweek, Earthworms, BBC, Purves L, 11/5/2016. Interview on Midweek- earthworms
Natures weirdest events, Nemertean worms, bbc, 15/10/2015.
Natures Weirdest Events, Polychaete worm found damaging fish in Aquariums- the Bobbit worm (Eunice aphroditois), BBC, 13/1/2015.
Springwatch, Earthworms, 6/6/2012.
The Worm Hunters, Documentary on scientists that study earthworms, National Geographic, 1/5/2011.
Museum of Life, Earthworms and the launch of the Earthworm Society of Britain, BBC, Bonnin L, 1/3/2010. Episode 1 - Museum in a modern world
Articles
BBC Focus Magazine, A profile on Emma Sherlock, Pilcher H, 1/3/2018. Profile- Emma Sherlock and earthworms
BBC Wildlife Magazine, British earthworms (Title: The worm Whisperer), Pilcher H, 1/3/2017. Emma Sherlock- The Worm Whisperer