For Shahan Derkarabetian, a fascination with insects won out over any initial fear. There was his informal study of the bugs in his childhood neighborhood, to earning degrees in biology (with an emphasis in zoology) and evolutionary biology from San Diego State University, working as a post-doctoral fellow and research associate at Harvard, to his current position as the new curator of entomology at the San Diego Natural History Museum.
“As a biology undergrad, I wanted to work in a museum, but curator positions are rare. For most of my career, I aimed for a university professor position instead, but while working as a researcher at Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology. … I enjoyed it immensely and ed that this is what I want to do,” he said. “It was an opportunity to work and make a difference in a part of the world that is important to me, personally.”
Derkarabetian, 39, lives in University Heights and has family throughout Southern California. He took some time to talk about his new position, studying at-risk habitats in San Diego County, working with community scientists who provide invaluable contributions, and how his mother says a young Shahan used to put bugs in a curious location.
Q: My mother has talked about finding snails, frogs, and crickets in my younger brother’s pockets when we were kids — I’m curious about your own introduction to insects. What do you recall of your earliest interactions with them, and when did you know you wanted to study them professionally?
A: My mom tells me when I was a kid, I put rollie pollies [pill bugs] in my nose. I grew up in a neighborhood that was on the edge of development, so nature was just across the street. My first significant memory of anything related to insects was flipping a rock and seeing a very large centipede. It scared me at first, but I couldn’t look away. After that, I started flipping rocks and watching ant nests. The desire to study them didn’t hit me until late undergrad as a biology major at SDSU, when I took the terrestrial arthropods class taught by Dr. Marshal Hedin. The class involved collecting and identifying insects and arachnids, and that hooked me. I spent a lot of time in the classroom and he eventually asked me if I wanted to help out in his lab. That transitioned to a master’s degree and it steamrolled from there.
Q: I understand that you specifically focus on a segment of arachnids known as Opiliones (or, daddy longlegs). What is it about them that you’ve found captivating enough to continue studying and researching?
A: One of the things that first interested me is just how little is known about them compared to other groups of animals, and that lack of knowledge started with me. It wasn’t until I took that arthropods class in college that I found out they even existed. I saw my first one on a class field trip to Palomar Mountain. It was this new thing to me, and I wanted to find out more. Then I learned that there was still so much unknown about them and there are many new species waiting to be named. I said “Alright, I have to do this,” and the more I learned about them, the more questions I had.
What I love about University Heights…
University Heights is quiet, low key, and largely walkable. There is a park nearby, some of my favorite places to eat, and a cool brewery that is new to me. Plus, it’s close enough to the museum that I can ride my bike to work. And, on some days around sunset, there is a 15-minute parade of crows that fly by making all of the crow noises, and I just sit on my balcony and enjoy this.
Q: In a news release announcing your position at the museum, it mentions that you’ve worked with “historically understudied arachnids.” Can you give us a brief overview of these daddy longlegs spiders and what your research has revealed about their place in nature?
A: First, the differences between Opiliones and spiders, because most people think I’m talking about spiders. All spiders are arachnids, but not all arachnids are spiders. For example, scorpions and ticks are arachnids, but not spiders. Same with Opiliones. Spiders have two body parts, while Opiliones only have one; they are essentially a ball with legs. Opiliones do not have fangs or venom, do not make silk, and are harmless. I urge everyone to get on the internet and look at Opiliones photos! What my research has revealed is that anytime you ask questions about Opiliones, you get very interesting answers that are often unique and not found in any other organisms. They have their stories to tell.
Q: One of the first things on your list of things to pursue as curator of entomology is to look at “understudied, at-risk habitats around San Diego County”? What are some of these habitats?
A: Unfortunately, there are many threatened habitats in San Diego County, some examples being coastal sage scrub, coastal sand dunes, and vernal pools. These are habitats that once were found over a very large portion of San Diego County. Human development, agriculture, and of course, climate change are the main immediate threats. For example, the tops of our mountains have forests. As the climate warms, those forests move up in elevation to stay cool, but at some point, those forest habitats will run out of mountain. One goal of mine is to explore mountain tops of southern California to see what’s there and how, or if, it’s adapting.
Q: Can you talk a bit about your point of view on the role of community scientists in your work?
A: My primary community science tool is iNaturalist and there the community scientists are anybody and everybody who has a camera or camera phone. Community scientists are the locals who know the area best, who are out routinely making observations, potentially finding new or rare species. They have collected specimens for me, helped me identify important habitats, and have even come along on my fieldwork. Community scientists may have no academic training, but are extremely knowledgeable about a group of organisms. They identify tens of thousands of observations, essentially creating useful data sets. I know several iNaturalist Opiliones experts and our knowledge exchange goes in both directions. Community scientists can (and do) make significant contributions that deserve recognition, and I hope to include San Diego and Baja community scientists in my research here.
Q: How do you respond to the occasional arachnid visitor you find in your home, or in your neighborhood?
A: It depends on the species, actually. If it’s a web-building spider, I will let it be. If it is a wandering spider, which are usually males looking for a female, I will catch and release it outside and wish it all the best in its search. One year, during a hot and humid summer on the east coast, a jumping spider had moved into my apartment. I made a little retreat for it to hide under and left water for it to drink. We were roommates for six months. If I see a spider that is already outside, I’ll take a photo and it to iNaturalist. And you should, too!
Q: What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
A: Do not compare yourself to others. A simple statement, but hard to realize. There was always someone doing something, or was somehow, “better.” For me, those thoughts led to anxiety and stress. I struggled with this in grad school and it grew when I started working at Harvard. I quickly learned I needed to stop. Once I achieved this, a lot of stress and worry went away. It’s no longer “they did better than me,” it’s now a genuine “good for them.”
Q: What is one thing people would be surprised to find out about you?
A: I was born and raised in Southern California, I’ve lived here for 32 of my 39 years on this planet, and I’ve never surfed, and have no desire to. In fact, I’m not really a fan of the beach. Sorry, San Diego. It’s the mountains and desert for me.
Q: Please describe your ideal San Diego weekend.
A: It would include a long, meandering hike with my camera somewhere like Mission Trails Regional Park or in East County; some good Mexican food; hanging out at one of the many breweries with friends; perhaps a rooftop sunset; and then probably some more Mexican food.
