Sara Lewis

Lewis graduated from Harvard College with an AB in Biology in 1976.^[6] After Harvard, she studied at Duke University where she earned a Ph.D. in Zoology in 1984. Based at a Smithsonian Institution marine station off the coast of Belize, Lewis' graduate work focused on the subject of coral reef ecology, examining the mechanisms behind which herbivorous fish grazing mediates competitive interactions between seaweeds and reef-building corals.^[7][8][9]

In 1985, Lewis returned to Harvard where she spent the next five years as a postdoctoral fellow in organismic and evolutionary biology.^[10] Her postdoctoral research analyzed the subject of sexual selection in fireflies and flour beetles.^[11]

In 1991, Lewis joined the faculty at the Tufts University Department of Biology.^[6] Lewis has taught classes in biostatistics, ecology, and science communication as well as classes more closely related to her research including Edible Insects and Evaluating Firefly Extinction Risk Seminar.^[9][12]

Lewis' research work has focused on coral reef ecology, the evolution of reproductive behavior in insects, and fireflies.^[13][14] Lewis has published research on these topics including demonstrating that both cryptic female choice and male sperm competition contribute to postcopulatory sexual selection in Tribolium flour beetles;^[15] showing that Photinus firefly females choose mates based on male flash characteristics;^[16] revealing the presence,^[17] coevolution,^[18] and composition^[19] of firefly nuptial gifts; and describing how hermit crabs queue up to form vacancy chains that distribute resource benefits to multiple crabs.^[20][21]

Lewis is a founding member of Fireflyers International, a group dedicated to the conservation of fireflies and their habitats.^[6] Since 2018, Lewis has worked with the Species Survival Commission of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as co-chair of the Firefly Specialist Group, a team of international experts who identified the key threats faced by fireflies, which include habitat degradation, light pollution, pesticides, and climate change.^{[22][23][24][25]}