Sankurie Pye
Specific responsibility: Curation and collection development of Mollusca and brachiopod collections (worldwide).
Research interests/expertise: Taxonomy and biogeography of the British Hydrobiidae (mud snails). Ecologically orientated work has included studies of the distribution of the molluscan faunas around Britain.
Sankurie studied Marine and Environmental Biology at the University of St. Andrews before joining the National Museums Scotland in 1997 as Assistant Curator of Marine Invertebrates, Molluscs and Lower Vertebrates. She later specialised in the care and development of the Invertebrate Biology Collections with specific responsibility for the molluscan and brachiopod collections.
Her current work is centered on making collections more accessible to all, for example increasing accessibility of specimen data. Her research is specimen based and has included the distribution and taxonomy of brackish water Hydrobiid snails in Britain and the distribution of molluscan faunas around Britain. She is also passionate about raising the profile of marine issues and introducing Ocean Literacy to non-specialist audiences through museum collections.
Selected publications
Oliver P.G., Groh, K., Ablett, J.D., Backeljau, T., van der Bijl, B., Geraghty, A., Hof, S., Ismail, L., Mienis, H.K., Morgenroth, H., Preece, R.C., Pye, S., Rosenberg, G., Strong, E.E., Trimble, J., Wood, H. 2023. Recognising Type Specimens in a Dispersed Collection. The Macaronesian Land Mollusca Described by R. T. Lowe. Colligo 6 (2): https://revue-colligo.fr/?id=89
Chambers, S., Pye, S. and Ware, F. 2015. Request for Specimens of Specialist Species of Saline Lagoons in the British Isles. Bulletin of the Porcupine Marine Natural History Society (4): 55-62.
Howson, C.M., Chambers, S.J., Pye, S.E. & Ware, F.W. 2014. Uist Lagoons Survey. Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 787.
Chevalier, M., Pye, S., Porter, J., & Chambers, S. 2014. Hydrobiidae on North Uist. Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 559.
Johnson, Mark P., Pye, Sankurie E. and Allcock, A. Louise. 2008. Dispersal mode and assessments of recovery on the shores of Gruinard, the ‘anthrax island’. Biodiversity and Conservation 17 (4): 721-732.
Johnson, Mark P., Allcock, A. Louise, Pye, Sankurie E., Chambers, Susan and Fitton, D. M. 2001. The effects of dispersal mode on the spatial distribution patterns of intertidal molluscs. Journal of Animal Ecology 70 (4): 641-649.
Swinney, Geoffrey N., Holmes, M., Blackadder, J. S. and Pye, Sankurie E. 1999. A long-finned specimen of Beryx decadactylus caught in the North-eastern Atlantic of Rockall. Journal of Fish Biology 54 (1): 208-212.
For further publications see the National Museums Scotland Research Repository.