It's a timely and important topic. 

It deals with global change ecology, which, basically, is the study of how ecosystems react to global environmental changes.

Mitzy Porras, assistant professor of global change ecology in the Department of Biology,  San Francisco State University (SFSU) will discuss "Manipulation of Plant and Insect Phenotypes" at her Feb. 10th seminar hosted by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.

Porras will speak at 4:10 p.m., in 122 Briggs Hall, UC Davis campus, and via Zoom. The Zoom link:  https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/95882849672/

"Understanding mechanisms underlying the effects of environmental fluctuations on parasite-host interactions is critical to ecology," Porras says in her abstract. "Here, we showed that a virus increased vector heat tolerance in 8 °C by the upregulation of three new heat shock proteins. The viral-induced heat tolerance reduced the vector's competition with other species, leading to the host's niche expansion."

"This finding indicates that we cannot expect to understand how an organism responds to the environment by studying it alone, as viral infections might change its performance. This new dimension opens a wide array of research avenues with fundamental and applied implications for disease dynamics in natural and managed ecosystems."

Porras, who joined the SFSU faculty in May of 2024, after serving as a scientific researcher and postdoctoral scholar at Pennsylvania State University, holds a bachelor's degree in biology and ecology (2009) from Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Colombia, and a doctorate  (2018) in community ecology from Pennsylvania State University.

"We study how global change drivers alter interactions among species (microbes, plants, invertebrates) and the implications on the structure and function of populations and communities," Porras writes on her lab website. "With an approach ranging from gene to ecosystem and from physiology to emerging ecological patterns, our work encompasses molecular biology, physiology, behavioral analysis, population and community ecology, GIS, as well as electrical engineering. Our results play a pivotal role in informing ecosystem management strategies."

Nematologist Amanda Hodson, assistant professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, coordinates the weekly seminars, held every Monday at 4:10 p.m. in 122 Briggs Hall. She may be reached at akhodson@ucdavis.edu for any Zoom issues. The seminar recordings are archived at https://entnem.ucdavis.edu/seminars.

Congratulations to all the newly announced recipients of awards from the Pacific Branch, Entomological Society of America (PBESA)! 

Honors well deserved! Capsule information on our four UC Davis-affiliated award recipients:

Professor Jason Bond, described as “a powerhouse in the world of systematics and arachnology,” won the Systematics, Evolution, and Biodiversity Award. He is indeed a powerhouse! Professor Bond serves as the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair in the Department of Entomology and Nematology, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology, and associate dean, UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. He is president-elect of the American Arachnological Society. Bond was nominated by molecular geneticist and physiologist Joanna Chiu, professor and chair of the Department of Entomology and Nematology.

Doctoral candidate Mia Lippey, described as an "awe-inspiring entomologist who not only excels in leadership, but in research, academics, public service, science communication, computer programming, and scientific illustrations," is the winner of the Student Leadership Award. She is mentored by UC Davis Distinguished Professor (now emeritus) Jay Rosenheim, an insect biologist, and assistant professor Emily Meineke, an urban landscape entomologist. Lippey was nominated by molecular geneticist and physiologist Joanna Chiu, professor and chair of the Department of Entomology and Nematology.

Undergraduate Kaitai Liu, a senior majoring in entomology and a member of the Jason Bond lab, is the winner of the fourth annual Dr. Stephen Garczynski Undergraduate Research Scholarship. He is a member of the campuswide Research Scholars Program in Insect Biology (RSPIB), which accepts 6 to 10 academically strong and highly motivated undergraduates a year in its program.  (This program was founded by three UC Davis entomologists: Jay Rosenheim, Joanna Chiu and Louie Yang.) Liu was nominated by Professor Jason Bond. We are deeply honored that UC Davis undergraduates have received three of the four undergraduate research awards.

Kudos to UC Davis doctoral alumnus Douglas Walsh,  professor and Cooperative Extension specialist at Washington State University, who received the C. W. Woodworth Award, the highest award given by PBESA.  Walsh, an integrated pest management (IPM) specialist and ESA Fellow, is internationally known for his research on the modes of action and resistance mechanisms of acaricides on spider mites and regionally in the Pacific Northwest for his Extension and outreach efforts on specialty crops. 

Walsh received his doctorate in entomology from UC Davis in 1998, studying with IPM specialist Frank Zalom, now a UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus and the 2011 ecipient of the Woodworth award. In a letter of support, Zalom (an Honorary Member and past president of ESA who has known Walsh for more than 35 years) wrote in part: "His career achievements in research, extension, graduate student mentorship and service are outstanding. He is well respected nationally for his leadership in integrated pest management and his expertise has been recognized not only by the entomological community but by the stakeholders that he interacts with."

We'll be writing more about them later. Meanwhile, the awards will be presented at the PBESA conference, set March 30-April 2 in the Salt Lake City Center, Salt Lake City, Utah.

PBESA encompasses 11 Western states, plus parts of Canada and Mexico and U.S. territories.

The list of 2025 PBESA winners includes four scientists with UC Davis connections, and four with UC Riverside connections:

• C. W. Woodworth Award, Douglas Walsh, Washington State University (UC Davis doctoral alumnus, 1998)
• Excellence in Integrated Pest Management Award, Ary Faraji, University  of Utah
• Distinction in Student Mentoring Award: Lauren Weidner, Arizona State University
• Distinguished Achievement in Extension Award: Houston Wilson, UC Riverside
• Distinguished Achievement in Teaching Award: Javier Gutierrez Illan, Washington State University
• Entomology Team Work Award: Dong-Hwan Choe (Ant IPM Alliance Team, including UC IPM), Cooperative Extension specialist, UC Riverside
• Excellence in Early Career Award: Christopher Bibbs, Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District
• Medical, Urban and Veterinary Entomology Award: Amy Murillo, UC Riverside
• Plant-Insect Ecosystems Award: Patrick Moran, Research Entomologist, USDA-ARS
• Systematics, Evolution and Biodiversity Award: Jason Bond, UC Davis
• John Henry Comstock Award: Hanna Chu, UC Riverside
• Student Leadership Award, Mia Lippey, UC Davis
• Dr. Stephen Garcyznski Undergraduate Research Scholarship: Kaitai Liu, UC Davis

The 7000-member ESA, founded in 1889, is the largest organization in the world, serving the professional and scientific needs of entomologists and individuals in related disciplines. Its members are affiliated with educational institutions, health agencies, private industry, and government. They are researchers, teachers, extension service personnel, administrators, marketing representatives, research technicians, consultants, students, pest management professionals, and hobbyists. (See more about ESA here)

When you visit the California Raptor Center (part of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine), during the 14th annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day on Saturday, Feb. 8, be sure to see "A Bird's Eye View," a ceramic-mosaic mural that graces an outer wall of the visitor center.

It tells the story of the interdependence of raptors and insects, ranging from a golden eagle, great-horned owl and a red-tailed hawk to a clear-winged grasshopper, fiery skipper butterfly and figeater beetle.

Installed in December 2023, with finishing touches in 2024, the mural is the brainchild of UC Davis distinguished professor (now emerita) Diane Ullman  and primarily the work of 80 UC Davis students in her Entomology 001, “Art, Science and the World of Insects.”   

Ullman and colleague Gale Okumura, a Department of Design emerita lecturer, led the project. Other faculty, Raptor Center volunteers and staff, and  members of the community, also contributed to the 3000-hour project.

Celebrates 11 Key Raptor Species and 84 Insect Species

The mural, measuring 22-feet wide and 8-feet in height, is comprised of more than 1300 handmade ceramic relief artworks, tiles and trim pieces. “The mural celebrates 11 key raptor species found in California and 84 insect species that are either parasites of these raptors or eaten by them,” said Ullman, an entomologist-artist who co-founded the UC Davis Art-Science Fusion Program with artist Donna Billick of Davis.

“The interdependence of birds and insects is striking in food chains around the globe," Ullman said. "As insects decline, bird populations are also damaged. When birds decline, some insect populations surge and can rise to damaging levels.”  (See news story)

The Raptor Center, located at 1340 Equine Lane, off Old Davis Road (three miles south of the central campus), is an educational and research facility dedicated to the rehabilitation of injured and orphaned birds of prey (raptors). On Feb. 8, UC Davis Biodiversity Day, it be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Says Julie Cotton, operations manager: "At Biodiversity Museum Day, our educational ambassador raptors will be viewable on exhibit, with some of them out 'on the glove' for up close encounters," said Julie Cotton, operations manager. "Our ambassador birds represent 12 different species of raptor that can be found in California, from the diminutive American Kestrel to the iconic Bald Eagle. Our staff and volunteers will be available to answer questions and share information about our local birds of prey." 

Outstanding Teacher and Researcher

Ullman, a former chair of the entomology department and former associate dean for undergraduate academic programs, UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, is internationally acclaimed for her teaching and her research involving insect/virus/plant interactions and insect-transmitted pathogens. 

A Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2014) and the Entomological Society of America (2011), Ullman was named the 2014 recipient of the ESA National Excellence in Teaching Award. She received the UC Davis Academic Senate's Teaching Award for Undergraduate Students in 2022. 

Under her direction, Ullman and her colleagues created dozens of art projects on the UC Davis campus and within the city of Davis. The mural, “The Secret Life of Vineyards,” with assistant professor Emily Meineke of the Department of Entomology and Nematology, was installed in August of 2023 at the Matthiasson Winery, Napa. (See news story)

For more information on UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day, a free and family friendly event, see the website. Capsule information on the participating museums or collections appears on the Jan. 31 Bug Squad blog. 

Nematodes--and the faculty and graduate students who study them--will share the spotlight from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 8 in the Katherine Esau Science Hall. The occasion: the 14th annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day.

The Esau Hall is located near Briggs Hall, off Kleiber Hall Lane. It is named for UC Davis professor emeritus and Ukrainian-born Katherine Esau (1898-1997), an internationally known plant biologist and recipient of the National Medal of Science from President George Bush.

 "We are excited to showcase the nematode collection for another year at the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day!" said doctoral student Veronica Casey of the nematology lab of Shahid Siddique, associate professor. "There will be jars containing preserved animal-parasitic nematodes, including dog heartworm and a worm donated by a student who was infected when traveling abroad (they're ok now!). We will also have samples of plants infected by plant-parasitic nematodes. Visitors can look under the microscope to see the amazing diversity of free-living nematodes extracted from a local soil sample. There will be a screen projecting a live feed of Caenorhabditis elegans, a model organism used in many different scientific fields. Visitors will get to take home their own fuzzy toy worm!" 

Here's what visitors will see:

• Celery infected with root-knot nematodes
• Anisakis nematodes from a Minke whale stomach
• Heart of a dog infected with heartworms (Dirofilaria immitis)
• Parasitic nematodes (Baylisascaris transfuga) isolated from the stomach of a bear
• White-tailed deer eye infected with parasitic nematodes (Thelazia spp.)
• Sugar beet infected with root-knot nematodes
• Dog ascaris (Toxocara canis) cause of visceral larva migrans
• Common parasitic worms of human (Ascaris lumbricoides) cause of Ascaris isolated from human intestine
• Dog intestine infected with whipworms
• Horse stomach parasite community including 1) Parascaris 2) Tapeworms 3) Botfly larvae
• Yam infected with root-knot nematode
• Tomato root infected with root-knot nematoe
• Adult raccoon roundworms 
• Filarial nematodes (Onchocerca volvulus) cause of Onchocerciasis river blindness
• Zoonotic hookworms (Ancylostoma caninum)
• Ascaris lumbricoides (common parasitic worms of human)
• Tree swallow infected with Diplotriaena nematode
• Sugar beet infected with cyst nematode (Heterodera schachtii)
• Grape roots infected with root-knot nematodes
• Mormon crickets infected with horsehair worms (Gordius robustus)
• Peach roots infected with root-knot nematodes
• Anisakis nematodes from fish intestine
• Hysterotahylaciun nematodes isolated from fish
• Pinworms isolated from human intestine
• Whipworms isolated from human intestine
• Anisakis nematodes isolated from seals
• Adult dog heartworms 

Biodiversity Museum Day. Biodiversity Museum Day? It's a Super Science Day and an opportunity to explore, discover and connect, says chair Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator for the Bohart Museum of Entomology and a co-founder of Biodiversity Museum Day. The event is free and family friendly. So is parking.

Below is a list of participating museums and collections. A map is available for downloading on the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day website.

Arboretum and Public Garden 
Location: Habitat Gardens in the Environmental GATEway, adjacent to the Arboretum Teaching Nursery on Garrod Drive.
Hours: noon to 4 p.m.

Bohart Museum of Entomology 
Location: Room 1124 and main hall of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane. 
Hours: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Botanical Conservatory 
Location: The greenhouses along Kleiber Hall Drive. 
Hours: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

California Raptor Center, School of Veterinary Medicine 
Location: 1340 Equine Lane, off Old Davis Road (Located three miles south of the central campus.)
Hours: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Center for Plant Diversity  
Location: Katherine Esau Science Hall off Kleiber Hall Drive. 
Hours: 10 a.m. to  2 p.m.

Paleontology Collection 
Location: Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 1309 Earth and Physical Sciences Building, 434 LaRue Road. 
Hours: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Pfaff Yeast Culture Collection
Location: Robert Mondavi Institute Brewery and Food Processing facility, Old Davis Road. 
Hours: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Design Museum 
Location: Cruess Hall, Room 124, 375 California Ave. 
Hours: 1 to 5 p.m.
Visual Journals: 2010-2024 Exhibit 

Moth Documentary, Nocturnes (hosted by the Bohart Museum of Entomology)
Location: Room 1002 of Cruess Hall
Hour: 2:45 to 5 p.m. 

The documentary Nocturnes, is about moth research in the Himalayas. A discussion will follow about remote field research with Iris Quayle, a graduate student in the Bond Lab who collected insects in Belize and Madagascar.