- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Ponisio, who grew up in Fresno and holds degrees from Stanford University and UC Berkeley, is an assistant professor of biology at the University of Oregon who seeks to preserve and restore populations of bees and other pollinators.
Her seminar, both in-person and virtual, is sponsored by the UC Davis Department of Entomology andNematology at 4:10 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 8 in 122 Briggs Hall. Host is community ecologist Rachel Vannette, associate professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. The Zoom link:
https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/95882849672.
"Infectious disease prevalence is among the top five drivers of global extinction, including in wild bees," Ponisio says in her abstract. "With the global decline of wild bees, our work aims to contribute to understanding how community characteristics shape infectious disease prevalence in plant-pollinator communities. Infectious parasites can influence host immunity, physiology, and reproduction. The sharing of floral resources is a common mode of disease transmission among pollinators."
"Increasing host aggregation on floral resources can increase disease prevalence, that is, amplification," Ponisio noted. "Conversely, high host species diversity---even if accompanied by host aggregation---may dilute infection. Because bees pick up parasites from flowers, but not all flowers transmit parasites equally, flower abundance and diversity may further contribute to parasite dilution. In three systems, mass-blooming sunflower in Yolo County, CA, harvested forests in Coast Range, OR, and high elevation meadows across the Southwestern U.S., I examine how the factors that shape plant-pollinator abundance and diversity and the ramifications for parasite prevalence in wild bee communities. Across all systems, more than 40% of bees have at one parasite. Both natural (phenology) and human-induced (years post-harvest, mass-blooming crops) modification of the bee and floral communities indirectly affected parasitism by altering host community characteristics. I found a consistent amplification effect of host (bee) abundance and detected dilution through either host diversity or floral diversity in each system."
On her website, Ponisio elaborates: "We focus on understanding the mechanisms by which species interactions maintain species diversity, and how we can harness these processes to manage and restore diversity in human-modified systems. We focus on pollinators because they are critical for pollination in managed and natural plant communities, but our research is broadly applicable across ecological interactions. Our aim to discover new insights into how communities form, evolve, and persist through time and space, aiding in the prediction and prevention of community collapse. We combine modeling, synthesis and field-based work, and adhere to the principles of reproducible, open science."
Lauren holds two degrees from Stanford: a bachelor's degree in biology, with honors, in ecology and evolution (2010) and her master's degree in biology (2011). She received her doctorate from the Department of Environmental Science Policy and Management, UC Berkeley, in 2016.
Ponisio conducted postdoctoral research at UC Berkeley and served on the faculty at UC Riverside before accepting her current position. She received graduate fellowships from the National Science Foundation and the National Institute for Food and Agriculture, as well as a postdoctoral fellowship from the Berkeley Institute for Data Science. She was named among the Global Food Initiative's “30 Under 30” in Food Systems in 2016.
Food Gone. Ponisio says one of her most difficult field work experiences occurred in Yosemite National Park, according to her People Behind the Science podcast. "Their study on the effects of fires on pollinators required them to backpack out to remote sites where there had been natural fires. Lauren started working months ahead of time to get ready for the trip and prepare dehydrated meals for the lab to eat. One day, they opened the large canister where they had been storing their food to protect it from bears, and they discovered the food was gone. All that was left was a handwritten note from someone thanking them for leaving out food."
"The next day, the lab's field assistant tripped over a log and sprained her ankle. Then they accidentally left their sampling gear at a site and had to hike all the way back to retrieve it. Later, a bear came into their campsite and destroyed many of the traps they needed to collect pollinators for their study. At this point, Lauren and her colleagues were exhausted, surviving on snacks, their field assistant could barely walk, and much of the equipment they needed had been destroyed. In the face of all of these challenges, Lauren stayed calm. These kinds of things happen in field research, and everyone made it back to share the story."
Ponisio was featured on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" in January of 2021 when she discussed "Wildfires Open Forests for Wildlife and Research."
Ponisio is the lead author of a recently submitted journal paper, "Mass-Flowering Crops Attract Bees, Amplifying Parasitism," co-authored by G. P. Smith, H. Sardinas, J. Zorn, Q. S. McFrederick and S. H.Woodard. (See CV)
The UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology's winter seminars are held on Wednesdays at 4:10 p.m. in 122 Briggs Hall. All are virtual. They are coordinated by urban landscape entomologist Emily Meineke, assistant professor. (See schedule.) She may be reached at ekmeineke@ucdavis.edu for technical issues.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The event, billed as a Super Science Day, will showcase 11 museums or collections. It's an opportunity to chat with scientists and learn what research is taking place at UC Davis. It's also an opportunity for students to gain career ideas.
The Biodiversity Museum Day is free and family friendly. Parking is also free.
Organizers of the crowdfunding are Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator for the Bohart Museum of Entomology who is chairing the Biodiversity Museum Day; Brennen Dyer, Bohart Museum collections manager; and Melissa Cruz Hernandez, outreach and leadership program manager, UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden.
"Your support will enable our 11 collections--the students, staff and faculty associated with them--to hold this event," they announced. Donations will not only help us sustain this free science event, they will enable our student interns to take science outreach to a whole new level. The goal of our event is to connect people from all walks of life to science and the biodiversity surrounding them. All donors will be recognized on the Biodiversity Museum Day social media accounts with a shout-out post."
Gifts are tax-deductible. The first to donate was Jakob Jess, a MET Sacramento High School interning at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. He is currently lending his video/computer/website skills to the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day project. See the donor wall.
The Eleven museums or collections on campus showcasing their work:
- Anthropology Museum, 328 Young Hall and grounds, noon to 4 p.m.
- Arboretum and Public Garden, Habitat Gardens in the Environmental GATEway, adjacent to the Arboretum Teaching Nursery on Garrod Drive, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Bohart Museum of Entomology, Room 1124 and main hall of the Academic Surge Building, Crocker Lane, 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m.
- Botanical Conservatory, the greenhouses along Kleiber Hall Drive, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- California Raptor Center, 340 Equine Lane, off Old Davis Road, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Center for Plant Diversity, Sciences Laboratory Building/Esau Science Hall, off Kleiber Hall Drive, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Nematode Collection, Sciences Laboratory Building/Esau Science Hall, off Kleiber Hall Drive, 9 am. to 3 p.m.
- Marine Invertebrate Collection, Sciences Laboratory Building/Esau Science Hall, off Kleiber Hall Drive, 9 am. to 3 p.m.
- Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, Room 1394, Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Paleontology Collection, 1309 Earth and Physical Sciences Building, 434 LaRue Road, 12 noon to 4 p.m.
- Phaff Yeast Culture Collection, Robert Mondavi Institute Brewery and Food Processing facility, Old Davis Road, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (See news story)
The UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day is traditionally held on Presidents' Day Weekend at various venues on campus. The 2022 event, however, took place March 6 in the UC Davis Conference Center and drew some 1000 visitors. This year, it's back home to the individual departments where scientists will be on hand to greet visitors and answer questions.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Then around 5:30 comes the urgent message from her colleague, arachnologist Jason Bond, associate dean of the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Natural Resources and the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair of the Department of Entomology and Nematology. The Bond lab and the Bohart Museum share a portion of the first floor of the Academic Surge Building on Crocker Lane.
Lynn, there's a water leak at the Bohart Museum! Emergency!
Lynn hurries to her car and heads to the Bohart Museum. When she enters the building, there in the hallway is the "wet area," blocked with yellow "caution" floor signs and a bright orange pylon.
Except the "wet area" is dry. Bone dry.
Surprise! Surprise! Happy birthday!
Unbenownest to Kimsey, the UC Davis Entomology Club (advised by her husband, forensic entomologist Bob Kimsey, adjunct professor with the Department of Entomology and Nematology), had earlier decorated the museum with birthday balloons, banners and streamers.
Meanwhile, where is Bob? He had finished preparing taco fixings at their son's home for the birthday celebration and was heading toward the Yolo Causeway (connecting West Sacramento with Davis), when traffic delayed him.
Not to worry, Bob and the taco fixings made it.
Meanwhile, Lynn sets about opening a myriad of gifts, including a miniature hinged box from Keller ("Lynn likes tiny boxes," Keller said). Other gifts include an "Educated Guess" wine from Oakville, and a 10-inch radio-controlled tarantula, billed as "big, hairy and scary."
It wasn't. But with Lynn Kimsey at the controls, the tarantula races around the floor, stopping at feet that pretend to stomp it.
This was a milestone birthday celebration! (We're not telling which one, but Lynn Kimsey probably will!)
The "big, hairy and scary" radio-controlled tarantula is now sharing the Bohart Museum with several live tarantulas from its petting zoo:
- Princess Herbert, the Brazilian salmon-pink bird-eating tarantula (Lasiodora parahybana). She is estimated to be around 20 years old, the oldest current resident of the Bohart Museum
- Peaches, the Chilean rose hair tarantula (Grammostola rosea)
- Coco McFluffin, the Chaco golden knee tarantula (Grammostola pulchripes), native to Paraguay and Argentina
Kimsey and other Bohart Museum officials are now gearing up for the 12th annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day, a Super Science Day, set Saturday, Feb. 18 when 11 museums or collections (including the Bohart) open their doors to the public. It's free and family friendly. (See line-up)
The Bohart Museum, founded in 1946, houses a global collection of eight million insect specimens, plus a petting zoo, featuring Madagascar hissing cockroaches, walking sticks and tarantulas; and a year-around gift shop, stocked with insect-themed books, posters, jewelry, t-shirts, hoodies and more. Named for UC Davis professor and noted entomologist Richard Bohart (1913-2007), the museum is dedicated to "understanding, documenting and communicating terrestrial arthropod diversity."
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Her dissertation proposal begins at 10:30 in 122 Briggs Hall and also will be virtual. The Zoom link: https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/
“In the proposed research, I will study the effectiveness of both automated precision spray applications and drone-mediated releases of biological control agents for the suppression of lettuce aphid and western flower thrips in several contexts," she says in her abstract. "I hope that the results of the proposed research will contribute to the development of best-use practices to guide the use of both technologies."
"I will generate novel data that fill existing knowledge gaps regarding the use of precision insecticide applications and drone releases of natural enemies in lettuce production systems. This will advance the adoption of these new pest management tools and contribute to a more sustainable integrative pest management system for lettuce."
Addie received her bachelor's degree in molecular environmental biology from UC Berkeley in 2011 and her master's degree in horticulture and agronomy from UC Davis in 2018. Before enrolling at UC Davis, she worked as a researcher under research chemist Spencer Walse at the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) laboratory in Parlier, CA (2019-2021) and the UC Davis Contained Research Facility in Davis, CA (2012-2019), studying postharvest integrated pest management (IPM) of quarantine pests.
In her abstract, she noted that "Commercial lettuce production in California's central coast represents 70 percent of the production in the United States. Recent discoveries of some chemistries in ground and surface water in the Salinas valley region have placed the insecticidal chemistries used by the industry at risk of increased regulation. Automated thinner-sprayers use plant-detection sensors to apply chemical sprays directly to individual lettuce plants, so that the same amount of product to plants as a standard broadcast sprayer while potentially reducing the amount of pesticide applied per acre by up to 90 percent. Field experiments testing this technology for the control of western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) and aphids, lettuce-currant aphid (Nasovonia ribisnigri) and others, were conducted to compare the efficacy of automated sprays to a conventional broadcast application system. Experiments were conducted in conventionally managed organic romaine lettuce fields using a complete randomized block design. Prior to and at regular intervals after treatment, heads were sampled from experimental and control plots to assess pest pressure. Results from this experiment validate the use of the automated sprayers to apply insecticides for the control of aphid and thrips pests in lettuce and will be discussed in the context of developing best-use-practices for this technology."
Abrams delivered a presentation on Rearing methods for brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys, on live host plants at the 2019 Pacific Branch of ESA, and has authored or co-authored several publications on stink bugs, including
- Ethyl formate dilution in carbon dioxide for fumigation control of the brown marmorated stink bug Halyomorpha halys, Stål (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), Pest Management Science, 2022
- Greenhouse rearing methods for brown marmorated stink bug (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) on live cowpea plants, Journal of Economic Entomology, 2021 (lead author)
-
Sulfuryl fluoride fumigation to control brown marmorated stink bug (Hempitera: Pentatomidae),Postharvest Biology and Technology, 2020 (lead author)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Biodiversity Museum Day is billed as a “free, family friendly educational event for the community where visitors get to meet and talk with UC Davis scientists and see amazing objects and organisms from the world around us,” according to Biodiversity Museum Day chair Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator for the Bohart Museum of Entomology.
Eleven museums or collections on campus will showcase their work:
- Anthropology Museum, 328 Young Hall and grounds, noon to 4 p.m.
- Arboretum and Public Garden, Habitat Gardens in the Environmental GATEway, adjacent to the Arboretum Teaching Nursery on Garrod Drive, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Bohart Museum of Entomology, Room 1124 and main hall of the Academic Surge Building, Crocker Lane, 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m.
- Botanical Conservatory, the greenhouses along Kleiber Hall Drive, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- California Raptor Center, 1340 Equine Lane, off Old Davis Road, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Center for Plant Diversity, Sciences Laboratory Building/Esau Science Hall, off Kleiber Hall Drive, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Nematode Collection, Sciences Laboratory Building/Esau Science Hall, off Kleiber Hall Drive, 9 am. to 3 p.m.
- Marine Invertebrate Collection, Sciences Laboratory Building/Esau Science Hall, off Kleiber Hall Drive, 9 am. to 3 p.m.
- Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, Room 1394, Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Paleontology Collection, 1309 Earth and Physical Sciences Building, 434 LaRue Road, 12 noon to 4 p.m.
- Phaff Yeast Culture Collection, Robert Mondavi Institute Brewery and Food Processing facility, Old Davis Road, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (See news story)
The UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day is traditionally held on Presidents' Day Weekend at various venues on campus. The 2022 event, however, took place March 6 in the UC Davis Conference Center and drew some 1000 visitors. This year, it's back home to the individual departments where scientists will be on hand to greet visitors and answer questions.
Many middle school and high school students attend the event to take the opportunity to consider careers in science.
All participating museums and collections have active education and outreach programs, Yang said, but the collections are not always accessible to the public.
