- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
"Unlike common drosophilids that develop in rotten or decaying fruit, Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) prefer to oviposit in ripe or ripening fruit," Hamby says in her abstract. "Native to Southeast Asia, D. suzukii has become an important pest of berries and small fruits throughout North America and Europe since its initial detection in Santa Cruz County, Calif. in 2008. The majority of U.S. organic berry farm acreage is concentrated on the west coast, and organic berries are a growing industry that now exceeds 1500 total farms. Current D. suzukii management strategies for both organic and conventional growers rely heavily on insecticide usage because other pest management tactics are still being developed and optimized. Management guidelines established shortly after the emergence of D. suzukii as a serious pest included monitoring recommendations, but these were made with little information on trap design and potential lures for use in raspberries."
Hamby will address her dissertation work on monitoring, yeast associations, chronobiology, chronotoxicity of insecticides and the implications of this work to managing D. suzukii in California commercial berry and small fruit crops. She will be introduced by Zalom, her major professor and president of the 7000-member Entomological Society of America (ESA).
Hamby received her master's degree and bachelor's degree from UC Davis, compiling a near perfect grade point average.
A graduate student researcher since 2009, Hamby serves as a winter quarter co-instructor of the "Arthropod Pest Management" class. She earlier was a lab assistant in the Aquatic Toxicology Lab, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, and the Fish Conservation and Culture Lab, UC Davis Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering.
Hamby has presented her work at meetings of the ESA, Pacific Branch of the ESA (PBESA) and overseas. The recipient of numerous awards, she was selected for a 2011-14 $130,000 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship; the 2005-2009 UC Regents' Scholarship, a merit-based academic scholarship; the 2011 Lillian and Alex Feir Graduate Student Travel Award in Insect Physiology, Biochemistry, or Molecular Biology, Pacific Branch of ESA (PBESA); and the 2009 UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Mary Regan Meyer Prize, Academic and Service Award for a Graduating Senior.
Hamby also received the 2012 $1000 UC Davis Graduate Student Travel Award to travel to XXIV International Congress of Entomology, Daegu, Republic of Korea to present her research. Her other honors include a 2011-14 $130,000 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, and travel grant awards to attend entomological meetings.
Hamby mentored a number of undergraduates, including Helen T. Nguyen (2013), Mitchell J. Bamford (2013), Daren W. Harris (2012-2013), Daniel C. Fok (2011-2013), Doris Yu (2011-2012), Stacy A. Hamby (2011), Yelizaveta Luchkovska (2011), Heather E. Wilson (2010-2012), Samuel J. Fahrner (2010-2011).
Her publications include:
Scheidler, N., Siddappaji, M., Hamby, K.A., Chiu, J.C., Zalom, F.G., and Syed, Z. In prep.What makes one Drosophila species a pest: Molecular and neural correlates for host odor recoginition? PLoS Biology
Harris, D.W., Wilson, H.E., Zalom, F.G., and Hamby, K.A.* Submitted. Seasonal trapping of Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae) in a multi-crop setting. Journal of Applied Entomology
Hamby, K.A., Bolda, M.P., Sheehan, M.E., and Zalom, F.G. Accepted with Revision. Seasonal occurrence, lure comparison, and trapping bias of Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae) in California commercial raspberries. Environmental Entomology
Lee, J.C., Shearer, P.W. Barrantes, L.D., Beers, E.H., Burrack, H.J., Dalton, D.T., Dreves, A.J., Gut, L.J., Hamby, K.A., Haviland, D.R., Isaacs, R., Nielsen, A.L., Richardson, T., Rodriguez-Saona, C.R., Stanley, C.A., Walsh, D.B., Walton, V.M., Yee, W.L., Zalom, F.G., and Bruck, D.J. 2013. Trap designs for monitoring Drosophila suzukii (Diptera:Drosophilidae). Environmental Entomology 42(6): 000-000 DOI: 10.1603/EN13148
Chiu, J.C., Jiang, X., Zhao, L., Hamm, C.A., Cridland, J.M., Saelao, P., Hamby, K.A., Lee, E.K., Kwok, R.S., Zhang, G., Zalom, F.G., Walton, V.M., and Begun, D.J. 2013. Genome of Drosophila suzukii, the spotted wing drosophila. G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics DOI: 10.1534/g3.113.008185
Yu, D., Zalom, F.G. and Hamby, K.A. 2013. Host status and fruit odor response of Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae) to figs and mulberries. Journal of Economic Entomology 106(4): 1932-1937.
Hamby, K.A., Kwok, R.S., Zalom, F.G., and Chiu, J.C. 2013. Integrating circadian activity and gene expression profiles to predict chronotoxicity of Drosophila suzukii response to insecticides. PLoS ONE 8(7): e68472. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0068472.
Hamby, K.A., and Zalom, F.G. 2013. Relationship of almond kernel damage occurrence to navel orangeworm (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) success. Journal of Economic Entomology 106(3):1365-1372.
Hamby, K.A., Alifano, J.A., and Zalom, F.G. 2013.Total effects of contact and residual exposure of bifenthrin and λ-cyhalothrin on the predatory mite Galendromus occidentalis (Acari: Phytoseiidae). Experimental and Applied Acarology 61: 183-193. DOI: 10.1007/s10493-013-9680-z
Wilson, H.E., Hamby, K.A.,* and Zalom, F.G. 2013. Host susceptibility of ‘French Prune' Prunus domestica to Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae). Acta Horticulturae (ISHS) 985:249-254.
Lee, J.C., Burrack, H.J., Barrantes, L.D., Beers, E.H., Dreves, A.J., Hamby, K.A., Haviland, D.R., Isaacs, R., Richardson, T.A., Shearer, P.W., Stanley, C.A., Walsh, D.B., Walton, V.M., Zalom, F.G., and Bruck, D.J. 2012. Evaluation of monitoring traps for Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae) in North America. Journal of Economic Entomology 105(4): 1350-1357.
Hamby, K.A., Hernández, A., Boundy-Mills, K., and Zalom, F.G. 2012.Yeast associations of spotted wing drosophila (Drosophila suzukii, Diptera: Drosophilidae) in cherries and raspberries. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 78(14): 4869-4873. Journal cover article.
Hamby, K., Gao, L.W., Lampinen, B., Gradziel, T., Zalom, F. 2011. Hullsplit date and shell seal relationship to navel orangeworm (Amyelois transitella, Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) infestation on almonds. Journal of Economic Entomology 104(3): 965-969.
For the list of the remaining noonhour seminars, see this page.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Registration is under way at on the CCHU website.
CCHU program manager Anne Schellman says that this will be an informative workshop where participants will learn:
- How to identify common bee pollinators
- How to make a landscape pollinator-friendly
- Which plants pollinators prefer
- The latest research about honey bee health and pollinator habitat
- How UC Davis helps honey bees at the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Garden
The agenda:
Pollinator Gardening Workshop Agenda
7:30
Check-in
Please pick up materials and enjoy coffee and a light breakfast
7:50
Welcome
Dave Fujino, director of the California Center for Urban Horticulture, UC Davis
Michael Parrella, professor and chair of the Department of Entomology and Nematology, UC Davis
8 to 8:40
The Buzz about Bees: Attracting and Observing Bees in Your Garden
Native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, emeritus professor, Department of Entomology and Nematology, UC Davis
8:40-9:20
Habitat Enhancements to Support Bees: Agriculture to Urban Research
Pollination ecologist Neal Williams, associate professor, Department of Entomology and Nematology, UC Davis
9:20-10
Honey Bee Health: Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen, Department of Entomology and Nematology, UC Davis
10 10:20
Break
10:20-11
Plants for Pollinators: Ellen Zagory, director of horticulture, UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden, UC Davis
11-11:30
Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven Garden Update: What's New in the Garden?
Christine Casey, manager of Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, Department of Entomology and Nematology, UC Davis
11:30 Pick up box lunch
11:30-2
Open house at Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, Bee Biology Road
Questions and answers with Robbin Thorp and Christine Casey
1 to-2
Special Plant Sale for Pollinator Workshop attendees
Arboretum Teaching Nursery, Garrod Drive
See website for registration and more information.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Jacobson's seminar is titled "Investigating Factors Underlying Thrips-Topovirus Interactions: the Importance of Thrips Genetic Variation in the Transmission of Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus by Thrips tabaci and Its Relevance to Other Tospovirus Vectors."
Host is Diane Ullman, associate dean of Undergraduate Academic Programs at the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.
Jacobson's abstract:
"Thrips tabaci (onion thrips) is a major agricultural pest worldwide, causing direct damage on many vegetable and field crops. It is also a vector of two plant-infecting Tospoviruses: Iris yellow spot virus (IYSV) for which it is the primary vector, and Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) for which its role as a vector varies geographically. In the U.S. T. tabaci has generally been disregarded as an important vector of TSWV due to its localized importance as a vector worldwide and its inconsistent presence in crops where TSWV is a major problem. However, the vector competence of T. tabaci in the U.S. had not been formally investigated. In this study populations of T. tabaci from multiple locations in NC were tested for their ability to transmit TSWV isolates collected at each of the locations. In addition, population-level differences underlying observed variation in transmission efficiency were investigated using mtCOI and microsatellite markers. Together, the results of these studies demonstrate that specific vector-virus interactions underlie variation in transmission of TSWV by T. tabaci, and that population-level variation in vector competency is an important factor contributing to the differences in the status of this cosmopolitan species as a vector of TSWV. The genetic variation within onion thrips revealed in this work highlights the need to better understand the species- and population-level variation that exists in this species throughout its geographic range in relation to vector competency and other economically important traits, including insecticide resistance and host plant use. They also have important implications for the study of other thrips vectors of tospoviruses whose populations have been reported to exhibit varying degrees of genetic variation."
She received her bachelor of science degree in agricultural biology from New Mexico State University; her master's degree in entomology at Purdue University investigating insecticide resistance in the corn earworm under the direction of Rick Foster; and her doctorate at NC State University working under the direction of George Kennedy researching onion thrips' role in the epidemiology of a Tomato spotted wilt virus in North Carolina.
Upon completion of her doctorate, Jacobson was awarded a USDA/NIFA Postdoctoral Fellow position to investigate population genetic structuring in New York onion production regions in relation to geographic distance, reproductive mode and insecticide resistance traits.
In the future. she looks forward to entering a career teaching, and conducting research to solve contemporary pest management problems.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The seminar takes place from 12:10 to 1 p.m. in 122 Briggs Hall. Host is Professor Greg Lanzaro of the Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.
“The red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) is an invasive pest insect in the United States and several other regions of the Pacific Rim that is native to South America,” Ross said. “Genetic data were used to trace the routes of colonization of this ant; the founders of the U.S. population appear to have originated in the Mesopotamia floodplain region of northern Argentina, and the southeastern U.S. population evidently served as the source of colonists in the more recent invasions of Pacific Rim regions.”
“Extensive genetic variation was lost during colonization of the United States, one manifestation of which was a striking increase in the production of sterile diploid males. Other changes in the southern U.S. population, including alteration in basic features of colony social structure, appear to be related to environmental factors such as the increased population densities in the invasive range.”
Ross said that two distinct social forms exist in Solenopsis invicta; the forms are characterized by fundamental differences in colony social organization and life history features. “This intraspecific social polymorphism is genetically determined, and its presence has implications for patterns of gene flow and forms of selection in this ant. Although very distinctive in some features of their social and reproductive biology, the two social forms evidently are linked by extensive gene flow mediated by males mating with queens of the alternate form.”
Ross received his bachelor’s degree in biology from Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas, in 1977, and his master’s degree in entomology from the University of Arizona in 1979. He received his doctorate in entomology in 1982 from Cornell University.
“My research interests focus on the evolutionary, population, and behavioral genetics of social insects,” Ross said. “My work involves analyses of genetic variation at differing spatial scales and taxonomic levels and in a diversity of organisms, primarily fire ants. Problems addressed include identifying reproductive isolating mechanisms in social insects, estimating levels of gene flow and selection, determining breeding and genetic structures within insect societies, and using phylogenetic analyses to trace patterns of evolution in mating systems and social behavior. I also pursue molecular phylogenetic analyses of major genes that regulate social organization in various social insects. The common theme of my work is to understand in broad terms how the major forces of evolution (selection, drift, recombination, migration) interact to mold properties of the social organization and breeding biology of social insects.”
He has published his work in Molecular Ecology, Science Express, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Genetics, Zoologica Scripta, among other publications.
His seminar is scheduled to be video-taped for later posting on UCTV.
Recent publications:
Recent Publications
Pitts, J. P., J. V. McHugh, and K. G. Ross. 2005. Cladistic analysis of the fire ants of the Solenopsis saevissima species-group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zoologica Scripta 34: 493-505. PDF file
Ross, K. G. and D. D. Shoemaker. 2005. Species delimitation in native South American fire ants. Molecular Ecology 14: 3419–3438. PDF file
Krieger, M. J. B. and K. G. Ross. 2005. Molecular evolutionary analyses of the odorant-binding protein gene Gp-9 in fire ants and other Solenopsis species. Molecular Biology and Evolution 22: 2090–2103. PDF file
Shoemaker, D. D., C. J. DeHeer, M. J. B. Krieger, and K. G. Ross. 2006. Population genetics of the invasive fire ant Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the United States. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 99: 1213-1233. PDF file
Giron, D., K. G. Ross, and M. R. Strand. 2007. Presence of soldier larvae determines the outcome of competition in a polyembryonic wasp. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 20: 165-172. PDF file
Gotzek, D. and K. G. Ross. 2007. Genetic regulation of colony social organization in fire ants: an integrative overview. Quarterly Review of Biology 82: 201-226. PDF file
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Carroll will discuss “An Approach to Conservation that Reconciles Past, Present and Future Landscapes in Nature” at The Club, located at 595 Market St., second floor. This is part of the ongoing forum topic, “Science of Conservation and Biodiversity in the 21st century.”
Biologists are now considering the “conciliation approach,” said spokesperson Chisako Ress, chair of the Science & Technology Member-Led Forum. “This approach recognizes that mutual adaption of native and non-native species is changing best practices for promoting biodiversity. Dr. Carroll investigates how organisms respond to human-caused environmental change. He advocates for interdisciplinary solutions to problems of environmental conservation.”
A networking reception begins at 5:30 p.m., followed by the program at 6. The cost is $20 for non-members; $8 for members, and $7 for students (with valid ID). Registration is available through the website, http://www.commonwealthclub.org/ or by telephoning (415) 597-6705.
Ress said non-club-members can enjoy the program at the discounted rate of $8 (rather than $20), using the coupon code listed below:
Thursday, Jan. 30, 6 p.m. - Dr. Scott Carroll: Conciliation Biology: An Approach to Conservation that Reconciles Past, Present and Future Landscapes in Nature. Coupon Code: friendsforcarroll. For program detail and registration, please see: http://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2014-01-30/scott-carroll-conciliation-biology
Carroll, who directs the Institute for Contemporary Evolution, does research on patterns of ongoing evolution in wild and anthropogenic environments. His studies on evolutionary changes in soapberry bugs in response to plant introductions are seminal contributions to our understanding of diversification.
The UC Davis evolutionary ecologist is the co-editor of the book, Conservation Biology: Evolution in Action (Oxford University Press, 2008). with Charles Fox, professor of insect genetics, behavior and evolutionary ecology, University of Kentucky.
Carroll co-authored a research paper that was selected in 2013 as one of the top 100 most influential papers ever published by the worldwide British Ecological Society, headquartered in London. The 13-page article, “Adaptive Versus Non-Adaptive Phenotypic Plasticity and the Potential for Contemporary Adaptation in New Environments,” published in April 2007 (Volume 21) in the British Ecological Society’s journal, Functional Ecology.
The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. It brings more than 400 annual events on topics ranging across politics, culture, society and the economy to 20,000 members. Its mission: to be the leading national forum open to all for the impartial discussion of public issues important to the membership, community and nation.
Founded in 1903, The Commonwealth Club has played host to a diverse and distinctive array of speakers, from Teddy Roosevelt in 1911 to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, actor Alec Baldwin and author Christopher Hitchens in recent years. Martin Luther King, Jr., Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Bill Gates have all given landmark speeches at The Club.
For members outside the Bay Area, the Club's weekly radio broadcast — the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 — is carried across the nation on public and commercial radio stations. The website archive features audio and video of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history.
Two UC Speakers Pending
Two more UC speakers, butterfly expert Arthur Shapiro of the UC Davis Department of Evolution and Ecology and forest ecologist Joe McBride of UC Berkeley, are booked for talks at the Commonwealth Club. Ress said non-club-members can enjoy the programs at the discounted rate of $8 (rather than $20), using the coupon codes listed below:
Monday, March 24, Noon - Arthur M. Shapiro, UC Davis: Ecological Communities and the March of Time. Coupon Code: friendsforshapiro. For program detail and registration, please see: http://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2014-03-24/arthur-m-shapiro-ecological-communities-and-march-time
Wednesday, April 9, Noon - Joe R. McBride, UC Berkeley's Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management: The History, Ecology and Future of Eucalyptus Plantations in the Bay Area. Coupon Code: friendsformcbridge. For program detail and registration, please see: http://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2014-04-09/joe-r-mcbride-history-ecology-and-future-eucalyptus-plantations-bay-area