- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Powell was a Bohart Museum associate and a scientific collaborator, identifying scores of insects and attending many of the Lepidopterist Society meetings held there.
The open house, free and family friendly, is set from 7 to 11 p.m., Saturday, July 22 in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus.
Plans call for scientists to set up their traditional blacklighting (ultraviolet or UV) display to attract moths and other night-flying insects. Bohart Research Affiliate John De Benedictus, a retired UC Davis Staff Research Associate, also known as "The Moth Man," usually heads the blacklighting project with several other scientists. De Benedictus received his master's degree in 1988 from UC Berkeley, studying with Powell. "I spent more time in the field with Jerry than any other grad student," he related. "I was privileged to be Jerry's student and lucky to have become his friend."
Jerry, born May 23, 1933 in Glendale, Calif., received his bachelor's degree in entomology at UC Berkeley in 1955 and his doctorate there in 1961. One of his most-read books, co-authored with Charles Hogue, is California Insects, Volume 44, published in 1980. The second edition, co-authored by Kip Will, Daniel Rubinoff and Powell and covering more than 600 species, was published in October, 2020.
In a tribute to Powell on its website, the Essig Museum posted in part:
"In his teen years he was heavily influenced by Charles 'Harbie' Harbison, who ran the Junior Naturalist Program at the San Diego Museum of Natural History, and sparked an interest in Jerry for butterflies and moths. Seeing his potential, Harbie recommended Jerry for the Entomology program at UC Berkeley, where he received his BS in 1955 and his PhD in 1961. While climbing through the ranks of Junior Entomologist (1961-62), Assistant Entomologist (1962-67), Associate Entomologist (1967-73), Entomologist (1973-94), Lecturer in Entomology (1964-69), Associate Professor (1969-73), and Professor (1973-94) at UC Berkeley, Jerry also became Curator (1972-2018) and Director (1993-1999) of the Essig Museum of Entomology (1972-1999) and Project Leader for the California Insect Survey (1963-1999). Although he retired as Director in 1999, Jerry remained a professor of the Graduate School until 2012 and maintained an active research program in Lepidoptera life histories and systematics until 2018, advising many students along the way. (See more on Essig website.)"
"Jerry's rearing program was the most extensive in the history of the study of New World Microlepidoptera," according to the Essig post. "For over 50 years he and his students processed more than 15,000 collections of larval or live adult Lepidoptera. Resulting data encompass more than 1,000 species of moths, through rearing either field-collected larvae or those emerging from eggs deposited by females in confinement. This total includes more than 60% of an estimated 1,500 species of Microlepidoptera occurring in California."
Powell gained international recognition when he detected the agricultural pest, the light brown apple moth, Epiphyas postvittana, in a ultralight (UV) trap on July 19, 2006 in his backyard in Berkeley.
"A consummate field biologist, Jerry's knowledge and interests were broad, allowing him to read landscapes and discover the most interesting and cryptic of species interactions," Oboyski noted. "This is well documented in over 220 publications, but also in the 60+ years of his field notes and rearing records that we are currently digitizing. He is the collector of over 400 holotypes of various insect orders, described over 170 species and 14 genera of moths, and honored by 41 patronyms. He also published papers on Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, Diptera, Dermaptera, and a Nematode. His legacy is impressive and will long be remembered."
Powell described himself as a "MothNut" on his vehicle license plate, and also displayed a sticker, "Larvae on Board."
The Bohart Museum, directed by UC Davis distinguished professor Lynn Kimsey, is the home of a global collection of eight million insect specimens; a live insect petting zoo; and a gift shop.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
A familiar figure at UC Davis, he served as an associate of the Bohart Museum of Entomology and a scientific collaborator, identifying scores of insects and attending many of the Lepidopterist Society meetings there.
Plans call for dedicating the Bohart Museum's "Night at the Museum" (formerly known as "Moth Night") to him. The open house, free and open to the public, is set from 7 to 11 p.m., Saturday, July 22. The museum is located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, UC Davis, campus.
Born May 23, 1933 in Glendale, Calif., Jerry received his bachelor's degree in entomology at UC Berkeley in 1955 and his doctorate there in 1961. One of his most-read books, co-authored with Charles Hogue, is California Insects, Volume 44, published in 1980. The second edition, co-authored by Kip Will, Daniel Rubinoff and Powell was published in October, 2020. Powell and Paul Opler 1938-2023) co-authored Moths of Western America, published in 2009.
In a tribute to Powell on its website, the Essig Museum posted in part:
"In his teen years he was heavily influenced by Charles 'Harbie' Harbison, who ran the Junior Naturalist Program at the San Diego Museum of Natural History, and sparked an interest in Jerry for butterflies and moths. Seeing his potential, Harbie recommended Jerry for the Entomology program at UC Berkeley, where he received his BS in 1955 and his PhD in 1961. While climbing through the ranks of Junior Entomologist (1961-62), Assistant Entomologist (1962-67), Associate Entomologist (1967-73), Entomologist (1973-94), Lecturer in Entomology (1964-69), Associate Professor (1969-73), and Professor (1973-94) at UC Berkeley, Jerry also became Curator (1972-2018) and Director (1993-1999) of the Essig Museum of Entomology (1972-1999) and Project Leader for the California Insect Survey (1963-1999). Although he retired as Director in 1999, Jerry remained a professor of the Graduate School until 2012 and maintained an active research program in Lepidoptera life histories and systematics until 2018, advising many students along the way. (See more on Essig website.)
"Jerry's rearing program was the most extensive in the history of the study of New World Microlepidoptera," according to the Essig post. "For over 50 years he and his students processed more than 15,000 collections of larval or live adult Lepidoptera. Resulting data encompass more than 1,000 species of moths, through rearing either field-collected larvae or those emerging from eggs deposited by females in confinement. This total includes more than 60% of an estimated 1,500 species of Microlepidoptera occurring in California."
Powell gained international recognition when he detected the agricultural pest, the light brown apple moth, Epiphyas postvittana, in a ultralight (UV) trap on July 19, 2006 in his backyard in Berkeley.
"Yet Powell's casual discovery that morning was just the beginning of something more serious: a moth infestation, a quarantine program and an all-out effort by state and federal authorities to stop a nasty creature that they concluded could threaten California's $38 billion agricultural market and--if unchecked--farms across the nation," wrote San Francisco Chronicle reporter Matthew B. Stannard in a June 3, 2007 piece, "Little Moth, Big Problem/Bay Area quarantine tries to halt the spread of ravenous pest."
In an email to colleagues on July 9, Peter Oboyski, executive director of the Essig Museum of Entomology, wrote in part: "With a heavy heart I am sad to report that professor Jerry Powell passed away this weekend. His contributions to our knowledge of California entomology, microlepidoptera, and insect life histories are inestimable, as is the value of the training he provided to his students. As one of those students, I am eternally grateful for the time, energy, and knowledge Jerry shared with me in the museum and the field."
"A consummate field biologist, Jerry's knowledge and interests were broad, allowing him to read landscapes and discover the most interesting and cryptic of species interactions," Oboyski wrote. "This is well documented in over 220 publications, but also in the 60+ years of his field notes and rearing records that we are currently digitizing. He is the collector of over 400 holotypes of various insect orders, described over 170 species and 14 genera of moths, and honored by 41 patronyms. He also published papers on Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, Diptera, Dermaptera, and a Nematode. His legacy is impressive and will long be remembered."
Powell described himself as a "MothNut" on his vehicle license plate, and also displayed a sticker, "Larvae on Board."
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
“My interest in entomology started when I was a little girl, checking our prune and walnut orchards for pests with my dad,” said Wheeler-Dykes, whose office is based in Orland, Glenn County. “When I was a little bit older, I monitored pest populations for my uncle in his prune orchards during the summer.”
The former Becky Wheeler, she holds two degrees from UC Davis. She received her bachelor's degree in crop science and business management, with a minor in ag pest management, in 2010. She obtained her master's degree in entomology in 2013, studying with major professor and Extension entomologist Frank Zalom of the Department of Entomology and Nematology, now a UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus and recall professor. Extension entomologists Larry Godfrey (1956-2017) and Mary Louise Flint served on her thesis committee. Her thesis dealt with a species of mites in almond orchards: "Exploring Phoresy and Field Survival of Blattisocius keegani (Fox) (Acari: Ascidae) in Almond Orchards.”
“Taking Arthropod Pest Management with Frank Zalom and Larry Godfrey during my undergraduate studies at UC Davis was incredible; learning from two very experienced and knowledgeable researchers who had such a huge impact on agriculture was inspiring,” she said.
While at UC Davis, she served as a teaching assistant in Zalom's Arthropod Pest Management lab course in the winter of 2012, and as a staff research associate in the Andrew Walker lab, Department of Viticulture and Enology, from April 2015 to May 2018. Agricultural research positions followed.
“My career in ag research since graduate school has prepared me well,” she said. Prior to her selection as a UC Cooperative Extension advisor, she worked as an orchard researcher for Chico State Enterprises, beginning in May 2021. Her expertise also includes teaching ag ecology and soil science in the College of Agriculture, California State University, Chico. She served as a faculty mentor for Chico State STEM Connections in the 2022 Undergraduate Research Program, and as a faculty advisor for the Chico State Crops and Horticulture Club.
Wheeler-Dykes can be reached at bawheeler@ucanr.edu and (530) 884-9313.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The research, “Root-Knot Nematodes Produce Functional Mimics of Tyrosine-Sulfated Plant Peptides,” is published in the current edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
It's like hijacking plant development to facilitate parasitism, according to nematologist Shahid Siddique, an associate professor in the Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology and one of the corresponding authors of this study. “This finding showcases an amazing case of convergent evolution across three different types of organisms, revealing how diverse life forms can develop similar strategies for survival.”
The root-knot nematode, which threatens global food security, is a small worm-like organism that is a highly evolved obligate parasite, or an organism that cannot survive without its host. It is known to infest some 2000 crops worldwide. “These parasites have a remarkable ability to establish elaborate feeding sites in roots, which are their only source of nutrients throughout their life cycle,” the authors wrote.
“Root-knot nematodes are a major threat to various crops, including fruit trees and vegetables,” Siddique said. “In California, tomatoes, almonds, and walnuts are among the major hosts susceptible to root-knot nematode infection.”
Siddique and UC Davis distinguished professor Pamela Ronald, a plant pathologist and geneticist in the Department of Plant Pathology and the Genome Center, are the joint corresponding authors. Joint first-authors are Henok Zemene Yemer, formerly of the Siddique lab and now with Gingko Bioworks, Emeryville, and Dee Dee Lu of the Ronald lab.
The team also included emerita professor Valerie Williamson of the former Department of Nematology; Maria Florencia Ercoli, postdoctoral fellow in the Ronald lab; Alison Coomer Blundell, a doctoral candidate in the Siddique lab; and Paulo Vieira of the USDA's Mycology and Nematology Genetic Diversity and Biology Laboratory, Beltsville, Md.
“Plant peptides containing sulfated tyrosine (PSY)-family peptides are peptide hormones that promote root growth via cell expansion and proliferation,” the authors explained. “A PSY-like peptide produced by a bacterial pathogen has been shown to contribute to bacterial virulence. Here, we discovered that PSY-like peptides are encoded by a group of plant-parasitic nematodes known as root-knot nematodes. These nematode-encoded PSY mimics facilitate the establishment of parasitism in the host plant. Our findings are an example of a functional plant peptide mimic encoded by a phytopathogenic bacterium (prokaryote) and a plant-parasitic nematode (an animal).”
The research involved gene expression analysis and parasitism of tomato and rice plants.
The project drew financial support from a collaborative grant awarded to Siddique and Ronald from the National Science Foundation's Division of Integrative Organismal Systems.
Siddique, a member of the UC Davis faculty since 2019, focuses his research on basic as well as applied aspects of interaction between parasitic nematodes and their host plants. “The long-term object of our research is not only to enhance our understanding of molecular aspects of plant–nematode interaction but also to use this knowledge to provide new resources for reducing the impact of nematodes on crop plants in California.”
Ronald, noted for her innovative work in crop genetics, especially rice, is recognized for her research in infectious disease biology and environmental stress tolerance. Thomson Reuters named her one of the world's most influential scientific minds and Scientfic American recognized her as among the world's 100 most influential people in biotechnology. In 2022 Ronald received the Wolf Prize in Agriculture.
The next steps? “Currently, we are working to understand the mechanism by which these peptides contribute to the nematode infection,” Siddique said. “This entails the characterization of receptors involved and gaining insights into transcriptional changes.”
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Students of UC Davis Distinguished Professor James R. Carey of the Department of Entomology and Nematology recently swept all three awards in the 2023 Norma J. Lang Prize for Undergraduate Information Research in the category of Science, Engineering and Mathematics (SEM).
Carey, praised for his innovative teaching and writing approaches, each year encourages his students to submit their term papers, work accomplished in his classes, in the Lang Prize competition. Carey students are frequent winners, but this is the first year his students swept all three awards in the SEM category. Since 2020, a Carey student has won eight of the 13 awards, including four consecutive first-place SEM awards.
The Lang Prize, launched in 2017 to encourage the use of library resources and to reward the best research papers, memorializes Norma J. Lang (1931-2015), professor emerita of botany, who taught at UC Davis from 1963 to 1991.
This year's SEM winners are Jenna Schafer, first place with a $1000 prize; Sarah Shores, second, $750; and Neha Gondra, third, $500. Maram Saada, a former student in Carey's longevity class who won the 2022 first-place SEM award, also won this year's Arts, Humanity and Social Sciences (AHSS) category.
Jenna Schafer, First Place
Schafer's winning SEM category paper, “Timeout with Torpor: History, Biology and Future Medical Applications of a Survival Strategy,” was a research project for the Entomology 199 course (Special Study): Hibernation Writing Project. Her 19-page paper included a summary, introduction, background, history, synthetic torpor induction, medical applications, discussion and literature cited.
In her summary, Schafer wrote: “As human lifespans increase, technological advances push forward to continue this trend, and human torpor has entered the discussion as a mode to improve longevity, especially by reducing patient mortality. The purpose of this paper is to synthesize literature regarding humanity's history with hibernation, to discuss potential methods to induce torpor in humans, and to determine if there may be an ethical future for this historical survival mechanism in modern medicine to increase patient longevity.”
Reflecting on the project, Schafer noted: “When I joined Dr. Carey's Hibernation Writing Project, I was assigned the topic ‘Human Torpor: Historical, Accidental, and Medical.' I started the research process under the false pretense that I could simply skip over the background-gathering phase since I already had a topic. While I have written research papers in the past, none have been quite as robust as this project, and it turned into an extremely rewarding learning experience, but I soon realized how important background information is to understand what terms to use and how to piece them together for effective searching. Suffice it to say, my search strategies evolved continuously throughout this project as I gained more skills and a deeper understanding of the search tools I am privileged to have at my disposal as a UC Davis student.”
Shores submitted her paper on “Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome: Differences of Sex Development.”
“The development of biological sex is a complex process involving the interaction of chromosomes, gonads, and hormones,” Shores wrote in her summary. “Within these processes, differences/disorders of sex development can occur, which can result in an individual's chromosomes not aligning with their external/internal genitalia and/or gonads. One of these disorders is androgen insensitivity syndrome, an XY disorder of sex development that occurs during fetal development where the androgens required to develop the male internal and external genitalia goes undetected or partially undetected, resulting in and individual having XY sex chromosomes and female, ambiguous, or male external genitalia, depending on the severity of androgen insensitivity. This condition is not always identified at birth, but individuals with this condition are expected to have a normal lifespan.”
Reflecting on the paper, Shores said she wrote it in the fall quarter of 2022 as a term paper for Carey's longevity class. “The term paper was assigned in the beginning of the quarter to provide students the opportunity to practice skills related to researching and writing scientific research papers. The topic could be of the student's choosing so as long it was related to longevity and/or health. Immediately I knew that I wanted to write about an intersex condition since as a congenital disorder, it can encompass both health and life span.” She said she consulted Carey about the “relevance of my topic…as well as the general structure.”
Neha Gondra's third-place paper, Evaluating the Influence of the Mediterranean Diet on Reducing Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Obese Individuals, dealt with obesity.
“Obesity affects a significant proportion of the United States adult population,” she wrote in defining the purpose of the paper. “With the condition of obesity comes an increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases (CVD) such as atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction, among others. Adherence to healthy diets is recommended by healthcare providers to reduce weight loss and CVD risk through the consumption of essential nutrients. The Mediterranean Diet and reduced caloric intake of the Standard American Diet (SAD) are often followed by those who are overweight or obese to reduce weight and promote health.”
Gondra reflected that she wanted “to evaluate the influence of the Mediterranean diet on reducing cardiovascular disease risk factors in obese individuals. But I had neither conducted a literature review before nor knew the guidelines for doing so. I greatly utilized a guidebook from the UC Davis Library by Helen Aveyaard titled ‘Doing a Literature Review in Health and Social Care.' I crafted a basic skeleton for my review from this book's advice. But to start with, I needed to begin reviewing primary and secondary research to create a research matrix and annotated bibliography, synthesizing information from multiple sources.”
In summarizing her work, Gondra said: “…seemed to be no significant difference between reduction of CVD risk due to the Mediterranean Diet and due to calorie restriction in SAD. Both methods seemed to reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood but quantitatively, the reduction of such levels was low. Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet was found to be inversely associated with CVD risk factor occurrence. Further clinical research needs to be conducted with larger sample sizes and effectively evaluating whether obese patients originally consuming SAD are better off with adhering in higher level to the Mediterranean Diet or reducing caloric intake in their existing diet.”
Arts, Humanity and Social Sciences
In the Arts, Humanity and Social Sciences category, Maram Saada won with her paper, “Beyond One-Course Competency for Addressing the Challenges of Multicultural Education and Advocacy in CSUs.” Second place went to Mikayli Moore, for her “Female Weightlifters' Presentation of Gender on Instagram.” Kiara Kunnes scored third with her paper, “Does the Nigerian Government's Response to Violent Conflict Exacerbate Civilians' Fear?”
UC Davis Distinguished Professor James R. Carey, a member of the UC Davis faculty since 1980 and an international award-winning teacher, instructs his students how to research topics, use style sheets, and structure documents.
His peers have singled him out for numerous awards, including the 2015 Distinguished Achievement in Teaching Award from the Entomological Society of America; and the 2014 Distinguished Teaching Award from the UC Davis Academic Senate, given to internationally recognized professors who excel at teaching. Carey is globally recognized for his research in insect demography, mortality dynamics, and insect invasion biology.
Carey tells his students that they need to consider their research term paper requirement, not as merely "a writing assignment," but as "a production concept" involving a number of writing concepts and components:
- Writing video series. Carey \mandates that all his students view the 13-part video playlist he produced titled “How to Write a Research Term Paper.” The playlist—viewing time totals about an hour--covers technical aspects of term paper production, including best practices in word processing and typography as well as ethical writing (no plagiarism), researching, framing, drafting, editing, proofing and finalizing (Writing Instruction Playlist).
- Model papers. Just as all researchers can view example papers in journals, students also need models, too, Carey believes. He posts a term paper example, mocked up from his own writing, as well as links to all the award-winning student papers in the Lang Prize competition and such UC Davis student publications as Prized Writing and Aggie Transcripts.
- Technical fluency. Carey requires all students to learn best practices in both typography and word processing. Students must use exact 15-point spacing (not single or double), 11-point California FB typeface (not Times Roman), 1.5-inch page margins (for shorter lines) and, using style sheet tools, must create four formatting codes that cover 98 percent of the formatting—heading level 1, subheading level 2, body text and hanging paragraph. Submitted papers are not only technically uniform, but also possess an aesthetic beauty that Carey feels either consciously or sub-consciously inspires students to take pride of ownership that carries over to their efforts in other aspects of their paper. Carey requires his students to read and follow Butterick's Practical Typography.
Storytelling. Carey stresses storytelling as the overarching, unifying concept for writing a term paper, the basics of which are that the story must have structure (a beginning, a middle and an end), a voice (the student's) and character development (main theme or thread). The process of story development is inextricably linked to their paper development; once the story begins to form in a student's head and then on paper, the narrative flows more clearly, succinctly and with much less effort than a paper containing information “dumps.” - Writing and editing. Although Carey emphasizes the importance of producing clear, succinct and technically correct prose, he tells his students that this is only a part of the larger process concerned with a paper's structure and congruency.
Here are the first-place SEM winners from the Carey classrooms since 2020:
- 2020: Jessica Macaluso “The Biological Basis for Alzheimer's Disease.”
- 2021: Barry Nguyen, “Allostasis: The Fundamental Biology and Implications for Social Standing and Longevity.”
- 2022: Maram Saada, “Huntington's Disease: Etiology, Research Models and Treatment.”
- 2023: Jenna Schafer, "Timeout with Torpor: History, Biology and Future Medical Applications of a Survival Strategy."
Resources:
- How to Apply for Lang Prize
- Lang Prize Website by Kristin Burns, digital communications manager, UC Davis Library
