- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The seminar also will be virtual. The Zoom link is https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/3661107142.
Stuligross researches nutrition and pesticide exposure and their comparative effects on the blue orchard bee, Osmia lignaria, and the yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii. Pollination ecologist Neal Williams, professor in the Department of Entomology and Nematology, served as her major professor.
"I am doing a short postdoc with Neal Williams this fall, and in January I will start a postdoctoral research position with Nicole Rafferty at UC Riverside," Stuligross said.
"Anthropogenic environmental changes present multiple stressors that together impact biodiversity and ecosystem function," Stuligross writes in her abstract. "Among these, pesticide exposure and the loss of flowering plants are ubiquitous across contemporary landscapes and threaten the persistence of bee populations. In this dissertation, I explored the individual and combined effects of pesticide and floral resource stressors on bee behavior, reproduction, and population persistence, as well as a potential strategy for mitigating these impacts. I used a combination of manipulative field cage experiments and landscape studies to examine these stressors and their impacts at different scales.
"Because bees often experience pesticide and resource stressors simultaneously, I first examined the potential for interactive effects of these stressors, as well as their individual impacts on wild bees. I established a fully crossed design in field cages; nesting female Osmia lignaria, the solitary blue orchard bee, accessed wildflowers at high or low densities, treated with or without the common insecticide, imidacloprid. In Chapter 1, I showed that pesticide exposure and floral resource scarcity combined additively to dramatically alter multiple vital rates, including reduced reproduction and a male-biased offspring sex ratio. In Chapter 2, I quantified behavioral responses in the same experiment, revealing that the resource and pesticide stressors had differential impacts with consequences for bee populations and potentially for pollination services through individual behavioral changes. Limited floral resources required bees to make fewer, longer foraging trips as well as misidentify their nests more often upon return from these trips. Bees exposed to pesticides made shorter foraging trips and did not compensate for this by taking more trips, reducing their overall foraging activity. Pesticide exposure also interacted with age to affect antagonistic behavior."
"In Chapter 3, I examined the carryover effects of past pesticide exposure on wild bees. Using the offspring from the previous cage experiment with known pesticide exposure backgrounds, I re-established the field cages and released bees in a crossed design with pesticide exposure or no exposure in each year. Thus, some bees experienced pesticides over two generations and others not at all. Regardless of the past exposure history, pesticides in the second year reduced reproduction. For bees that were also exposed in the past, the exposure over two years additively impaired individual performance, leading to a nearly fourfold estimated reduction in bee population growth. Furthermore, even past exposure by itself, regardless of exposure in the second year, led to a decline in offspring production."
"In Chapter 4, I collaborated with Maj Rundlöf to investigate the potential for wildflower plantings to mitigate the negative effects of pesticide exposure in agricultural landscapes. We assessed the nesting and reproduction of O. lignaria and the bumble bee Bombus vosnesenskii in replicate agricultural landscapes, half of which contained a wildflower planting next to the nest or colony. We collected pollen from foraging bees to determine resource use and pesticide residues. The wildflower plantings were a source of pesticide exposure, especially for O. lignaria, but also supported O. lignaria nesting. The landscape-level floral resources better predicted B. vosnesenskii colony success, but the local flower resources mitigated the negative effects of pesticides on their reproduction."
"These chapters together show that two common environmental stressors combine to negativel impact bees. They also reveal potential mechanisms underlying impacts of the stressors on reproduction and population growth. My dissertation highlights the importance of mitigating the negative effects of pesticides and floral resource limitation, especially in agricultural landscapes where the two stressors often co-occur. Finally, this work offers insight into how the stressors could be mitigated through an emerging strategy to diversity agricultural landscapes."
Stuligross received her bachelor of arts degree in environmental studies in 2014 in Indiana from Earlham College, Richmond, where she minored in biology and outdoor education. At UC Davis, she was awarded a 2017-22 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, and a 2016-18 UC Davis Graduate Group in Ecology Fellowship.
Recognized nationally for her research, Stuligross scored second place in the Entomological Society of America's 2020 President's Prize competition. Her research posters also won the top award at the UC Davis Graduate Student Symposium in Ecology in both 2019 and 2021.
Stuligross and her colleague, Maj Rundlöf, are the co-first authors of "Flower Plantings Support Wild Bee Reproduction and May Also Mitigate Pesticide Exposure Effects," published in May 2022 in the Journal of Applied Ecology. She was the lead author of "Past Insecticide Exposure Reduces Bee Reproduction and Population Growth Rate," published in November 2021 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and also the lead author of "Pesticide and Resource Stressors Sdditively Impair Wild Bee Reproduction," published in September 2020 in The Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Stuligross has also co-authored a number of other research publications, most recently:
- "A Meta-Analysis of Single Visit Pollination Effectiveness Comparing Honeybees and Other Floral Visitors," American Journal of Botany
- "Impact of 'Nonlethal' Tarsal Clipping on Bumble Bees (Bombus vosnesenskii) May Depend on Queen Stage and Worker Size," Journal of Insect Conservation
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Winokur will discuss "Temperature Drives Transmission of Mosquito-borne Pathogens: Improving Entomological Estimates for Aedes aegypti-borne Virus Transmission Risk." Her seminar will be both in-person and virtual. The Zoom link:
https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/95882849672.
"The mosquito Aedes aegypti is the primary vector of a range of viruses that cause a major burden on human health worldwide, including dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever viruses," Winokur writes in her abstract. "As the Zika epidemic emerged in 2016, estimates for Zika risk were based on proxy evidence from closely related dengue virus. To improve risk estimates, we studied how temperature affects Zika virus extrinsic incubation period. We sought to further improve risk estimates by studying thermal preferences of Ae. aegypti mosquitoes in the laboratory and in the field. Current mosquito-borne pathogen risk models primarily use temperatures from weather stations or thermal imagery as a proxy for the temperatures mosquitoes experience, however such approaches do not account for local environments or microclimates available to adult mosquitoes. Taken together, the results of these studies can be used to improve prediction of mosquito-borne pathogen risk and inform mosquito control decisions."
A doctoral student at UC Davis since 2016, Winokur is studying for her PhD in entomology with a designated emphasis in the biology of vector-borne diseases. She will submit her dissertation in October and officially graduate then, "although I participated in the doctoral ceremony in June," she related. "I will be a postdoc in the Barker lab working with VectorSurv (https://vectorsurv.org/), and also have a PacVec postdoctoral fellowship (https://pacvec.us/) to dedicate 25 percent of my time to "Enriching Practical Learning Resources for Entomological, Medical, and One-Health Curricula.'
Olivia received her bachelor's degree in May of 2015 from Cornell University where she was an interdisciplinary studies major (environmental effects on human health).
At UC Davis, Winokur served as the 2019-2020 president of the Entomology Graduate Student Association and as a 2020-2022 committee member of the UC Davis Entomology Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging. She co-founded the Girls' Outdoor Adventure in Leadership and Science (GOALS) in 2017 and continues to serve in leadership roles. GOALS is a free two-week summer science program for high school girls and gender expansive youth from backgrounds underrepresented in STEM fields. They learn science, outdoors skills, and leadership hands-on while backpacking in Sequoia National Park.
In academic leadership, Winokur co-developed a Stanford course in 2019 on "How Vector-Borne Diseases Have Shaped Human History" and co-developed a syllabus and mentored students. She also co-developed a UC Davis course (2019, 2019, 2020) with other entomology graduate students on "The Natural History of Insects." She has served as both a teaching assistant and lecturer, as well as a mentor.
Active in the vector-borne disease community, Winokur completed a 2019-2020 term as the Executive Council student representative for the American Committee on Medical Entomology (ACME) and as a 2017-2019 volunteer with the Vector-Borne Disease Section of the California Department of Public Health, where she assisted with hantavirus and plague surveillance. She peer-reviews manuscripts for the Journal of Medical Entomology.
Winokur is the recipient of numerous fellowships and grants, including a $140,00 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship; a $30,000 Pacific Southwest Center of Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases Graduate Fellowship; a $25,000 Pacific Southwest Center of Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases Postdoctoral Fellowship; a Professors for the Future Fellowship (UC Davis) of $3,000; and two-consecutive Hazeltine Student Research Awards (UC Davis), totaling $5,500. She also received an American Geophysical Union Centennial Grant of $9,720 and an American Association for University Women Community Action Grant of $5,000 (outreach grants).
Winokur's latest peer-reviewed publications include co-authoring "The Influence of Vector-borne Disease on Human History: Socio-Ecological Mechanisms" in the journal Ecology Letters; and serving as the lead author of "Impact of Temperature on the Extrinsic Incubation Period of Zika Virus in Aedes aegypti in the journal PLOS (Public Library of Science): Neglected Tropical Diseases.
Emily Meineke, assistant professor of urban landscape entomology, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, coordinates the department's seminars for the 2022-23 academic year. All 11 seminars will take place both person and virtually at 4:10 p.m. on Wednesdays in Room 122 of Briggs Hall except for the Nov. 9th and Dec. 7th seminars, which will be virtual only, she said. (See list of seminars)
For further information on the seminars or technical difficulties with Zoom, contact Meineke at ekmeineke@ucdavis.edu.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Newton studies with Professor Jason Bond, associate dean, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair in Insect Systematics, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.
"Spiders placed in the infraorder Mygalomorphae (tarantulas, trapdoor spiders and their kin) are generally recognized as an ancient cosmopolitan lineage that has persisted for over 250 million years," Newton wrote in her abstract. "Mygalomorph life history traits that include limited dispersal abilities, habitat specialization, and site fidelity altogether make them ideal organisms for studying speciation pattern and process, phylogeography, and adaptation. Evolutionary studies of mygalomorphs at both shallow and deeper phylogenetic levels have been limited prior to the advent of next generation sequencing approaches, with the majority of such studies relying on morphological characters or limited targeted locus approaches for phylogenetic reconstruction. Thus, it is imperative to implement larger genomic-scale datasets for confident reconstruction of relationships."
Her dissertation focuses on species delimitation in two trapdoor spider groups, Antrodiaetus unicolor complex and Aptostichus icenoglei sister species complex, and evaluation of interspecific relationships within the genus Aptostichus. To address species boundaries in the A. unicolor species complex, she implemented genomic-scale data (that it, restriction-site associated DNA sequencing, RADseq) in conjunction with morphological, behavioral, and ecological data to evaluate cohesion species identity (Chapter I).
Similarly, assessing species boundaries in the Aptostichus icenoglei sibling species complex involved a target capture approach for subgenomic data (that is, ultraconserved elements, UCEs) and ecological data to evaluate genetic and ecological exchangeability, as per the cohesion species-based delimitation approach from a previous study (Chapter II).
Newton expects to receive her doctorate by the end of summer and "then I will be heading to the American Museum of Natural History where I will be working in Jessica Ware's lab as a postdoctoral fellow on systematics of broader Odonata as well as Anisoptera (dragonflies)."
First-Generation College Student. Born and raised in Eupora, Miss., Lacie is a first-generation college student. She received her bachelor of science degree in biological sciences from Millsaps College in 2016 and then enrolled in the graduate school program at Auburn University, Alabama, studying with Professor Bond. When he accepted the Schlinger Endowed Chair in Insect Systematics in 2018, Lacie, along with other lab members, transferred to UC Davis.
What sparked her interest in spiders? “I actually used to be terrified of spiders,” Lacie acknowledged. “It wasn't until fall semester of my sophomore year when I took a zoology course that I began to appreciate not only the vast amount of diversity within spiders but also how amazing they are as a group, such as the tensile strength of spider silk being comparable to steel, spider venoms playing a role in potential medical applications, and a myriad of feeding strategies, etc..”
Her research on folding-door spiders or the Antrodiaetus unicolor species complex led to a journal article published in Molecular Ecology: “Integrative Species Delimitation Reveals Cryptic Diversity in the Southern Appalachian Antrodiaetus unicolor (Araneae: Antrodiaetidae) Species Complex.” UC Davis co-authors are Professor Bond, who is the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair in Insect Systematics, and project scientist James Starrett of the Bond lab.
Newton is active in both the American Arachnological Society (AAS) and the Society of Systematic Biologists. She won a second-place award for her oral presentation on species delimitation at the 2019 AAS meeting, held at Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Va.
At UC Davis, Newton served as a teaching assistant for the “Introduction to Biology: Biodiversity and the Tree of Life” course. Her resume also includes:
- mentoring undergraduate students in the Mentoring Program, Equity in Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, and Entrepreneurship (ESTEME) organization, a graduate student organization dedicated to improving equity and inclusion in STEM fields, entrepreneurship, and leadership positions.
- volunteering on the admissions committee for GOALS, the Girls' Outdoor Adventure in Leadership and Science, a summer science program for high school students to learn science hands-on while backpacking through the wilderness.
AAS Conference at UC Davis. Newton is looking forward to the AAS conference, set June 26-30, at UC Davis, and will be assisting at the Eight-Legged Encounters open house from 1 to 4 p.m., June 25 at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building on Crocker Lane. The event will officially kick off the AAS meeting.
A "powerhouse" of arachnologists will be participating, said Bond, who will be hosting the conference with Lisa Chamberland, postdoctoral research associate, Department of Entomology and Nematology, and Joel Ledford, assistant professor of teaching, Department of Plant Biology, College of Biological Sciences.
Professor Eileen Hebets of the School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, is co-hosting the open house as part of a U.S. National Science Foundation grant, “Eight-Legged Encounters” that she developed as an outreach project to connect arachnologists with communities, especially youth.
Some 20 exhibits and activities will be set up in the hallway of the Academic Surge Building, said Tabatha Yang, the Bohart Museum's education and outreach coordinator. “There will be everything--spider specimens, live arachnids, activities, artwork, etc.," Bond related.
Another highlight of the American Arachnological
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The Zoom link is https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/92038151658, ID 920 3815 1658. (Contact Page at mpage@ucdavis.edu for the passcode.)
Page will present her dissertation research that investigates the impacts of increasing honey bee abundance on plant-pollinator interactions and plant pollination. Her work suggests that honey bees reduce pollen and nectar availability in flowers, leading to competitive displacement of native bees.
"Competitive displacement of native bees may in turn decrease plant pollination because native bees are often more effective than native bees as pollinators," Page says. "My research suggests that such changes are already occurring for Camassia quamash (small camas) following honey bee introductions in the Sierra Nevada."
Page is scheduled to receive her doctorate in entomology in June 2022 and then begin a postdoctoral fellowship with assistant professor Scott McArt at Cornell University, where she will investigate patterns of interspecific pathogen transmission and how more sustainable beekeeping practices might mitigate the negative effects of competition. McArt recently delivered a seminar hosted by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology on "Pesticide Risk to Pollinators: What We Know and What We Need to Know Better."
Page holds a master's degree in entomology (2019) from UC Davis and a bachelor's degree in biology (2016), cum laude, from Scripps College, Claremont, Calif.
Highly recognized for her work, Page received a three-year $115,000 National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship, funded by the Department of Defense. She was one of 69 recipients out of more than 3600 applicants. She earlier won a campuswide 2016-17 Graduate Scholars Fellowship of $25,200; a Vansell Scholarship in both 2018 and 2019; and Davis Society Botanical grants in 2017, 2018 and 2019. A 2018 Duffey-Dingle Research Fellowship also helped fund her research (optimizing pollinator plant mixes to simultaneously support wild and managed bees).
Active in the Entomological Society of America and the Ecological Society of America, Page scored a second-place award for her project, "Optimizing Wildflower Plant Mixes to Support Wild and Managed Bees" in a 2021 student competition hosted by the Entomological Society of America. She also presented “Impacts of Honey Bee Introductions on the Pollination of a Sierra Wildflower" at the August 2020 meeting of the Ecological Society of America, and "Can Visitation and Pollen Transport Patterns Predict Plant Pollination?" at the April 2019 meeting of the Pacific Branch, Entomological Society of America.
A strong supporter of community outreach and STEM, Page has been active in the summer program, Girls Outdoor Adventure and Leadership (GOALS) since August 2017. The free program is targeted for teens underrepresented in STEM. Page has served as a program co-organizer, mentor and lecturer. Part of her work included helping organize the 2021 summer program, leading a lecture on introductory data analysis, and helping students with their community science project (identifying pollinators in urban gardens).
Page was also active in Center for Land-Based Learning, serving as a mentor in the Student and Landowner Education and Watershed Stewardship. She mentored high school students, engaging them in hands-on conservation science at Say Hay Farm in Yolo County, and teaching them about how wildflower plantings benefit bees.
In July 2019, Page collaborated with colleagues at Cornell and the University of Minnesota to present a workshop on the intersections of science and social justice, aiming to make science more open and accessible.
Page and postdoctoral researcher Charlie Casey Nicholson of Williams lab recently co-authored the cover story, A Meta-Analysis of Single Visit Pollination Effectiveness Comparing Honeybees and other Floral Visitors, in the American Journal of Botany
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
She will deliver her in-person seminar at 4:10 p.m. in Room 122 of Briggs Hall.
“Growers and pest control advisors in California suspect that European earwigs (Forficula auricularia) damage young citrus fruit,” she writes in her abstract. “However, very little is known about herbivory by earwigs on citrus fruit. Our work details characteristics of herbivory by earwigs on citrus fruit and the use of sticky and pesticide barriers to manage earwigs and other citrus pests.”
Kahl, awarded her doctorate in August, focused her research on understanding the role of European earwigs in California citrus; developing a whole systems approach to manage earwigs and other citrus pests; and feeding preferences of fort-tailed bush katydids and citrus thrips on California citrus.
Kahl is now an ecological pest management specialist at Community Alliance with Family Farmers, Davis. She leads projects and extension efforts on sustainable pest management tactics.
She received an ongoing grant in 2019 from the Citrus Research Board on “Characterizing Earwig Damage to Citrus Fruits, and Damage Prevention using Trunk Barrier Treatment.” She also received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, awarded in 2017, and a 2018-19 Keller Pathways Fellowship (for entrepreneurship) from the University of California.
Kahl holds a bachelor's degree in biology from Whitman College, Walla Walla, and a master's degree in entomology from the University of Maryland, College Park. She studied abroad in a six-month School for International Training program in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India in 2010. Her research topic: Village dairy production in Haryana and Orissa.
This is the department's first seminar of the fall series. Many of the seminars will be virtual, said nematologist Shahid Siddique, who is coordinating the seminars. For more information,contact him at ssiddique@ucdavis.edu
(Due to website issues, no photos could be posted. See Bug Squad post for images)