- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Carey, a 35-year member of the UC Davis faculty, is the recipient of the 2015 Distinguished Achievement in Teaching Award from the worldwide Entomological Society of America (ESA), announced Richard Levine, ESA's communications program manager.
The award, presented annually to one of the 7000 members of ESA, singles out “what is deemed to be the most outstanding teacher of the year,” Levine said. Carey is the second UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology to receive the honor. Diane Ullman was awarded the prize in 2014.
Carey will receive the honor at the ESA's Nov. 15-18 meeting in Minneapolis, Minn.
He earlier received the 2014 Distinguished Teaching Award from the Pacific Branch of ESA, which covers 11 Western states, U.S. territories and parts of Canada and Mexico; and the UC Davis Academic Senate's 2014 Distinguished Teaching Award, an honor given to internationally recognized professors who excel at teaching.
Over the last five years Carey has developed a technological-savvy teaching program, a groundbreaking model for 21st Century instruction using short, concise videos. He teaches faculty, staff and students how to create the succinct videos, and how to record seminars. All are geared toward ease of learning and increased knowledge retention.
Carey himself has created 125 mini-videos. One of the most viewed is a 12-minute video covering 15 digital ideas and teaching that has drawn national and global attention. For the past several years, Carey has taught video instruction methods throughout the country and for the 9-university Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa. (See his videos on his faculty page at https://entnem.ucdavis.edu/people/james-carey)
His students continually thank him for motivating, encouraging and inspiring them, praising him as “best teacher” and “invaluable.” A Japanese exchange student lauded him for “his creativity of coursework, unmeasurably broad knowledge and enthusiasm for mentoring.”
His teaching philosophy? “Just as changing weather patterns cannot be understood without a deeper understanding of the drivers of climate change, students need to know the big picture to understand the pixels,” Carey said. “Students learn the need to zoom in and zoom out so that they can consider the details in the context of larger conceptual and operational frameworks.”
Carey teaches two main courses at UC Davis, including an upper-division course titled “Longevity” and a lower-division general education online course titled “Terrorism and War.” In keeping with advancing technology, Carey uses Skype each week to bring in new scientists; uses micro voice, a language miniaturization essay concept, a syllabus familiarization quiz; and paperless exams.
Carey's deep interest in the use of digital technology in academia started when he chaired the UC Academic Senate University Committee on Research Policy. He described a framework or “road map” for using video capture of seminars to increase research synergy across the 10 UC campuses. The University of California TV station, UCTV, then used this publication as a roadmap for creating the video platform, UCTV Seminars. To date, the website has tallied some 10 million seminar downloads.
One reason for the popularity of this new platform, Carey said, “is a low-tech, low-cost, and easy-to-use video recording equipment that anyone can use.” Seminars should be “public,” he said, and the tax-paying public ought to be able to view the seminars for free.
Carey is internationally known for his research in insect demography, mortality dynamics, and insect invasion biology and is considered the preeminent global authority on arthropod demography. Carey was selected a plenary speaker for the 2016 International Congress of Entomology in Orlando, Fla., where he will present “Insect Demography: A 21st Century Tour.”
He holds a bachelor of science degree in fisheries and wildlife biology and a master's degree in entomology from Iowa State University. He received his doctorate in entomology from UC Berkeley in 1980 and then joined the UC Davis entomology faculty that year.
Carey is a Fellow of ESA as well as of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Gerontological Society of America, and the California Academy of Science. He has authored 250 scientific publications and three books, including the highly cited Demography for Biologists with Special Emphasis on Insects (Oxford, 1993).
Among his major accomplishments in video technology:
Write Like a Professor: The Research Term Paper (see UC Davis Library). To meet the considerable challenge of teaching writing to classes of 250 students, Carey created a playlist of 13 videos.
One Minute Entomology. Carey innovated the concept of the “one minute expert” by launching student-produced videos that are 60 seconds in length. To date, students taught by Carey and two colleagues have produced more than 125 videos. In this ongoing project, students learn entomology, insect identification, succinct writing and speaking, best practices for slide presentation, peer review and teamwork.
How to Make an Insect Collection. Carey taught undergraduate and graduate students how to gather information and produce short videos for “How to Make an Insect Collection.” The award-winning project, considered by ESA as the best of its kind on the internet, includes a playlist of 11 short videos showing different aspects of insect collecting--from use of nets and hand collecting to pinning mounting and labeling.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
He will be inducted as vice president-elect at the ESA's 63rd annual meeting, Nov. 15-18 in Minneapolis, Minn. He is scheduled to advance to vice president, president-elect, and president, and then serve a year fulfilling the duties of past president, according to Richard Levine, ESA communications program manager.
"The science represented by entomology and ESA has never been stronger," Parrella said in an ESA news release. "As a member of the governing board for six years, I supported an aggressive approach that followed the leadership of past presidents that has radically changed the society. I am honored to be able to continue this forward-looking stance to enhance the science of entomology, and the visibility and impact of the society at the national and international levels."
Active in ESA since graduate school, Parrella served as the Pacific Branch ESA representative to the ESA's governing board for six years, from 2007-2013. He received an ESA Recognition Award in 1987, was selected a fellow in 2008, and won the ESA Distinguished Achievement Award in Horticultural Entomology in 2011. Parrella currently serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Environmental Horticulture and the International Journal of Pest Management.
Two other UC Davis entomologists have served as the ESA president: Frank Zalom, distinguished professor of entomology, who served as president in 2014; and Donald McLean (1928-2014), emeritus professor and former chair of the department, who held that office in 1984. Zalom is an integrated pest management specialist, while McLean specialized in the insect transmission of pathogens.
Parrella received his bachelor of science degree in animal science from Rutgers-State University of Cook College, New Brunswick, N. J., and his master's degree and doctorate in entomology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA.
He joined the faculty of UC Riverside's Department of Entomology in 1980, and then the UC Davis Departments of Entomology and Environmental Horticulture in 1988. A professor in the Departments of Entomology (now the Department of Entomology and Nematology) and Plant Sciences since 1991, he served as associate dean, Division of Agricultural Sciences, UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences from 1999 to 2009.
Parrella focuses his research on developing integrated pest management (IPM) programs for greenhouse and nursery crops with an emphasis on biological control.
ESA, founded in 1889 and now totaling nearly 7000 members, is the largest organization in the world serving the professional and scientific needs of entomologists and people in related disciplines. Its members are affiliated with educational institutions, health agencies, private industry, and government. Members are researchers, teachers, extension service personnel, administrators, marketing representatives, research technicians, consultants, students, and hobbyists. For more information, visit http://www.entsoc.org.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Leslie Saul-Gershenz, a postdoctoral scientist in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology beginning January 2016, received the $220,000 grant from Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit of the Bureau of Land Management for the first year of the study.
“The grant will fund research to determine the type and extent of impacts that utility-scale solar installations on public lands may have on pollinator-plant webs in desert ecosystems,” Saul-Gershenz said. “Pollinators play a vital role in maintaining functional ecosystems. This project addresses the need for documenting instances of impacts from fragmentation of pollinator trap lines, loss of vegetation habitat for different life stages of pollinators, disruption of dependencies between endemic plants or endemic invertebrates and their respective companion pollinators or host plants, and potential demographic population declines from pollinator mortalities induced by specific types of renewable energy technology.”
Her co-principal investigators are pollination ecologist Neal Williams, associate professor in the department, and Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology and UC Davis professor of entomology. They will collaborate with native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, distinguished emeritus professor of entomology at UC Davis and a Bohart Museum associate; research associate Thomas Zavortink of the Bohart Museum; Terry Griswold of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service Bee Biology Lab; and John Ascher of the National University of Singapore.
Saul-Gershenz is known for her bee-parasite research on solitary ground-nesting bees in the genus Habropoda and its nest parasite, a blister beetle, Meloe franciscanus. The larvae of the parasitic blister beetle produce a chemical signal that mimics the sex pheromone of female solitary bee to lure males to the larval aggregation. The larvae attach to the male bee and then transfer to the female during mating. The end result: a larva winds up in the nest of a female bee, where it eats the nest provisions and likely the host egg.
The Mojave and Sonoran Deserts are biological hot spots of biodiversity supporting more than 689 species of bees and 1512 species of plants in the Mojave Desert alone, Saul-Gershenz said.
The grant cites several publications:
Baldwin, B. 2015. Personal Communication. U. C. Berkeley, Jepson Herbarium. Number of species of plants in the Mojave Desert.
Griswold, T., Higbee, S. and Messinger. O. (2006). Pollination Ecology Final Report for Biennium 2003, Clark County, Nevada (2004-2005). Logan, Utah, USDA-ARS Bee Biology
Zavortink, T. and Kimsey, L. “Bees (Hymenoptera, Apoidea) of the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area, Imperial County, California.” In preparation.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Did you know that their ancestors existed before dinosaurs did? And that fossil records show that they were the world's largest flying insects, some with wingspans measuring three feet?
Dragonfly/damselfly expert Rosser Garrison of the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) will share his knowledge of dragonflies and damselflies---and showcase some of his global specimens—at the Bohart Museum of Entomology's open house on Sunday, Sept. 20.
The open house, the museum's first of the 2015-16 academic year, is from 1 to 4 p.m. in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building on Crocker Lane, corner of Crocker Lane and LaRue Road, University of California, Davis. Admission and parking are free.
“Dragonfly relatives existed before the onset of the dinosaurs---Triassic Period, 250 to 200 million years ago,” Garrison said. Pointing out that these gigantic dragonfly-like insects had wingspans of about three feet, he said that “there was about 20 percent more oxygen in the atmosphere than there is now and other giant insects occurred during that period.”
Garrison will show some of his “Oh, My” dragonflies and videos. “Dragonflies are such neat creatures,” he said. “They are considered beneficial since both larvae---all aquatic--and adults are predators. But one is called the ‘Bee Butcher' and has a reputation for eating honey bees.”
Some interesting facts he related about dragonflies:
- They have a primitive flight mechanism compared to other insects, bees, butterflies, beetles and flies.”
- They, at least many dragonflies, mostly mate on the wing.
- They are not poisonous and they do not sew up people's ears (“devil's darning needles”). However, one group of large dragonflies are called—appropriately—"Darners."
- Larvae have a neat prehensile foldable lower lip unique in insects; it is used for capturing prey like mosquito larvae or even small fish.
Garrison is a senior insect biosystematist in the CDFA's Plant Pest Diagnostics Branch, Sacramento. He identifies various potential invertebrate pests (such as grasshoppers, true bugs and terrestrial mollusks) entering California and determines if they are threats to agricultural commodities.
Garrison's research has resulted in more than 80 published papers dealing with dragonflies, pest insects and includes monographic works and book chapters on tropical ecology and insect systematics.
Garrison was the senior author of two recently published volumes, “Dragonfly Genera of the ew World. An Illustrated and Annotated Key to the Anisoptera” (2006), and “Damselfly Genera of the New World. An Illustrated and Annotated Key to the Zygoptera” (2010), both published by The Johns Hopkins University Press). He has also contributed chapters on invertebrate ecology for “The Food Web of a Tropical Rain Forest” (Chicago University Press, 1996) and “Manu. The Biodiversity of Southeastern Peru” (National Museum of Natural History, 1996).
He has served as the editor of Odonatologica, the quarterly journal of the Societas Internationalis Odonatologica, since January 1998. He has researched and collected dragonflies throughout much of the world, including Puerto Rico, Argentina and Costa Rica.
Garrison received two degrees from the University of California, Berkeley: his master's degree in 1974 and his doctorate in 1979. His doctoral dissertation was on “Population Dynamics and Systematics of the Damselfly genus Enallagma of the western United States (Odonata: Coenagionidae) 1979, published in 1984.
He joined CDFA in December 2004 after serving as a senior biologist/entomologist for Los Angeles County, where he identified all potentially important agricultural invertebrate pests entering the county, and provided insect identification services and advice on their control.
Following the dragonfly/damsel presentation, five other weekend open houses are scheduled:
Saturday, Dec. 5, 1 to 4 p.m.: “Keep Calm and Insect On.”
Sunday, Jan. 10 from 1 to 4 p.m.: “Parasitoid Palooza II”
Saturday, Feb. 13: Biodiversity Museum Day
Saturday, April 16, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.: UC Davis Picnic Day
Saturday, July 31, 8 to 11 p.m.: “Celebrate Moths.”
The Bohart Museum, directed by Lynn Kimsey, houses a global collection of nearly eight million specimens, including 469 different species of dragonflies.
It is also the home of the seventh largest insect collection in North America, and the California Insect Survey, a storehouse of the insect biodiversity. Noted entomologist Richard M. Bohart (1913-2007) founded the museum.
Special attractions include a “live” petting zoo, featuring Madagascar hissing cockroaches, walking sticks and tarantulas. Visitors are invited to hold the insects and photograph them.
The museum's gift shop, open year around, includes T-shirts, sweatshirts, books, jewelry, posters, insect-collecting equipment and insect-themed candy.
The Bohart Museum's regular hours are from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. The museum is closed to the public on Fridays and on major holidays. Admission is free. Parking is free on weekends.
More information on the Bohart Museum is available by contacting (530) 752-0493 or emailing bmuseum@ucdavis.edu. Tabatha Yang (tabyang@ucdavis.edu) is the public education and outreach coordinator.
Related Links:
http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/PPD/staff/rgarrison.html/
http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/PPD/entomology/odonata.html
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The themes range from dragonflies to parasitoids to moths, in addition to the annual Biodiversity Museum Day and UC Davis Picnic Day. Most of the Bohart Museum open houses take place from 1 to 4 p.m. except for “Moth Night.”
The schedule:
Sunday, Sept. 20, 1 to 4 p.m.: “Thar Be Dragon (flies)”
Saturday, Dec. 5, 1 to 4 p.m.: “Keep Calm and Insect On.”
Sunday, Jan. 10 from 1 to 4 p.m.: Parasitoid Palooza II
Saturday, Feb. 13: Biodiversity Museum Day
Saturday, April 16, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.: UC Davis Picnic Day
Saturday, July 30, 8 to 11 p.m.: “Celebrate Moths.”
The special weekend hours are free and open to the public. Families are encouraged to attend. The museum is located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, corner of LaRue Road and Crocker Lane, University of California, Davis.
The Bohart Museum, directed by Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology at UC Davis, houses a global collection of nearly eight million specimens. It is also the home of the seventh largest insect collection in North America, and the California Insect Survey, a storehouse of the insect biodiversity. Noted entomologist Richard M. Bohart (1913-2007) founded the museum.
Special attractions include a “live” petting zoo, featuring Madagascar hissing cockroaches, walking sticks and tarantulas. Visitors are invited to hold the insects and photograph them.
The museum's gift shop, open year around, includes T-shirts, sweatshirts, books, jewelry, posters, insect-collecting equipment and insect-themed candy.
The Bohart Museum's regular hours are from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. The museum is closed to the public on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and on major holidays. Admission is free.
More information on the Bohart Museum is available by contacting (530) 752-0493 or email bmuseum@ucdavis.edu. Tabatha Yang tabyang@ucdavis.edu) does public education and outreach and conducts groups tours.
