Agroecologist Randa Jabbour

She will speak on "Interdisciplinary Collaborations in Pest Management Research--My Alfalfa Weevil Stories" in a seminar hosted by agricultural entomologist Ian Grettenberger, assistant professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.

This the first in a series of the winter seminars to  take place on Wednesdays at 4:10 p.m., beginning Jan. 5 and continuing through March 9, announced seminar coordinator and nematologist Shahid Siddique, assistant professor.  Both in-person and virtual seminars will be broadcast via Zoom at https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/99515291076. The in-person seminars will be in 122 Briggs Hall.

"Alfalfa weevil was first found in the Western United States in the early 1900s and continues to be a particularly problematic pest in the Western United States," Jabbour says in her abstract. "I will share current research to improve sustainability of alfalfa weevil management, much of which centers on timing –both harvest timing and pesticide spray timing. I will talk about my favorite things: biological control, interdisciplinarity, farmer perspectives, and new ideas from grad students."

Jabbour says her overall research "is to utilize ecological interactions to design sustainable agricultural systems. Specifically, I study 1) pest management in cropping systems, 2) the effect of biodiversity and habitat heterogeneity on ecosystem services, and 3) the role of farmer decision-making in agricultural management, in collaboration with social scientists. Here in Wyoming, I plan to develop research projects in these areas in relevant field crop and forage systems, in collaboration with faculty and Extension professionals here at the University and with others in the region."

Jabbour holds a bachelor of science degree (2003) from the Rochester Institute of Technology and a doctorate from Pennsylvania State University, where she focused on the biological pest control of insects. She served as a postdoctoral scholar from 2009 to 2010 at Washington State University, where "I studied the effects of pathogen diversity on host mortality of the Colorado potato beetle, gaining perspective in both biodiversity-ecosystem functioning research and the practical realities of 'big ag' potato fields." She completed a second post-doctoral position at the University of Maine, where she engaged in  "balanced teaching and research responsibilities."

Jabbour's research at the University of Maine, in collaboration with social scientists and her supervisor Eric Gallandt, characterized New England organic farmer weed management philosophies, she wrote on her website. "This project was a great opportunity for me to incorporate the human dimension of pest management into my ecological research. I also collaborated with MS student Sonja Birthisel to quantify sources of variation of weed seed predation rates in a diverse Maine agricultural landscape. I particularly appreciate learning from the extensive experience of farmers, and I am passionate about supporting local food systems. I enjoy exploring the dramatic landscapes of the West, and feel as if I have just barely begun traveling around the big wondrous expanse that is my new home in Wyoming-- lots of ground to cover! In my spare time, I enjoy hiking, road trips, cooking, yoga, trying to be a runner again, and reading all sorts of things."

The remainder of the seminars in January are:

Jan. 12, 2022 
Sylvia Fischer, Mosquito Study Group, Department of Ecology, Genetics and Evolution, Universidad de Buenos Aires 
Virtual seminar 
Title: "Recent Expansion of Aedes aegypti Distribution: Are the Populations Adapting to Colder Climate Regions?" 
Host: Erin "Taylor Kelly, doctoral student in the Geoffrey Attardo lab, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology

Jan. 19, 2022
Megan Meuti, assistant professor, Department of Entomology, The Ohio State University
Virtual seminar
Title: "How Do Mosquitoes Correctly Interpret Environmental Signals into Complex Seasonal Responses?"
Host: Geoffrey Attardo, assistant professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology  

Jan. 19, 2022
Megan Meuti, assistant professor, Department of Entomology, The Ohio State University
Virtual seminar
Title: "How Do Mosquitoes Correctly Interpret Environmental Signals into Complex Seasonal Responses?"
Host: Geoffrey Attardo, assistant professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology

Jan. 26, 2022
Tobin Hammer, postdoctoral researcher, University of Texas, Austin (he will start as an assistant professor in UC Irvine's Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department in January 2022)
In-person seminar
Title: "Diversity and Dynamism in Social Bee Microbiomes"
Host: Rachel Vannette, associate professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology

See schedule for complete list of winter quarter seminars. For technical issues, Siddique may be reached at ssiddique@ucdavis.edu.