Posts Tagged: Marshall Johnson
Newly Inducted ESA Fellow Jay Rosenheim Didn't Set Out to Study Insect Science
He didn't set out to study insect science. Jay Rosenheim was a third-year physics major at the...
Jay Rosenheim digging a nest at UC Berkeley's Sagehen Creek Field Station, Truckee, in 1984.
Postdoctoral researcher Jay Rosenheim (back row, far right) at the University of Hawaii in 1988. His advisors were Marshall Johnson (front row, far right) and Bruce Tabashnik (back row, third from left).
UC Davis distinguished professor Jay Rosenheim doing research at the Jepson Prairie Preserve, a Dixon-area site renowned for its vernal pools. The preserve is owned by the Solano Land Trust, which manages the site with UC Davis, the Nature Conservancy and Jepson Prairie Docents. Rosenheim serves as the volunteer faculty representative for the preserve. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
UC biological control scientist Marshall W. Johnson to retire in June
Johnson traces his interest in insects to a visit with a family friend on the outskirts of his hometown, Roanake, Va., when he was 10 years old. He was intrigued by a copy of “A Golden Guide to Familiar American Insects,” and the friend gave it to him. “That’s how I got started,” Johnson said. He never looked back.
Johnson earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in entomology at North Carolina State University and in 1974 completed a Ph.D. in entomology at UC Riverside. After conducting short stints of entomological research at two locations on the mainland, he moved to Hawaii in 1983 to serve as a professor and focus his research on biological control.
In Hawaii watermelon production, Johnson was able to help farmers reduce pesticide use by 90 percent by showing that pesticide applications were killing natural enemies of a Liriomyza leafminer pest they were trying to control. He also worked on biological control of pests on cucumbers, tomatoes, green onions, pineapple, papaya and coffee.
In 1995, Johnson took a six-month sabbatical leave to UC Davis and realized how much he missed living on the mainland. He started looking for a new job and eventually was offered the combined extension and research position at his alma mater, UC Riverside, based at the off-campus research center in Parlier, Calif.
Johnson’s arrival coincided with the introduction of olive fruit fly in California, a serious pest that has devastated olive production in the Mediterranean region for more than 2,000 years. Olive fruit fly was detected in Los Angeles in 1998, and by 1999 had made its way into the San Joaquin Valley, the leading producer of the state’s olives.
To the great relief of valley olive growers, Johnson and his biological control colleague Kent Daane, UCCE specialist in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at UC Berkeley, found that hot summertime temperatures in the valley depress olive fly populations. But that didn’t provide a statewide solution.
Johnson and Daane worked together to introduce exotic natural enemies of the pest from Africa. The beneficial insects have been released from quarantine and introduced at several locations in California, with recovery of one species in the San Luis Obispo and Redwood City areas.
“We think it’s on the way to establishment. That’s a good sign,” Johnson said. “Now we're waiting to see if the parasite’s presence will have an impact on olive fly populations.”
Johnson was also involved in research that showed the Central Valley isn’t as hospitable to glassy-winged sharpshooters as other parts of the state. When it gets very cold, GWSS cannot move or feed. They either starve or get dehydrated.
“About every 2 out of 10 years, it gets cold enough in the valley that glassy-winged sharpshooter populations are reduced 90 to 95 percent,” Johnson said. “It is unlikely glassy-winged sharpshooters would ever become well established in the Sacramento Valley or the northern San Joaquin Valley. But it is well established in the Bakersfield area.”
Johnson ended his career with a video production project designed to raise awareness about integrated pest management. Posted on the website Extending Orchard IPM Knowledge in California, the videos include interviews with IPM practitioners, researchers and farmers plus overviews of specific pest control techniques, such as biological control, cultural practices and pheromones.
For his research and extension efforts, Johnson received numerous awards and honors over the years. Most recently, he was named “Distinguished Scientist of the Year,” by the International Organization for Biological Control. He is an elected fellow of both the Entomological Society of America and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was author or co-author of more than 200 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and extension publications.
During retirement, Johnson plans to spend more time pursuing the art of photography, mainly landscapes and seascapes, which he captures during travels around the United States. Johnson also plans to continue cataloging the history of the family of his mother, whose maiden name was “Marshall.” He has already traced his lineage back to a 1729 immigrant from Ireland. An earlier ancestor, a member of the provincial council in Pennsylvania, was governor for one day when William Penn was absent from the colony, Johnson said.
Marshall Johnson named 'Distinguished Scientist of the Year'
Only one individual is recognized annually for the award. Nominees must have spent most of their career in the nearctic region, which encompasses the United States and Canada, and have made significant contributions to the area of biological control. Johnson has established an international reputation for outstanding contributions to the fields of biological control and entomology in research, teaching, extension, and administration.
During the past three decades, he has advanced entomology by developing and implementing successful integrated pest management programs in several cropping systems. He has elucidated the relationships between economically important pests and their natural enemies, and used this information to enhance biological control, thereby improving pest control and reducing reliance on insecticides. He has also been a leading contributor to understanding and mitigating negative effects of pesticides on pest control, including pesticide resistance, pest resurgence, and secondary pest outbreaks. Much of his work has focused specifically on the integration of natural enemies into systems where heavy pesticide use is common such as vegetable crops.
To date, Johnson has published more than 240 publications. Of these, more than 155 were refereed publications including journal articles, book chapters, and review articles. Nearly 100 of his articles specifically deal with some aspect of natural enemy biology or ecology. His published works have been cited over 4,100 times in the scientific literature.
But Johnson’s impact on biological control extends far beyond the number of articles that he has published. He has served in a leadership role in several committees and organizations focused on coordinating and expanding the role of biological control. These include the Western Regional Committee on Biological Control; Customer Advisory Group, National Biological Control Institute; Experiment Station Committee on Policy — Biological Control Working Group; and the IOBC-NRS. He has served as an editor of the journal Biological Control – Theory and Application in Pest Management, and continues to serve on the journal’s editorial board. He has helped organize and coordinate several conferences on biological control.
His many awards and honors include being named a fellow of both the Entomological Society of America and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is a recipient of the C. W. Woodworth Award from the Pacific Branch of the Entomological Society of America and the Entomological Society of America Recognition Award for Contributions to Agriculture.
The Department of Entomology at UC Riverside is a world leader in the area of biological control. Several of its faculty members have been recognized via the IOBC-NRS Distinguished Scientist of the Year Award, including, most recently, Richard Stouthamer (2010), Robert F. Luck (2003), and James A. McMurtry (2001).
The International Organization for Biological Control was established in 1955 as a global organization affiliated to the International Council of Scientific Unions. Divided into six regional sections, the organization promotes environmentally safe methods of pest and disease control, and focuses on the use of natural enemies to control undesirable arthropod pests, noxious weeds, and other pestiferous organisms.