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ADJUNCT FACULTY RESUMES

Adjunct Assistant Professor; Research Entomologist with the USDA Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics and Physiology Laboratory

Program goals: Breed and select honey bees with resistance to the parasitic tracheal mites, Acarapis woodi. Determine the usefulness of honey bees as pollinators of regionally important crops.

Major activities: Parasitism by tracheal mites constitutes a significant biological challenge to productive beekeeping in the United States. The emphasis of the program is on finding, developing and using honey bees with genetic resistance to this mites. Recent research determined that the level of mite resistance in commercial breeding populations of bees is highly variable among colonies. Current work involves measuring the effect of testing and selection for improving levels of resistance, and transferring the testing methods to private industry. A new component of the work involves finding ways to use honey bees to effectively pollinate rabbiteye blueberries, and to assess the potential of honey bee pollination to increase soybean yields. Blueberry pollination needs documentation of the effectiveness of honey bees under most situations, and what may cause pollination failures in other situations. Previous data about soybean pollination suggest honey bees may increase yields by about 10%, but current cultivars and cropping systems have not yet been studied.

Currently serving as the Dean’s Representative on the committee of a Ph.D. student in Veterinary Pathology.

Personnel: José Villa, Entomologist. Duties: Participates in all aspects of the program, including planning and conducting experiments, maintaining genetic lines of bees by proper management and propagation, maintaining colony records, helping to prepare manuscripts and presentations, delivering technical information in presentations to beekeeping and scientific groups, and guiding technical help and beekeeping cooperators.

Cooperators: Blair Sampson, Entomologist, USDA Small Fruits Laboratory, Poplarville, MS – rabbiteye blueberry studies.

Non-research activities: Have organized and taught most of ENTM 4011 (Biology and Management of the Honey Bee).

Funding is through approved ARS CRIS projects.

Adjunct faculty; Research Entomologist with the USDA Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics & Physiology

Program Goals: Describe genetic mechanisms of resistance in honey bees that will enable bee breeders to select honey bees for resistance to Varroa destructor, an external parasitic mite.

Major Activities: A research grant from the Michigan Department of Agriculture was channeled through the Department of Entomology (LSU) in 1998 and 1999. We hired a technician, student workers, and a postdoctoral researcher (Jeff Harris) with this money.

Dr. Harris is now on the USDA staff at the Bee Lab, and we still work together on selecting bees for resistance to mites. We have selected a trait of the bee that we call suppression of mite reproduction (SMR). We have shown that suppressing mite reproduction is a heritable trait of the bee and that one can produce colonies of bees with 100% SMR. Colonies with the SMR trait are resistant to varroa because none of the mites produce progeny. We presently working to find other mite-resistant traits of the bee and are working to incorporate SMR genes into our commercial population of honey bees. -

I presently have no graduate students but have served as major advisor for one student (Jeff Harris, MS about 1991) and have served on other graduate student committees. I currently serve as Dean’s representative on a committee for a student who is working on her Ph.D. at the Vet. School.

Personnel: Daniel Winfrey is a Biological Technician (ARS) who works with me on a full time basis.

Adjunct faculty; Research Entomologist with the USDA Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics & Physiology

Laboratory.

Program goals: Breed and select honey bees with resistance to varroa mites. Determine the trigger for development of eggs in varroa mites.

Major activities: Varroa mites (Varroa destructor) remain the most destructive parasites of honey bees (Apis mellifera) worldwide. My focus has been the selective breeding of varroa-resistant honey bees. I am involved with three bee breeding projects: (a) breeding honey bees that suppress mite reproduction, (b) selection and breeding of varroa-resistant bees imported from eastern Russia, and (c) the identification of new traits in bees that might confer resistance to varroa mites. My breeding program relies heavily on controlled matings of bees using instrumental insemination and detailed monitoring of the growth of mite populations within colonies of bees in short field tests. My secondary interests include a desire to identify (and disrupt) the natural trigger of reproduction in varroa mites. Some of my tests should help decide whether chemotactic cues within the honey bee brood cell or ingested blood meals obtained from bee larvae actually trigger the development of eggs in varroa mites. The ultimate goal is to produce lines of bees that require fewer applications of acaricides than currently used to control varroa mites at populations below an economic injury level.

Personnel: David F. Dodge; Biological Technician whose duties include all basic beekeeping work involved with major projects, maintenance of support colonies, and laboratory and field measurements of variables related to growth of populations of honey bees and varroa mites.

Cooperators: none external to the laboratory.

Non-research activities: I have taught two graduate courses within the Department of Entomology (Biology and Management of Honey Bees - ENTM 4011; Fundamentals of Insect Physiology - ENTM 4016).

Funding is through approved ARS CRIS projects.

Project Leader, Research Entomologist, USDA Forest Service, Pineville, LA. Adjunct Associate Professor/ Graduate Faculty, Entomology.

Role in the department of entomology: Service on graduate student committees, lectures in departmental courses, collaborative research with students and faculty.

Description of activities and goals of current program: Currently involved in collaborative research addressing:

Interactions of fire and forest insects in affecting the health and restoration of longleaf pine – prescribed burns to restore longleaf pine ecosystems may also cause damage to trees and/or attract damaging insects. We are evaluating the effects of these burns and quantifying the presence of forest insects as related to fires.

Biology and ecology of predators of southern pine bark beetles – the southern pine beetle, and the co-occurring engraver beetles, are important economic and ecological insects, killing their tree hosts and disturbing the forest ecosystem. Natural enemies of these beetles include predacious beetles (Histeridae), the ecology and biology of which remains poorly understood. We are describing the potential of these beetles as biological control agents in field and laboratory studies.

Role of beetles and their vectored fungi in decline of pines – loblolly pine is currently undergoing a decline in certain areas. Trees grow more slowly and may ultimately be killed by bark beetles. We are quantitatively describing the insect and fungal components of this decline in an attempt to elucidate the syndrome’s etiology. This interdisciplinary (entomology/plant pathology) involves field sampling and laboratory isolation and characterization of insects and fungi.

I play an active role in this research by advising the students conducting this research, and assisting in experimental design, field experiments and laboratory analysis. I also administer the Forest Service personnel and facilities utilized in much of this research.

Names and position of personnel (from Pineville) working in the program and description of their duties:

Jolie Mahfouz, Research Technician – chemical analysis.

Brian Strom - – assistance with design and execution of field experiments.

Brian Sullivan, Research Scientist – assistance with design and execution of laboratory experiments.

Erich Vallery, Research Technician –assistance with trapping and other field activities.

Jim Meeker, State of Florida, Division of Forestry – provision of technical expertise and field sites for studies of fire-insect interactions in Florida; Dave Haywood, USDA Forest Service – assistance with location of fire sites and implementation of controlled burns.

Nolan Hess, USDA Forest Service – assistance with field sampling and laboratory analysis of samples from declining pine stands.

Location: Division of Environmental Science, Entomology Project, LSU AgCenter, P.O. Box 25100, Baton Rouge, LA 70894

Telephone: (225) 388-2180

Fax: (225) 388-2257

E-mail: amorgan@agctr.lsu.edu

Education: B.S.-Louisiana State University, Entomology, 1975

M.S.-Louisiana State University, Vocational Education, 1994

Academic Rank: County Agent

Distribution of Effort: 100% Extension Entomology

Areas: Termites and other Structural Pests, Small fruit and vegetable insects

1989- present– LSU Agricultural Center

1980-1989- Ciba Geigy Corp.-Seed Division

1975-1980- LSU Agricultural Center

Societies: Entomological Society of America 

Southeastern Branch, Entomological Society of America

Louisiana County Agents Association

Epsilon Sigma Phi

Louisiana Pest Control Association

National Pest Control Association

Hu, X.P., Ring, D., Morgan, A., and Pollet, D. 2000. A guide for integrated pest management of termites. La Cooperative Extension publication number 2797.

Formosan Subterranean Termite Pilot Demonstration in the French Quarter of New Orleans, LA. Entomological Society Of America, 1999, Atlanta Georgia

Results from A Wide Area Demonstration on the Management of the Formosan Termite, Entomological Society of America, Montreal, Canada, 2000

A Pilot Test for Area Wide Management of the Formosan Termite, XXI International Congress of Entomology, Brazil, 2000

A Management Demonstration for the Formosan Subterranean Termite, Southeast Branch Entomological Society of America, Mobile, AL, 2000

A Pilot Demonstration for Area Wide Management of the Formosan Subterranean Termite, National Conference on Urban Entomology, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 2000.

My greatest responsibilities are related to the Formosan Termite program in the French Quarter of New Orleans, together with other programs related to vegetable and small fruit pests.

Responsibilities associated with the French Quarter Program include collaborating with USDA/ARS in termite research, data management and preparation of reports from 15 block demonstration area, PCO relations, payment and management of PCO renewal bills and contracts for properties enrolled in the demonstration pilot test, monitoring alate traps and inground termite monitoring stations, including documenting and analysis of this data. Educational programs are also designed and delivered to extension agents, civic organizations, local governing bodies, and to the general public. Media presentations, including newspaper, radio, and television, are delivered on a regular basis. Numerous telephone inquiries are handled on a daily basis and specific site visits are conducted when needed.

1. Continuing to carry out all responsibilities of the French Quarter Termite Program

2. Design and deliver educational programs to general public

3. Develop and distribute additional needed publications for homeowners,homebuyers, general public, real estate agents, etc.

Adjunct Professor; Research Leader, USDA-ARS Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics and Physiology Laboratory

Specific research objectives of the unit include: 1) importing and evaluating stocks resistant to parasitic mites and diseases or stocks generally improved in behavior; 2) using genetic techniques to address problems caused by varroa mites; 3) using genetic techniques to address problems caused by tracheal mites; 4) developing simple, cost effective measurements of specific characteristics that can be used with improved breeding programs and germplasm storage techniques to solve apicultural problems; 5) studying populations of all species of honey bees worldwide with the goals of identifying useful germplasm and distinguishing apicultural and agricultural threats; 6) characterizing the process of Africanization of current U.S. stocks, including development of identification methods and appropriate management techniques; and 8) developing methods for characterizing and breeding honey bees for improved pollination efficiency, especially on newly developed crops. Personal research is currently directed at the first objective. This has involved discovering a source of varroa resistant stock in far-eastern Russia, importing mated queens and conducting a selection program to stabalize and improve the resistant traits. Currently the stock has been released to the beekeeping industry. The stock selection continues and a release is provided to the industry annually

Personnel: Gary Delatte, Tony Stelzer and Lorraine Beaman, all ARS Biological Technicians, have varied duty descriptions which collectively support the research program.

Cooperators: Beekeepers in Louisiana, Mississippi, Iowa and New York provide apiaries fro stock evaluation. Stock propagation is done on several properties supplied by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

Funding is through approved ARS CRIS projects.

Adjunct Professor

Research: The incumbent is a Research Entomologist at the USDA-ARS, SRRC Sugarcane Research Unit, Houma, LA and a member of a multidisciplinary team comprised of an entomologist, a plant pathologist, an agronomist, and two geneticists. The incumbent's assignment is broad in scope and requires a systematic research approach to enhancing insect resistance in sugarcane germplasm, developing insect pest management practices for sugarcane and determining the behavior of insect pests and beneficials.

Ph.D.:

E.A. Ostheimer (Ph.D. training program) - Management of Soil Insect Pests of Sugarcane

F.R. Posey (MS training program) - Economics of Insect Pest Management in the Louisiana Sugarcane Industry.

Completed Committees:

Andrew Woolwine, May 1998. "Ecology and loss assessment of selected homopteran pests on sugarcane: interactions with the fire ant, Solenopsis wagneri Santchi."

Ricardo T. Bessin, May 1990. "Assessing the potential impact of sugarcane cultivars and predation on Diatraea saccharalis (F.) populations in southern Louisiana.

MS:

E.A. Ostheimer, May 1996. "Measurement of sugarcane canopy penetration and insecticide efficacy of aerial spray."

Currently Submitted

White, W.H., T.E. Reagan, and D.G. Hall. 2000. Melanahpis sacchari (Homoptera: Aphidae), a sugarcane pest new to Louisiana. Florida Entomologist. Host Plant Resistance, Germplasm Releases, and Variety Releases

White, W.H., J.D. Miller, S.B. Milligan, D.M. Burner, and B.L. Legendre. 2001. Inheritance of sugarcane borer resistance in sugarcane derived from two measures of insect damage. Crop Sci. (Accepted December 2000).

Legendre, B.L., W.H. White, M.P. Grisham, E.O. Dufrene, D.D. Garrison, and J.D. Mller. 2000. Registration of 'HoCP 91-555' sugarcane. Crop Sci. 40:1506.

Burner, D.M., B.L. Legendre, W.H. White, and J.D. Miller. 1999. Registration of seven multiple-bud genetic stocks of sugarcane. Crop Sci. 39:304.

White, W.H., D.M. Burner, B.L. Legendre, and J.D. Miller. 1998. Registration of 12 sc germplasm clones resistant to sugarcane borer: HoCP 92-678, HoCP 93-775, and HoCP 93-776, US 93-15 to US 93- 17, and US 96-1 to US 96-6. Crop Sci. 38: 1726-1727.

Legendre, B.L., M.P. Grisham, W.H. White, D.D. Garrison, E.O. Dufrene, and J.D. Miller. 1994. Registration of 'HoCP 85-845' sugarcane. Crop Sci. 34:820.

White, W.H., B.L. Legendre, J.D. Miller, J.W. Dunckelman. 1993. Registration of five sugarcane borer resistant sugarcane germplasm clones. Crop Sci. 33:348-349.

White, W.H. 1992. Cluster analysis for assessing sugarcane borer resistance in sugarcane line trials. Field Crops Res. 33:159-168.

Research Microbiologist, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Southern Regional Research Center, New Orleans, LA

Adjunct Assistant Professor, LSUAC – Department of Entomology

Role in the Department of Entomology: Service on a graduate student committee, collaborative research with faculty members and students.

Description of Activities and Goals of Current Program: The development of novel mechanisms to effect control of the Formosan subterranean termite is the goal of the Formosan Subterranean Termite (FST) Research Unit of which I am a member. The unit encompasses a multidisciplinary program and employs scientists who are conducting studies in the areas of nutrition, foraging behavior, colony organization, physical and chemical control, biological control, and detection methods. Eleven scientists with a scientific support staff are housed at the Southern Regional Research Center. Collaborators are located at universities and government facilities throughout the Gulf South and in Hawaii. I am actively involved in collaborative biological control research to identify and screen entomopathogens, primarily bacteria and fungi, for efficacy against FST. Entomopathogens are being selected through two basic approaches. Microorganisms that are known to affect other insects are being selected based on their effectiveness against FST, and microorganisms that coexist with FST are being screened for heightened pathogenicity.