University of Kentucky Invertebrate Ecology Laboratory

Assistant Professor, Arthropod Ecology

Ph.D. Cardiff University (2001)

Research Interests

My research program seeks to understand mechanisms of foraging by generalist predators and identify their role in biological control through the integration of molecular techniques, behavioral studies in the laboratory and field experiments. We are using these approaches, in parallel, to delineate trophic connectivity and measure the intensity of specific predator-prey interactions. Understanding the forces that regulate the abundance of these important natural enemies can ultimately provide information that discerns the role of prey biodiversity and habitat management on predation dynamics. These research projects therefore seek to understand how interactions between natural enemy and prey communities contribute to the provisioning of ecosystem services that lead to sustainability within agricultural systems.

The current research projects focus on two core areas which have major overlapping themes: spider ecology (with particular emphasis on the ecology and behavior of Linyphiidae) and food web biology which focuses on the utilization of molecular approaches to understand how biodiversity and alternative prey impact ecosystem function and biological control. Furthermore, by applying these research questions across different natural and managed ecosystems allow the extrapolation and interpretation of results in a broad ecological context; generalist predators respond very differently to disturbance regimes and understanding how the dynamics of foraging behavior vary across selected crops (corn, alfalfa, wheat, strawberry and potato) and natural ecosystems (scrubland, forests) will ultimately enhance our understanding of the processes that drive foraging behavior in the field.

Information for Prospective Graduate Students

If you are interested in graduate school to pursue a M.S. or Ph.D. in these broad themes in insect/spider ecology and biological control, please contact me.

How do I apply?

More Information for Prospective Students at the University of Kentucky

Selected Publications (last 4 years). Full publication list available on lab web page.

• Peterson, J.A., Romero, S., Harwood, J.D. (2010). Pollen interception by linyphiid spiders in a corn agroecosystem: implications for dietary diversification and risk assessment. Arthropod-Plant Interactions, 4:4, 207-217.
• Chapman, E.G., Romero, S., Harwood, J.D. (2010). Maximizing collection and minimizing risk: does vacuum sampling increase the likelihood for misinterpretation of food web connections? Molecular Ecology Resources, in press.
• Harwood, J.D., Parajulee, M.N. (2010). Global impact of biological invasions: transformation in pest management approaches. Biological Invasions, 12, 2855-2856.
• Jaramillo, J., Chapman, E.G., Vega, F.E., Harwood, J.D. (2010). Molecular diagnosis of a previously unreported predator-prey association in coffee: Karnyothrips flavipesJones (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae) predation on the coffee berry borer. Naturwissenschaften, 97, 291-298.
• Kerzicnik, L.M., Peairs, F.B., Harwood, J.D. (2010). Implications of Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia (Kurdjumov), falling rates for biological control in resistant and susceptible winter wheat lines. Arthropod-Plant Interactions, 4, 129-138.
• Romero, S., Harwood, J.D. (2010). Prey utilization by a community of linyphiid spiders: variation across diel and seasonal gradients. Biological Control, 52, 84-90.
• Harwood, J.D., Phillips, S.W., Lello, J., Sunderland, K.D., Glen, D.M., Bruford, M.W., Harper, G.L., Symondson, W.O.C. (2009). Reduced invertebrate biodiversity affects predator fitness and hence ability to control crop pests. Biological Control, 51, 499-506.
• Thomas, R.S., Harwood, J.D., Glen, D.M., Symondson, W.O.C. (2009). Tracking subterranean density-dependent predation by carabid larvae on slugs using monoclonal antibodies. Ecological Entomology, 34, 569-579.
• Obrycki, J.J., Harwood, J.D., Kring, T.J., O’Neil, R.J. (2009). Aphidophagy by Coccinellidae: application of biological control in agroecosystems. Biological Control, 51, 244-254.
• Peterson, J.A., Obrycki, J.J., Harwood, J.D. (2009). Quantification of exposure pathways in carabid food webs across multiple transgenic events. Biocontrol Science and Technology, 19, 613-625.
• Harwood, J.D., Yoo, H.J.S., Greenstone, M.H., Rowley, D.L. & O’Neil, R.J. (2009). Differential impact of adults and nymphs of a generalist predator on an exotic invasive pest demonstrated by molecular gut-content analysis. Biological Invasions, 11, 895-903.
• Harwood, J.D. (2008). Are sweep net sampling and pitfall trapping compatible with molecular analysis of predation? Environmental Entomology, 37, 990-995.
• Mc Donnell RJ, Paine TD, Stouthamer R, Gormally MJ, Harwood JD (2008). Molecular and morphological evidence for the occurrence of two new species of invasive slugs in Kentucky, Arion intermedius, and Arion hortensis (Arionidae: Stylommatophora). Journal of the Kentucky Academy of Science, 69, 117-123.
• Harwood, J.D., Greenstone, M.H. (2008). Molecular diagnosis of natural enemy-host interactions. In: Recent Advances in Insect Physiology, Toxicology and Molecular Biology (Ed. Liu N). Research Signpost, Trivandrum, India, pp. 41-57.
• Moser, S.E., Harwood, J.D., Obrycki, J.J. (2008). Larval feeding on Bt-hybrid and non-Bt corn seedlings by Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) andColeomegilla maculata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). Environmental Entomology, 37, 525-533.
• Harwood, J.D., Desneux, N., Yoo, H.Y.S., Rowley, D.L., Greenstone, M.H., Obrycki, J.J., O'Neil, R.J. (2007) Tracking the role of alternative prey in soybean aphid predation by Orius insidiosus: a molecular approach. Molecular Ecology, 16, 4390-4400.
• Harwood, J.D., Bostrom, M.R., Hladilek, E.E., Wise, D.H., Obrycki, J.J. (2007). An order-specific monoclonal antibody to Diptera reveals the impact of alternative prey on spider feeding behavior in a complex food web. Biological Control, 41, 397-407.
• Harwood, J.D., Samson, R.A., Obrycki, J.J. (2007). Temporal detection of Cry1Ab-endotoxins by coccinellid predators in fields of Bacillus thuringiensis corn. Bulletin of Entomological Research, 97, 643-648.

• Harwood, J.D., Obrycki, J.J. (2007). Web-site selection strategies of linyphiid spiders in alfalfa: implications for biological control. BioControl, 52, 451-469.

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