UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY ENTOMOLOGY
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Jen WhiteJennifer White

Assistant Professor, Insect Ecology

Ph.D. University of Minnesota (2005)

 

Department of Entomology
S-225 Agricultural Science Center N
University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY 40546-0091
Ph: 859.257.7450
Fax: 859.323.1120
Email: jenwhite.uk@gmail.com

Research Interests

I am broadly interested in the influence of interspecific interactions on insect distribution and abundance, with particular focus on management of insect pests.  I use a variety of empirical and theoretical tools (field-based manipulations, laboratory behavioral studies, mathematical models, molecular techniques, etc.) to gain insight into general ecological principles, and develop a mechanistic understanding of pest ecology and biological control.

 

Some of my current research questions include:

  • - How do foraging parasitoids cope with intermittently accessible hosts? Can intermittent accessibility be evolutionarily advantageous for the host?
  • - Does Macrocentrus grandii, a parasitoid of the European corn borer, respond to chemical changes in corn caused by the non-host corn rootworm?
  • - Can we develop general principles for understanding when vegetational diversity results in decreased versus increased pest density?
  • - How do bacterial endosymbionts influence the behavior and ecology of insect pests and their biological control agents?
  • - Does unsuccessful parasitism reduce host fitness? What are the consequences for host/parasitoid population dynamics and biological control?

 

European Corn BorerMacrocentrus grandii
The European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis), left, and it's biological control agent, Macrocentrus grandii, right.
Photos: Marlin Rice (O. nubilalis); Jim Kaisch and Tom Clark, UNL Entomology (M. grandii).

 

Encarsia inaron

Information for prospective students

I am always seeking motivated graduate students, and have funding available for student support. Please contact me at jenwhite.uk@gmail.com if you are interested in learning more about research opportunities in my laboratory.

 

Right: Encarsia inaron, a biological control agent of the ash whitefly (Siphoninus phillyreae) and the sweet potato whitefly (Bemisia tabaci). Photo: Mike Rose.

 

Select Publications

  • White, J. A., and D. A. Andow. 2007. Foraging for intermittently refuged prey: theory and field observations of a parasitoid. Journal of Animal Ecology 76: 1244-1254.
  • White, J. A., and D. A. Andow. 2006. Habitat modification contributes to associational resistance between herbivores. Oecologia 148: 482-490.
  • White, J. A., and D. A. Andow. 2005. Host-parasitoid interactions in a transgenic landscape: spatial proximity effects of host density. Environmental Entomology 34: 1493-1500.
  • White, J. A., J. P. Harmon, and D. A. Andow. 2004. Ecological context for examining the effects of transgenic crops in production systems. Journal of Crop Production 12: 457-489. Special volume: New Dimensions in Agroecology.
  • Harmon, J. P., J. A. White, and D. A. Andow. 2003. Oviposition behavior of Ostrinia nubilalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) in response to potential intra- and interspecific interactions. Environmental Entomology 32: 334-339.
  • White, J. A. and T. G. Whitham. 2000. Associational susceptibility of cottonwood to a box elder herbivore. Ecology 81: 1795-1803.

 

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