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As a chemical ecologist, I investigate how organisms use chemicals in their interactions
with members of their own and different species. Insects, the most species-rich and
ecologically diverse group of animals, are the primary subjects of study for me and my
students. Our research focuses on how host plant chemistry influences the behavior and
ecology of herbivorous insects and on how insects utilize chemicals as anti-predator
defenses. This involves work in both the field (particularly during the summer months when
local insects are active) and the laboratory (including projects with animals maintained
in culture year-round). Since chemical ecology resides at the interface of biology and
chemistry, much of our research effort is in collaboration with colleagues in chemistry. Various projects are ongoing. These include a study of the underlying physiology and morphology, as well as the adaptive significance of puddling, a behavior in which a male moth (Gluphisia septentrionis) drinks enormous volumes of puddle water (more than 600 times its body mass in a single bout!). This enables the moth to supplement nutrients present at low levels within its food plant and to invest these in its offspring. A second project examines the chemical nature and probable defensive role of a secretion produced by the immobile, and therefore vulnerable, pupal stage of a beetle (Subcoccinella vigintiquatuorpunctata). Another beetle (Chrysomela knabi) is the subject of an investigation into the adaptive significance of a dramatic developmental change in adult coloration and the relationship of this transformation to the beetle's chemical defenses. In addition to these and other projects that are underway, I am sure that new experimental systems will arise as we make discoveries concerning Connecticut's insect fauna. |
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