Student Research

Student research in our lab includes investigation into the ecology, evolution, and physiology of inducible plant defenses against herbivores. In these projects we are interested in the cues associated with herbivory that give plants the information that they are being attacked. In recent work, my students and I have investigated the role of insect regurgitants as cues that trigger plant recognition and response to herbivore damage. Efforts have been directed at elucidating the role of regurgitants in specificity of inducible plant defenses. My other related research interests include behavioral adaptations of herbivores to plant defense and the role of enhanced UV-B radiation in plant-insect interactions.

In addition, we will be conduction research in conservation biology at Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve and New Harmony, Indiana.