MIKE BENTLEY, Master of Science, May, 2008.
Thesis: Behavioral phototaxis of previtellogenic and vitellogenic mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) to light emitting diodes.
Publications:
Bentley, M. T., P. E. Kaufman, D. L. Kline and J. A. Hogsette. 2009. Response of adult mosquitoes to light emitting diodes placed in resting boxes and in the field. J. Amer. Mosq. Control Assoc. 25: 285-291.
PETE OBENAUER. Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy. PhD graduate, August, 2009.
Pete investigated the performance of different traps set at various heights to capture an introduced invasive mosquito species, Aedes albopictus, the Asian tiger mosquito. He also investigated their ovipositional (egg-laying) height preferences and attractants. Click here for more information on Pete's research, and here for Pete's CV. Pete is currently stationed in Jacksonville, Florida.
Dissertation: Surveillance of Aedes albopictus (Skuse) (Diptera: Culicidae) suburban and sylvatic populations using traps and attractants in north central Florida.
Publications:
Obenauer, P. J., P. E. Kaufman, S. A. Allan and D. L. Kline. 2009. Infusion-baited ovitraps to survey ovipositional height preferences of container-breeding mosquitoes in two Florida habitats. J. Med. Entomol. 46:1507-1513.
Obenauer, P. J., L. J. Buss and P. E. Kaufman. 2009. Utilizing Auto-montage (TM) technology for identifying field-collected container-inhabiting mosquito eggs. J. Amer. Mosq. Control Assoc. 25: 517- 520.
Obenauer, P. J., P. E. Kaufman, S. A. Allan and D. L. Kline. 2009. Host-seeking height preferences of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) in North-Central Florida suburban and sylvatic locales. J. Med. Entomol. 46: 900-908.
Obenauer, P. J., P. E. Kaufman, D. L. Kline and S. A. Allan. 2010. Detection of and monitoring for Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) in suburban and sylvatic habitats in north central Florida using four sampling techniques. Environ. Entomol. 39: 1608-1616.
Obenauer, P.J., S.A. Allan, and P.E. Kaufman. 2010. Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) oviposition response to organic infusions from common flora of suburban Florida. J. Vector Ecol. 35: 301-306.
RAJINDER SINGH MANN. Post-Doctoral Associate.
Raj joined the Veterinary Entomology Laboratory in September, 2006, and worked here until spring, 2009. He was responsible for the research project on medically important diptera .
See Lab Publications, for all his co-authored papers.
Raj is currently employed at The University of Florida's Citrus Research and Education Center (http://www.crec.ifas.ufl.edu/academics/postdoc/). His contact information is:
Dr. Rajinder S. Mann
Entomology and Nematology Unit
Citrus Research and Education Center
700 Experiment Station Road
Lake Alfred, FL-33850
Phone 863-956-1151 Ext-1251
email:
mannrs@ufl.edu
JIMMY PITZER, PhD graduate, May, 2010.
Jimmy's area of research focused on pests of veterinary importance, and continued improvement of methods used for their control. Two areas of particular interest were resistance development of muscoid flies, and the utility of pteromalid pupal parasitoids as an alternate control method to insecticides. Investigations of these topics are becoming increasingly relevant as livestock pests such as house flies and horn flies have readily demonstrated resistance to most insecticides used against them. Insecticide resistance of muscoid flies usually causes increased pesticide application frequency. This results in greater selection pressure and losses due to insecticide costs and decreased animal production. Furthermore, as human populations increase, they tend to move towards agricultural areas. The potential for legal action from neighboring urban communities due to disease transmission or aesthetic displeasure compounds resistance issues faced by livestock producers.
Dissertation: The ecology of stable flies (Diptera: Muscidae) associated with equine facilities in Florida.
ROXANNE BURRUS. Lieutenant, Medical Service Corps, United States Navy. PhD graduate, August, 2010.
Roxanne's main research objective was to determine the potential public health threat posed by diptera-vectored (common house fly, Musca domestica (L.)) transmission of Escherichia coli O157:H7 across the rural-urban interface (i.e., between dairy farms and towns and/or residential neighborhoods). Click here for more information.
Dissertation: Musca domestica L. (Diptera: Muscidae) prevalence and transmission of Escherichia coli O157:H7 from dairy farms into towns in North Central Florida.
CHRIS HOLDERMAN. Masters of Science, December, 2012.
Chris graduated from Kansas State University with interests in pests of livestock. His Masters research focused on the horn fly which causes direct losses to cattle by feeding on their blood and indirect losses by disrupting natural behavior, causing irritation and pain, all factors which prevent optimized weight gains. His research centered on discovering how the flies develop resistance and assessing efficacy of the entomopathogen, Beauveria bassiana, as a possible biological control.
Thesis: Distribution and Mechanisms of Insecticide Resistance and Isolation and Evaluation of Beauveria bassiana in Haematobia irritans (L.).
LUCAS CARNOHAN. Masters of Science, August, 2013.
Lucas earned a B.S. in Biology at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, NC, graduating Summa cum Laude. His research topic and organism of interest at UF was the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus. This is the most widely distributed tick in the world and is becoming particularly pestilent in the southeastern US as well as developing resistance to acaricides. Lucas researched alternative methods for controlling this hematophagous pest.
Thesis: Development of a Novel Management Method for Rhipicephalus sanguineus Using Semiochemical-baited Traps
MAJOR TIMOTHY J. DAVIS. PhD graduate, December 2013
Major Davis is an officer in the US Air Force Biomedical Services Corps. He won the USAF Outstanding Medical Entomologist of the Year award (2007) and the Air Mobility Command Civil Engineering Staff Officer of the Year award (2009). Major Davis worked on the Asian Tiger Mosquito, a cosmopolitan species that was introduced to the US in the mid-1980's, that is both a pestiferous biter of humans and a competent vector of several pathogens such as Chikungunya Virus and Dengue Virus. Major Davis also earned a Master's of Public Health while at UF. He is currently stationed in Okinawa. Pictured are Major Davis (left) and Technical Sergeant Willie Reese (right) keeping America safe.
Dissertation: Oviposition Strategies of Aedes albopictus (Skuse) (Diptera: Culicidae): Analyzing Behavioral Patterns for Surveillance Techniques and Control Tactics
AMANDA EIDEN. PhD graduate, December, 2013.
Prior to entering UF, Amanda worked for the Florida Department of Health for three years in Environmental Health and Epidemiology. Amanda’s research focused on the brown dog tick, a common pest of dogs that is increasingly causing residential infestations. Her primary area of interest was acaricide resistance. Brown dog ticks are competent vectors of pathogens that cause diseases such as ehrlichiosis and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
Dissertation: Determining Acaricide Resistance Levels and Mechanisms in Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Latreille) to Chemicals Used to Treat Domestic Animals and Residential Environments
CHRIS HOLDERMAN. PhD Graduate, May, 2016.
Chris graduated from Kansas State University with interests in pests of livestock and domesticated animals. He grew up on a small dry-land/cow-calf operation in southeastern Kansas. He earned his master’s degree with Dr. Kaufman (see above) researching control of the horn fly. His doctoral research focused on the causative agent of dog heartworm disease, Dirofilaria immitis. The developmental vectors of dog heartworm are many mosquito species in several genera. High prevalence of dog heartworm and mosquito pressure poses a major concern to dog owners in most of North America, but especially in the southeast. Infection with D. immitis causes damage to the dog’s pulmonary arterial system and results in a serious disease for the dog host. Chris’ research focused on several aspects of the mosquito vectors: identification of major vector species, yearly prevalence, and vector competence.
Dissertation: Biology and Ecology of Dog Heartworm Vectors in North Central Florida
LIEUTENANT JEFF HERTZ. PhD Graduate, May, 2016.
Jeff is a Lieutenant in the United States Navy. Lieutenant Hertz has been in the Navy for 19 years, serving 13 years as a Hospital Corpsman and 6 years as an entomologist in the Medical Service Corps. Lieutenant Hertz's research focused on the dynamics between lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum, and wild turkey, Meleagris gallopova, in the transmission of Ehrlichia chaffeensis in Florida. Ehrlichia chaffeensis is a zoonotic disease that causes 5-20, potentially fatal, human cases in Florida every year.
Dissertation: Ehrlichia and Rickettsia Tick-Borne Infections Associated with Lone Star Ticks and Under-sampled Wildlife in Florida
BOB ALDRIDGE. Master's graduate, May, 2016.
Bob is a graduate of the Ohio State University where he majored in entomology. From 2002-2010, as a student aid at Ohio State, he reared mosquitoes and researched vector behavior, specifically the sexual behavior of male Anopheles gambiae. In 2012, he was accepted into the UF graduate school, and has been attending classes at UF and conducting research at the USDA-ARS Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology (CMAVE) supervised by Dr. Ken Linthicum. Bob researched the mortality effects of applying pesticides to specific regions of the mosquito body in an effort to improve topical bioassays used in pesticide evaluation, ultimately improving our understanding of how ULV and residual pesticide applications impact mosquito control.
Thesis: Application Site and Age Parameter Impacts on the Efficacy of Two Topically-applied Insecticides to Culex quinquefasciatus