September 2010

Faculty News

Dr. Mike Scharf accepted an offer from Purdue University to fill the Rollins/Orkin Chair of Molecular Physiology and Urban Entomology, at the Associate Professor level. Dr. Scharf will leave UF at the end of September and begin his new position at Purdue on November 1, 2010.

During 11-14 July, the annual meeting of the Society of Nematologists was held in Boise, Idaho. The meeting was well represented by UF/IFAS nematologists, three of whom received honors.

• Dr. Janete Brito (Ph.D. '02), FDACS-DPI, received the Excellence in Research Award.
• Dr. Robert McSorley was made a Fellow of the Society of Nematologists. This is a prestigious and well deserved honor.
• Dr. Jimmy Rich, North Florida REC, was the first recipient of the "Heck of a Guy" award by the Florida nematologists at the meeting.

• Dr. Jamie Ellis was honored as Entomologist of the Year.
• Dr. Phillip Kaufman receive the Annual Achievement Award for Teaching in Higher Education.
• Dr. Jaret Daniels received the Annual Achievement Award for Teaching in K-12.
• Dr. Eileen Buss received the Annual Achievement Award for Extension.
• Dr. Pasco Avery (Indian River REC) received the Annual Achievement Award for Research
• Dr. Greg Hodges, FDACS-DPI, received the Annual Achievement Award for Regulatory Entomology.
• Drs. Divina Amalin (Tropical REC), Rodrigo Diaz (Indian River REC), Julio Medal, William Overholt (Indian River REC), and Philip Stansly (Southwest Florida REC) were part of a 16-member team who received the Annual Achievement Award for Research Teams, for their part in "Research on Biological Control of Tropical Soda Apple."

Dr. James P. Cuda was selected by UF’s Vice President for Business Affairs to serve on the University’s Lakes, Vegetation and Landscaping Committee.

Drs. James Maruniak and Jerry Butler were featured in a UF/IFAS News Release recently. They reported on their discovery of five previously unknown species of bacteria associated with house flies.


Staff News

Dr. Alejandra Garcia-Maruniak, Senior Biological Scientist, was also part of the research team that discovered the five bacteria species found on house flies.


Student News

Ph.D. student Ekta Pathak received a second place award in the Society of Nematologists Best Student Paper competition for "The impact of a new tactic to manage a citrus disease on biological control of a citrus pest by entomopathogenic nematodes."

Nastaran Tofangsazi is a new Ph.D. student in our department. Prior to attending the University of Florida's doctoral program, she completed her Master of Science in entomology at the University of Tehran and her Bachelor of Science in entomology and plant protection at the Isfahan University of Technology in Isfahan, Iran. Nastaran has excellent credentials for an entomology student, her master thesis was on the life history of greenbug, Schizaphis graminum (Hemiptera: Aphididae) on different barley cultivars and she has published outcome of her research in four journals. Nastaran moved to Gainesville to be with her husband, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in UF's College of Design, Construction and Planning. Nastaran will complete her research, under my direction, at the Mid-Florida REC, where she will work on biological control of turf pests. - Dr. Steven Arthurs


Publications

Chouvenc T, Su N-Y. 2010. Apparent synergy among defense mechanisms in subterranean termites (Rhinotermitidae) against epizootic events – The limits and potential for biological control. Journal of Economic Entomology 103: 1327–1337.

Chouvenc T, Su N-Y, Robert A. 2010. Inhibition of the fungal pathogen Metarhizium anisopliae in the alimentary tracts of five termite (Isoptera) species. Florida Entomologist 93: 467-469.

Larrick S, Blosser EM, Connelly CR. (August 2010). A mosquito, Culex (Melanoconion) iolambdis Dyar. Featured Creatures. EENY-481. http://entnemdept.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/aquatic/culex_iolambdis.htm

Van Driesche RG,... Cuda J,... Medal J, et al. 2010. Classical biological control for the protection of natural ecosystems. Biological Control 54: S2-S33.


Society of Nematologists Meeting

At the 11-14 July meeting of the Society of Nematologists, the following UF/FAS Nematologists attended: Dr. Raquel Campos-Herrera, Dr. Billy Crow, Dr. Robin Giblin-Davis, Dr. Don Dickson, Dr. Eric Luc, Dr. Robert McSorley, Dr. Maria Mendes, Dr. Joe Noling, Wenjing Pang, Ekta Pathak, Dr. Jimmy Rich and Yun Zhang.

Dr. Raquel Campos-Herrera organized the workshop "Molecular Ecology for Nematological Research."

During the meeting, UF/IFAS faculty and students presented the following papers and posters:

• Brito JA, Hao M, Dickson DW. "Host suitability of selected monocot plants to Meloidogyne mayaguensis."
• Campos-Herrera R, Pathak E, Stuart RJ, El-Borai FE, Gutierrez C, Graham JH, Duncan LW. "Entomopathogenic nematode ecology as a basis for their use in pest management."
• Campos-Herrera R, Johnson EG, Duncan LW. "The use of molecular tools and techniques to address ecological questions: Technical basis and development of experiments."
• Crow WT. "Evaluation of Bacillus firmus strain I-1582 as a bionematicide for turf."
• Giblin-Davis RM, Kanzaki N, Esquivel A, Davies KA, Herre EA, Center BJ, Sheffrahn RH. "First report of pinworms from termite hindguts from Central America."
• Luc JE, Pang W, Crow WT, McSorley R, Giblin-Davis RM. "Versatility of in vitro-produced Pasteuria spp. endospores to suppress Belonolaimus longicaudatus.
• McSorley R, Wang KH. "Potential for biological control of root-knot nematodes by natural predators in Florida soils."
• Mendes ML, Dickson DW. "Reproduction of root-knot nematodes on four sugarbeet cultivars."
• Noling JW, Schumann AW, Cody M. "Characterizing crop impacts and field distribution of sting nematode in Florida strawberry."
• Pang W, Crow WT, Kenworthy KE. "Tolerance and resistance of Cynodon spp. and Paspalum vaginatum to Belonolaimus longicaudatus.
• Pathak E, Campos-Herrera R, Stuart RJ, El-Borai FE, Schumann AW, Graham JH, Duncan LW. "The impact of a new tactic to manage a citrus disease on biological control of a citrus pest by entomopathogenic nematodes."
• Thomas WK, Porazinska DL, Giblin-Davis RM, Sung W, Bik H, Fournier DR. "Ecometagenomics for the analysis of nematode communities in a tropical rain forest."
• Zhang Y, Crow WT. "Evaluation of amino acids against plant-parasitic nematodes."

This semester's seminar listing is available at http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/seminar/. "To Be Announced" titles will be updated as the speakers provides that information. The site also provides listings of past seminars, a suggestion box and even an insect cartoon.


FES Pioneer Lecture

This year at the annual Florida Entomological Society (FES) meeting, the Pioneer Lecture was presented by 13-year-old Robbie Coulter, with scientific backup by Dr. Howard Frank. "Last year, Robbie sent a copy of his award winning entomological video from Lander, Wyoming to Howard Frank. The documentary video was about Robbie’s great, great uncle, Senekerim Dohanian, a pioneer in biological control of insect pests in the Caribbean Region, including Florida. Dr. Frank forwarded the video to members of the FES Pioneer Lecture Committee who immediately thought that Robbie and his video would make a very interesting 15th Pioneer lecture. Robbie’s 10-minute video, developed when he was 12 years old, earned him a gold medal at the 2009 National History Day in Washington, D.C. - from FES.

The documentary video, information on Robbie and his research, a video of him receiving his award, the video's bibliography, Dohanian's papers and timeline, are all available at http://www.UncleSennie.com/.


Other Meetings and Presentations

On 25 August, Dr. James Cuda participated in a 1-day workshop to enhance partnerships for developing successful NIFA grant proposals. The workshop was held at the Reitz Union and was co-sponsored by USDA-ARS, UF-IFAS, and FAMU.

On 16 August, Dr. James Cuda was invited by the Director of UF-IFAS International Programs to participate in a planning meeting with two USDA Officials affiliated with the Greater Caribbean Safeguarding Initiative. Cuda delivered a PowerPoint presentation on "BioSolutions for two biopollutants in the greater Caribbean region."

On 18 August, Dr. James Cuda participated in the 11th Annual CALS Teaching Enhancement Symposium.

Dr. James Cuda was invited to participate as a speaker at the 2010 Extension Professional Associations of Florida Conference held in Orlando, FL, 30 August-2 September. Cuda gave the presentation "Reaching the masses: Using polycom for a one-day precertification event for pesticide applicators."


Outreach Coordinator

For many years now, the department has funded a graduate assistantship in Outreach. The student who receives this assistantship is required to devote an average of 13 hours per week to some type of outreach activity. He or she may be leading in-departmental tours, visiting schools, taking the lead in major activities—such as the Ocali Country Days, or coordinating the activities of other faculty, staff and students who often volunteer to do outreach. Sharon Clemmensen held this assistantship for the last two years, received her M.S. this summer, and left for Tennessee to pursue her Ph.D. Now it is time to introduce the new Outreach Coordinator.

"Hello friends and colleagues! My name is Dale Halbritter and I am the new Graduate Outreach Coordinator. Throughout this school year, I will keep you updated on outreach events and will be sending out volunteer requests. The outreach team has various show-and-tell critters available for you to check out should you be leading an outreach event. If you would like to schedule an event, go to the Outreach pages on our Bug Club Web site and contact us." - Dale A Halbritter, phone: (352) 273-3979, fax: (352) 392-0190, or email at ufbugs@ifas.ufl.edu.

Here are several upcoming outreach events for which we need assistance, even if it is only setting up a tent or table for our displays:

• 20 September: department tour for homeschool children;
• 23 September: Florida Museum of Natural History information table for Alachua County teachers
• 9 October: Cub Scout Annual District Campout — 9 am–12 pm
• 25 October: Department tour for homeschoolers —12:30 pm–2 pm
• 1 November: science class for pre-teachers information session
• 8–14 November: Ocali Country Days — 9 am–4 pm weekdays, 9 am–5 pm Saturday and Sunday

The department has several vans available for general use. Personnel are reminded that when returning vans after the administrative office has closed, the vans should be locked and the keys deposited in the "mail slot" on the office door. This ensures that people who reserved the vans for the next day have immediate access to the keys. Placing the keys under the driver's seat in an unlocked van is not an acceptable substitute. The worst case scenario in this case is a stolen van to which no one has access. Keeping the keys in your pocket, lab or office until you remember to turn them in is also discourteous to others as it might affect their work schedule. Some additional guidelines are:

• The vans were acquired for transport of students to the field for laboratory periods. This activity takes precedence over others.
• The vans should only be used for transport of large groups, not as a substitute for regular autos or trucks. It is not logical or economic to use these large, expensive to operate and maintain vehicles as substitutes for small vehicles.
• Anyone needing transport regularly for other than student laboratories should acquire a vehicle for their lab, or rent a vehicle (Avis or Enterprise) if the rate of use does not justify purchase.
• The vans are fine for local transport but are now over 10 years old, so long distance driving should be avoided.

The Reading Room Committee reminds us that no one is allowed to take materials out of the reading room, and no one is allowed to take food or drink in. You are also reminded that Reading Room users are monitored on closed-circuit TV. In addition, the Department just spent $450,000 to install one of the latest scanners that allows us to see what is hidden under your clothing. (Just kidding!) The committee requests that you tidy up after yourself before leaving the room. Those who wish to use the in-room copier should visit the stock room and obtain a PIN from Nick Hostettler.


Newsletter Minutiae

Thomas Fasulo is the newsletter editor. Departmental faculty, staff, students and alumni can submit news anytime to fasulo@ufl.edu. Issues usually are published by early mid-month. Submit items for an issue by the 7th of that month.

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September 2010.