Environmental Stewardship
Environmental stewardship applies knowledge about the environment to better management of natural resources and related ecosystem processes. Concerns about air and water quality, food safety, invasive species and biosecurity, and a wide range of environmental risks are among the environmental welfare issues being raised by the public, politicians and policy makers today. Entomology is responding by capitalizing on the advantages associated with insects and nematodes (i.e., small size, rapid growth and reproduction, and critical roles in ecological pathways) as model indicators to increase efforts in conservation biology and sustainable natural resource management practices. The environmental stewardship agenda includes:
- biotic surveys of synoptic species and targeted communities;
- environmental studies at both species and community levels, and analyses of pertinent biotic and abiotic interactions; and
- natural resource management with a focus on risk assessment and mitigation, especially as it relates to pest management intervention technologies.
The environmental assessments made as part of this initiative have both direct and indirect application toward the theory and practice of conservation management. Aquatic insect orders are predictive of the entire biotic diversity associated with stream ecosystems and provide a cost and time-effective method for measuring water quality and environmental health. Documentation of the biodiversity of the Ephemeroptera of North America provides the basis for the numerical environmental-vulnerability rankings of all North American mayfly species as established by the Nature Conservancy and Association of Biodiversity Information and as used by the U.S. Forest Service and State Natural Heritage Programs. Occurrences of imperiled species, in return, are used to determine the potential or actual need for habitat protection and to formulate necessary remedial conservation strategies.
| Faculty & Staff |
Virginia Ferris
Professor, Nematology Phylogeny & Systematics |
Arwin Provonsha
Research Specialist, Taxonomy; Curator, Purdue Entomological Research Collection |
Eileen Luke
Director, CERIS |
Cliff Sadof
Professor, Ornamentals Pest Management, Biological Control |
Pat McCafferty
Professor, Aquatic Entomology |
Steve Yaninek
Professor and Department Head, Invasion Biology, Biological Control |
Jon Neal
Associate Professor, Toxicology, Corn Entomology |
Jeff Holland
Assistant Professor, Landscape Ecologist |
Matthew Ginzel
Assistant Professor, Forest Entomology |
|
| Title |
Description |
Contact |
Landscape Entomology Laboratory
|
The Landscape Entomology Laboratory promotes the design of indoor and outdoor landscapes that can be maintained with a minimum of pesticide use. Research, extension and teaching efforts promote the biological and natural control of pests in forests, urban landscapes, nurseries, greenhouses and Christmas trees. Special programs have been developed that address management needs for exotic pests like Gypsy Moth.
|
Cliff Sadof
|
Biological Control
|
Our research examines basic and applied aspects of the impact of natural enemies on pest dynamics in several crop systems. Our basic research is focused on determining the underlying mechanisms of predator-prey dynamics at the behavioral and population levels. Our applied research includes evaluations of natural enemy efficacy in coltrolling target pests, developing recommendations for using biological control in specific areas, and integrating biological control into IPM systems. |
Cliff Sadof
|
Mayfly Central
|
|
Pat McCafferty |
| Landscape Ecology and Biodiversity |
Landscape ecology focuses on the effects of land use patterning on ecological processes. This framework can be used to examine human land use impacts on populations of specific insect species and on overall biodiversity. Results can inform land use decisions at a range of spatial scales to balance human land use needs with the conservation of biodiversity. Conserving native biodiversity and limiting the spread of invasive exotic species are two important goals of this research. |
Jeff Holland |
| Forest Entomology Laboratory |
The Forest Entomology Laboratory is broadly interested in the chemically-mediated host colonization and mating behaviors of wood-boring beetles. North American hardwood forests are increasingly threatened by a litany of indigenous and invasive wood-boring insect pests. Unfortunately, the destructive nature of many wood-boring insects is exacerbated by difficulty in controlling their populations. Because they spend the majority of their lives concealed beneath the bark of trees, these insects are physically protected from sprayed pesticides. The long term goal of our research is to develop effective pest management tactics targeting the chemically-mediated mating system of the beetles. |
Matthew Ginzel |
|
Links