ANNUAL REPORT: June 1, 2008 – May 31, 2009
(i.e., Summer 2008, AY 2008-2009)
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND FOREST BIOLOGY
SUNY-ESF
NAME:
I. INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES
1. Regular Course Offerings
Course No.
Title
Credit
Hrs.
No.
Students
SUMMER:
EFB-202
Ecological Monitoring (Cranberry)
3
~80
FALL:
EFB-502
EFB-498
Ecol. And Mgmt. of Invasive Species
Independent Research
3
3
38
1
3
1
14
7
SPRING:
EFB-496/796 Plant-Herbivore Interactions
EFB-796
Advances in Insect Ecology
2. Non-Scheduled Course Offerings (e.g., 496, 899, 999)
Course No.
EFB-899
EFB-999
Title
Credit
Hrs.
Masters Research
Doctoral Research
No. of Lab.
Sections
No.
Students
21
8
4
2
3. Continuing Education and Extension (short courses, workshops, etc.)
Invasive Species (GK-12, High School Teachers) Wanakena, NY
4. Guest Lecture Activities
Course No.
EFB-451
Title
Forest Entomology
No. of Lectures
1
II. STUDENT ADVISING
A. Number of undergraduates for whom you are the student’s official advisor _24___and unofficial advisor __1___
B. Graduate Students: (Name, degree sought, starting date, month & year; if a degree was completed, please give
date and full citation for the thesis or dissertation).
MAJOR PROFESSOR
Keith Post (MS - Graduated) (08/06 -05/09)) Non-Target Effects of Transgenic Pathogen-Resistant American Heritage
Trees on Insect Herbivores
Brian Hoven (MS) (08/05)
Monica Phillips (MS) (08/07)
Phil Barber (MS) (08/06)
Nicole Werner (MS) (01/08)
Robert Smith (PhD) (01/09)
Kirsten Breisch (MS – discontinued program)
CO-MAJOR PROFESSOR
MEMBER, STEERING COMMITTEE (other than those listed above)
Jacob Wickham (PhD) (EFB)
Paul Bryant (MS) (EFB)
Alison Halpern (PhD) (EFB) – not sure if she is still in the program, Don??
Patrick Eager (MS) (EFB)
Peter Rockermann (MS) (EFB)
Ben Robidee (MS) (EFB)
CHAIRMAN OR READER ON THESIS EXAMS, ETC.
Li Luo (PhD) (FNRM)
III. RESEARCH COMPLETED OR UNDERWAY
A. Departmental Research (unsupported, boot-legged; title - % time spent)
 Unsupported: Invasive water chestnut effects on native invertebrate communities (~5%)
 Bootlegged: Population dynamics of forest tent caterpillar (~20%)
 Bootlegged: The effects of biological control agents on native non-target moths (~20%)
B. 1. Grant-supported Research (source, subject, amount - total award and current year, award period starting
and ending dates; list graduate research assistants supported by each grant)
2009-2012. Fierke, M., D. Parry and D. Allen. Evaluating Impacts of Native Parasitoids on Sirex noctilio in New York
(provides support for one graduate student - not identified yet) $75,000
2008-2011. W. Powell, C. Maynard, D. Leopold, T. Horton, D. Parry. USDA Biotechnology Risk Assessment Grants
(BRAG) program. Evaluating Environmental Impacts Of Transgenic American Chestnut Trees To Chestnut Trees
Produced By Conventional Breeding $399,985. (Keith Post was indirectly supported)
2007-2009. D. Parry. McIntire-Stennis. Cold tolerance and local adaptation to native hosts drives range expansion of
an invasive tussock moth, $55, 609. Supports Monica Phillips.
2. Research Proposals pending (as in B.1., above)
Fierke, M. and D. Parry. Entomopathogens as an important Mortality Factor of the Exotic European Woodwasp, Sirex
noctilio? USDA Forest Service Joint Northeastern Area, Southern Region, Southern Research Station, and Northern Research
Station. $75000
Fierke, M. and D. Parry. Assessment of Pinus Health and Defenses Against the Exotic Sirex noctilio. USDA Forest
Service Joint Northeastern Area, Southern Region, Southern Research Station, and Northern Research Station. $75000
IV. PUBLICATIONS (Full bibliographic citation, i.e., do not use "with Jones," or "Jones, et al."; please list only
publications published, in press, or actually submitted during this reporting period --- do not list manuscripts
in preparation).
A. Refereed Publications
Woods, D.M., D. Parry, R. D. Yanai. Forest fragmentation and duration of forest tent caterpillar (Malacosoma disstria
Hübner) outbreaks in northern hardwood forests. Forest Ecology and Management (Submitted 05/09)
Parry, D. 2009. Beyond Pandora’s Box: quantitatively evaluating non-target effects of parasitoids in classical
biological control. Biological Invasions 11: 47-58.
Rodenhouse, N.L., L.M. Christenson, D. Parry and L.E. Green. 2009. Climate change effects on native fauna of
northeastern forests. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 39: 249-263.
Elkinton, J.S., E, Preisser, G.H. Boettner and D. Parry. 2008. Factors Influencing Larval Survival of the Invasive
Browntail Moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) in Relict North American Populations. Environmental Entomology 37:
1429-1437.
B. Non-refereed Publications
Book Chapter: Parry, D. 2009. Quantitatively Assessing Non-Target Effects of Parasitoids Released for Biological
Control. Pp. 57-68, In D.W. Langor and J. Sweeney (eds), Ecological Impacts of Non-Native Invertebrates and Fungi
on Terrestrial Ecosystems. Springer.
Parry, D. and H.B. Underwood. 2008. A Quantitative Comparison of Pollard-Yates Counts and Distance Sampling for
Monitoring Populations of an Endangered Butterfly, Lycaeides melissa samuelis. Final Report to the State of New
York Department of Environmental Conservation. 32pp.
C. Papers Presented at Science Meetings (give title, date, occasion, and location)
Invited Symposia Paper: D. Parry. Ghosts of Invasions Past: Non-target Acquisition of Native Lepidoptera by
Parasitoids Released to Combat Exotic Tussock Moths in North America. XXIII International Congress of
Entomology, Durban, South Africa. July 12-18, 2008.
Invited Symposia Paper: D. Parry, G. Boettner, J. Selfridge, B. Hoven, J. Elkinton. The legacy of Melrose Highlands:
Parasitoid drift and its unintended consequences for lepidopteran diversity in New England forests. XXIII
International Congress of Entomology, Durban, South Africa. July 12-18, 2008.
J. Elkinton, D. Parry, G. Boettner. Why the browntail moth went extinct in much of its invasive range in North
America. XXIII International Congress of Entomology, Durban, South Africa. July 12-18, 2008.
Graduate Student Presentations
Werner NA, Parry D, Fierke MK, Allen DC. Assessing Native Parasitoid Influences on an Introduced
Woodwasp, Sirex noctilio.ESF Spotlight on Research. April 13, 2008. Syracuse, NY
Phillips, M. and D. Parry. Has adaptation driven the spread of the invasive gypsy moth? ESF Spotlight on Research.
April 13, 2008. Syracuse, NY
D. Public Service Presentations (lectures, seminars, etc. to and for the public; give group or occasion, date(s), and
attendance)
D. Parry. Conserving Barrens Buck Moth in Pine Barrens Habitats. State Museum Lecture Series. Oct. 22, 2008.
Albany, NY. (~75 + simultaneous webcast to multiple colleges and other museums throughout the state)
D. Parry. Aliens Among Us: The Unnatural History of Invasive Species. Wanakena Aug. 13th, 2008
V. PUBLIC SERVICE
A. Funded Service (include consulting activities)
1. Government Agencies (Federal, State, Local):
2. Industrial and Commercial Groups, etc.
B. Unfunded Service to Governmental Agencies, Public Interest Groups, etc.
Member, New York State Invasive Species Advisory Council
Albany Pine Bush Preserve. I have continued a long-standing relationship with the Albany Pine Bush preserve. The
director, Neil Gifford, and I have collaborated on numerous projects, and I provide consultation on the effects of
management on insect species that are of conservation concern. Although there is no direct compensation, we benefit
through free labor from preserve staff and occasional housing for graduate students.
NY DEC. I share ecological information on insect defoliators and exotic forest pests with Jerry Carlson, head of Forest
Protection for NY-DEC. In addition, I have been running a pilot study on the use of forest tent caterpillar pheromone
as a monitoring tool and coordinating sites with the DEC so that we can compare their traditional sampling methods
with this new tool. The DEC will fund trapping costs (fuel, pheromone, traps, etc.).
VI. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
A. Professional Honors and Awards (for teaching, research, outreach, etc.)
B. 1. Activities in Professional Organizations (offices held, service as chairman, member, participant or
consultant)
Member, New York State Invasive Species Advisory Council (Not sure whether this should be listed here or as
unfunded governmental service (or in both). It does have a designated legislative charter and is composed of
professionals.
2. Professional Society Membership
Entomological Society of America
Ecological Society of America
3. Other Professional Activities
a. Editorial activity
Journal (s)
Responsibility
Other (books, symposia, etc.)
b. Reviewer
Journal(s)
Ecology
CJFR
Biological Journal of the Linnaean Society
Agency
No. of manuscripts
1
1
1
No. of proposals
Other
c. Participation (workshops, symposia, etc.)
Name of workshop, etc.
USDA Invasive Species Research Forum
Invasive Non-Native Forest Pest Conference
NY Forest Health Meeting
Date
Jan. 12-14, 09
Oct. 30, 08
April 6, 09
Place
Annapolis, MD
Ithaca, NY
Cortland, NY
C. Further Education/Re-training Undertaken, Leaves, Workshops, etc.
D. Foreign Travel (Where, When, Purpose)
South Africa
VII. ADMINISTRATIVE AND SERVICE RESPONSIBILITIES (include committee participation)
A.
Department-level
Chair, Curriculum and Course Assessment Committee (CCAC)
B. College-level
C. University-wide, including Research Foundation
VIII. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITIES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS DURING THIS
REPORTING PERIOD, ESPECIALLY THOSE MOST NOTEWORTHY AND RELATIVE TO THE
COLLEGE’S AND DEPARTMENT’S MISSION. One paragraph on each of the following would be most helpful:
this past year, what have you done for our students, department/college, and self professionally? NOTE: The
information in this section (along with the supporting specific information elsewhere in this report) should be your
strongest case for being considered for a discretionary raise, which I’ll continue to award based on your contributions to
the department and college this reporting period.
Students: I again taught my Ecology and Management of Invasive Species course in the fall. This year I incorporated
significant changes into the course as I removed the enrollment cap which doubled the number of students in the class.
Despite the increase in numbers, I retained many of the interactive aspects of the smaller class and was rewarded with
the best set of evaluations I have received to date. In the spring, I taught for the second time, my course in PlantHerbivore Interactions. As I have done in all but one year since I started at ESF, I contributed to the teaching program
at Cranberry Lake through EFB-202 where I instructed the entomology component of the diversity field course (EFB202). I also mentored an undergraduate, Andres Garzon, in his independent research project. Finally, I taught the
second edition of my insect ecology graduate seminar, which I plan to continue offering in alternative years.
This year is a bit of a transitional year with four of my graduate students finishing up their degrees at ESF.
Keith Post defended his MS and graduated in May. Keith followed up his departmental LeRoy C. Stegeman Award in
2008 by having his research honored at the national Entomological Society Meeting in Reno, NV in December as a
recipient of the Kenneth and Barbara Starks Plant Resistance to Insects Graduate Student Research Award, and then the Student
and Young Professional Award in 2009, also from the Entomological Society of America. Brian Hoven will defend this summer
and Monica Phillips and Phil Barber this fall.
Department and College: In the second year of my tenure as Chair of EFB’s Curriculum and Course Assessment
Committee (CCAC, we took on the onerous task of developing protocols for assessing our programs in EFB in
response to the guidelines issued by Middle States. The role of my committee was central in developing realistic and
practical methodology for assessing student learning in each of our majors. This effort was ultimately successful
because of the hard work of the CCAC, Roy Norton’s skills as a liaison between COI and CCAC, and the willingness
of the coordinators of each major to buy into what we trying to accomplish. Ultimately, we significantly changed
programmatic structure in three of our majors (Forest Health, Wildlife, and Aquatic and Fisheries Science), and
modified or added 8 courses to improve our programs and meet the assessment objectives of Middle States. CCAC
also approved changes or new additions in 21 other courses during the fall and spring semesters. Perhaps the greatest
compliment to our efforts was that not a single course or program change proposal was rejected or was returned for
revision by COI.
Self: My research on the decline of native moths in New England and the larger issue of the unintended
consequences of biological control introductions has garnered considerable national attention over the past few years. I
was honored present two invited symposia papers (The Legacy of Melrose Highlands: Parasitoid Drift and its
Unintended Consequences for Lepidopteran Diversity in New England Forests and Ghosts of Invasions Past: Nontarget Acquisition of Native Lepidoptera by Parasitoids Released to Combat Exotic Tussock Moths in North America)
at the prestigious International Congress of Entomology in Durban, South Africa July of 2008 and I published an
invited synthesis paper that incorporated some of this research in the January 2009 issue of the international journal
Biological Invasions. This gave my program and the college some international attention.
As part of a team (Powell, Maynard, Leopold, Horton, Parry), we extensively revised and resubmitted a large
USDA proposal to look at the environmental risks of naturalizing genetically modified trees in 2008 and received word
that it would be funded beginning in fall of 2008. Melissa Fierke and I have been developing a number of proposals to
expand our research on the introduced European woodwasp, Sirex noctilio, which would take advantage of our newly
funded McIntire-Stennis proposal in 2009.
This year, I became a member of the NY State Invasive Species Advisory Council. This advisory panel is
tasked with providing expert advice to the NY legislature and state agencies on ongoing and emerging issues as well as
representing stakeholder concerns in planned legislative proposals. Currently we are developing a tiered list for
invasive plants and advising on prthe development of planned legislation regarding the pleasure boating industries. I
have not previously been involved in influencing governmental policy and have really found the process informative
and very useful. In turn, I can incorporate this first hand knowledge into the policy and legislative section of my
invasive species course.
Finally, I have become an adjunct faculty at Syracuse University and will be teaching an advanced forensic
entomology course in their inaugural professional program in Forensic Investigation this fall.
IX. A. FUTURE PLANS, AMBITIONS, AND POTENTIAL CONTRIBUTIONS FOR YOUR OWN
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE ENHANCEMENT OF THE PROGRAM IN
ENVIRONMENTAL AND FOREST BIOLOGY (brief summary)
I envision a continuing role in the development of teaching programs in EFB through the activities of CCAC which I’d
like to continue to Chair. From a research perspective, I’d like to focus on completing a number of manuscripts that
have languished on the sidelines as I have engaged in other tasks and priorities. With the end of several grants, I plan
on developing and submitting a number of proposals, both as PI and as co-PI with Melissa Fierke. I am planning for a
sabbatical leave in spring 2010 and have been investigating several different and potentially interesting research
opportunities as well as a synthetic review article.
B. PROJECTED ACTIVITIES FOR NEXT YEAR
1. Summer 2009
a. Course(s) to be offered
EFB-202 (Entomology portion of Biodiversity at Cranberry Lake)
b. Proposed research activity
I want to focus on writing this summer. I have a backlog of partially completed manuscripts that I would like to
complete. I need to revise the second draft of my chapter for Teale and Castello’s textbook. In addition, I have been
developing two grant proposals that would build on research completed by two of my graduate students, Monica
Phillips and Brian Hoven, respectively.
c. University, professional society, and public service
-NY State Invasive Species Advisory Council
-Syracuse University – Project Advance: forensics for High School Teachers
2. Fall Semester 2009
a.
Course(s) to be offered
EFB-502 Ecology and Management of Invasive Species (3cr)
FSC 440/640 Advanced Forensic Science (3cr) (Syracuse University)
b. Proposed research activity
c. University, Professional society, and public service
CCAC
3. Spring Semester 2010
a. Course(s) to be offered
NONE – I am planning to be on sabbatical leave
b. Proposed research activity
I am in the preliminary stages of developing research that I would undertake during sabbatical leave but nothing is
concrete yet.
c. University, professional society, and public service
NYSISAC