Short CV for Dr. Derek ROBERTS
Present address:
Biology Department, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 36,
Al-Khod 123, Sultanate of Oman.
tel +968-2414-6877;
email derekmr@squ.edu.om
University Education
1967 - 70
1970 - 74
Nottingham University: B.Sc. Hons Zoology.
Durham University: Ph.D. thesis “Seasonal and diurnal flight activity patterns in
some species of black-flies”.
Career
1975 - 70
Zoology Department, Jos University, Nigeria:- Lecturer and later Senior
Lecturer and Head of Department
1988 (July-Dec) Senior Entomologist for tsetse control project in Somalia, working for
Hunting Technical Services as part of British Government (ODA) aid.
1989 - present Associate Professor in the Biology Department of Sultan Qaboos University
and Head of Biology from (2000 - 2002).
Academic
Sultan Qaboos University:
I am presently teaching and coordinating undergraduate courses in:Human physiology; Invertebrates; Ecology, Entomology; and in Parasitology.
I have supervised many BSc student research projects and am presently academic advisor for
Education students majoring in Biology.
Jos University:
I taught a range of courses in Entomology and in Ecology for the B.Sc in Zoology; and for the
M.Sc Applied Entomology (which was funded by the World Health Organization).
I supervised a large number of 1 year BSc and MSc student research projects in medical
entomology and co-supervised 2 Ph.D.’s.
Research Experience
1. Durham University & Jos University (Nigeria)
I researched the ecology and behaviour of blackflies (Simuliidae), especially studying their flight
activity using vehicle-mounted nets and also aspects of their larval ecology. I also did research
on their epidemiology as vectors of onchocerciasis.
2. Sultan Qaboos University:I have mainly researched the ecology and behaviour of sandflies and mosquitoes. I am presently
studying how mosquito larvae respond physiologically and behaviourally to the presence of
predators.
Consultancies & Pest control
1984 I was part of the Royal Entomological Society’s Project Wallace in Sulawesi (Indonesia), studying
the blackflies (Simuliidae) present in the Dumoga-Bone Reserve.
1986 - 87 I was one of the Technical Advisors planning and setting up Nigeria’s Onchocerciasis
Control Program; a nationwide campaign to control river blindness by eradicating the blackfly
vectors.
1988 I was employed by Hunting Technical Services, with funding from the Overseas
Development Administration (UK), as a senior entomologist in the Somalian tsetse eradication
program. With 3 junior entomologists and 60 local staff, we monitored the progress of the tsetse
control (which used aerial spraying of endosulphan).
1992 – 93 The Southern Administrative Region of Oman funded a survey by Sultan Qaboos
University of the local water resources (springs, lakes and coastal lagoons) to decide on
conservation and land use options. I investigated the distribution and seasonal abundance of
medically important insects (mainly mosquitoes and biting midges).
University Administrative Experience
I have extensive administration experience at:
University level: Academic Council member, Ethics committee; Editor of SQU Journal of
Scientific Research.
College level: College Academic Promotion Committee
Departmental level: Procurement Officer, Exams officer, Academic Appointments committee.
I set up the Departmental museum.
I was also Head of Department in both SQU and Jos.
Community service
For many years, I assisted in teaching the Diploma in Tropical Medicine & Hygiene in the
College of medicine.
Reviewed papers for various scientific journals and have been external examiner for various
MSc students.
Represented SQU at meetings with WHO and the Ministry of Health to review vector control
activities in Oman.
International Societies
Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society (UK).
Member of the Entomological Society of America.
Scientific Papers
1.
Davies L. & Roberts D.M. (1973) A net and catch-segregating apparatus mounted in
a motor vehicle for field studies on flight activity of Simuliidae and other insects.
Bulletin of Entomological Research 63: 103-112.
2.
Davies L. & Roberts D.M. (1980) Flight activity of female black-flies (Diptera:
Simuliidae) studied with a vehicle-mounted net in northern England.
Journal of Natural History 14: 1-16.
3.
Roberts D.M. (1983) The relative abundance of pupae of three black-fly species
(Simulium spp.) on different diameters of strings.
Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 33: 102-104.
4.
Roberts D.M. (1985) Vertical distribution of flying black-flies (Diptera: Simuliidae)
in central Nigeria.
Tropical Medicine & Parasitology 36: 102-104.
5.
Roberts D.M. & Irving-Bell R.J. (1985) Circadian flight activity of Simulium spp.
(Diptera: Simuliidae) sampled with a vehicle-mounted net in central Nigeria.
Bulletin of Entomological Research 75: 23-33.
6.
Roberts D.M. (1986) Some factors affecting substrate preferences by black-fly pupae
(Diptera: Simuliidae).
Insect Science & its Application 7: 107-109.
7.
Roberts D.M. & Irving-Bell R.J. (1987) Nigerian blood-fed black flies (Diptera:
Simuliidae) caught in flight: relative activity and host preferences.
Tropical Medicine & Parasitology 38: 23-26.
8.
Roberts D.M. & Okafor B.C. (1987) Microdistribution of immature African
black flies resulting from water velocity and turbulence preferences.
Medical & Veterinary Entomology 1: 169-175.
9.
Boakye D.A. & Roberts D.M. (1988) Low temperature storage and pupal survival in
the Simulium damnosum complex.
Tropical Medicine & Parasitology 39 245-246.
10.
Takaoka H. & Roberts D.M. (1988) Notes on black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) from
Sulawesi, Indonesia.
Japanese Journal of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene 16: 191-219.
11.
Roberts D.M. & Irving-Bell R.J. (1992) Succession in substrate colonisation by
African black fly larvae (Diptera: Simuliidae).
Journal of African Zoology 106: 503-511.
12.
Roberts D.M. (1994) Arabian sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae) prefer the hottest
nights?
Medical & Veterinary Entomology 8: 194-198.
Roberts D.M. & Kumar S. (1994) Using vehicle-mounted nets for studying activity
of Arabian sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae).
Journal of Medical Entomology 31: 388-393.
13.
14.
Crosskey R.W., Buttiker W. & Roberts D.M. (1994) Further data on black flies
(Diptera: Simuliidae) of the Arabian Peninsula, including description of a
new species of the Simulium subgenus Wilhelmia from the Sultanate of Oman.
Fauna of Saudi Arabia 14: 137-144.
15.
Roberts D.M. (1996) Circadian flight activity of Arabian sandflies (Diptera:
Psychodidae) using a vehicle-mounted net.
Bulletin of Entomological Research 86: 61-66.
16.
Roberts D.M. & Irving-Bell J.R. (1996) Effect of weather conditions on the
flight activity of Nigerian black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae).
Medical and Veterinary Entomology 10: 137-144.
17.
Roberts D.M. (1996) Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) breeding in brackish water:
female ovipositional preferences or larval survival?
Journal of Medical Entomology 33: 525-530.
18.
Roberts D.M. & R.J. Irving-Bell (1997) Salinity and microhabitat preferences in
mosquito larvae from southern Oman.
Journal of Arid Environments 37: 497-504.
19.
Roberts D.M. (1998) Overcrowding of Culex sitiens larvae (Diptera: Culicidae):
population regulation by chemical factors or physical interference?
Journal of Medical Entomology 35: - 665-669.
20.
Roberts D.M. (2001) Egg hatching of mosquitoes Aedes caspius and Ae. vittatus
stimulated by water vibrations.
Medical and Veterinary Entomology 15: 1-4.
21.
Roberts D.M. (2004) Prolonged survival of eggs of the rock-pool mosquito, Aedes
vittatus in the extreme heat of the Arabian peninsula.
Journal of Arid Environments 57: 63-70.
22.
Roberts D.M. & M. Kokkinn (2010) Larval crowding effects on the mosquito Culex
quinquefasciatus: physical or chemical?
Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 135: 271-275.
23.
Roberts D.M. (2010) A comparison of the physiological age of adult resting versus
flying Culex quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae).
SQU Journal for Science 15: 9-17.
24.
Kokkinn M, Roberts D.M. & W. Craig (2011) Larval development rate of the
mosquitoes Culex quinquefasciatus and Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) varies
between clutches: implications for population ecology.
Australian Journal of Entomology 51: 22-27.
25.
Roberts D.M. (2011) Responses of three species of mosquito larvae to the presence of
predatory dragonfly and damselfly larvae. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata
145: 23-29.
26.
Roberts D.M. (2014) Mosquito larvae change their feeding behaviour in response to
kairomones from some predators. Journal of Medical Entomology 51: 368-374.
27.
Roberts D.M. (2014) Rapid habituation by some species of mosquito larvae to predator
kairomones. Journal of Vector Ecology 39: 355-360.
28.
Barry M.J. & Roberts D.M. (2014) Indirect interactions limits the efficiency of Odonata
as natural control agents of mosquito larvae. Journal of Insect Behaviour 27: 626-638.
29.
Al-Kitani F.A., Baqir S., Hussain M.M. & Roberts D.M. (2014) Cystic hydatosis in
slaughtered goats from various municipal abattoirs in Oman. Tropical Animal Health &
Production46: 1357-1362.
ooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooo