Management of Arthropod Vectors of Plant Disease (Specialist)
Dept. of Entomology, UC Davis
(Position located at the Kearney Agricultural Center)
Position Description: (1) General disciplinary focus: The CE specialist in vector management and plant
disease epidemiology. The incumbent will be expected to act as a statewide resource for vector
identification and control, and to deliver current information related to the biology, ecology, occurrence of
vector populations and vector-disease epidemiology to statewide clientele.
The successful candidate will conduct research on vector biology and ecology as related to disease
epidemiology (e.g., population dynamics, transmission efficiency) with the long-term goals of developing
environmentally sound, systems-based, integrated management strategies that fit into a larger framework of
sustainability. Recently, the UC System has had a series of retirements in areas of pest management (Nick
Toscano - UC Riverside, Richard Coviello - ANR, Walt Bentley - UC IPM located at KAC, Charlie
Summers - UC Davis located at KAC, Steve Welter - UC Berkeley, and Marshall Johnson - UC Riverside
located at KAC (announced)). Most of these researchers had programs that served California’s Central
Valley – a key agricultural area. In addition, the ranks of ANR advisors with expertise and efforts in pest
management have declined; e.g., Farm Advisors in Fresno, Tulare, Kings, Madera, Merced, and San
Joaquin Counties.
Educational and professional background requirements: (2) The applicant must have a Ph.D. degree in
entomology, plant pathology, disease epidemiology, applied ecology, or a closely related field, with
experience and interest, or training and coursework, related to vector ecology and management. A strong
commitment to problem-solving research and extending results to clientele groups is expected; (3) The UC
Davis Department of Entomology is the supporting unit for this position. The Specialist will plan and
coordinate statewide extension education and information transfer programs related to arthropods as
vectors of plant diseases in California. Interactions with faculty (e.g., Almeida, Lindow, Redak, Zalom) CE
Specialists (e.g., Daane, Daugherty, Godfrey, Grafton-Cardwell, Hoddle), County-based Advisors and UC
IPM Advisors (e.g., Bolda, Haviland, Goodell, Varela) are expected.
Justification: Safe, nutritious food and a healthy environment are cornerstones of our way of life in
California. Arthropods, being one of the most numerous organisms on the planet, potentially affect human
health in several ways. Concrete examples of areas within the framework of the ANR Strategic Vision
impacted by arthropod pests include: (1) Healthy food systems – pest insects damage crop plants, (2)
Healthy environments - water and air quality are impacted by the use of pesticides, (3) Healthy
communities – alternatives to pesticides for backyard vegetable gardeners improve public safety, (4)
Healthy Californians – food safety and the summary of the above points affect Californians daily.
With the ubiquitous presence of insects and mites and given the importance of Vegetable, Fruit and Nut,
and Agronomic Crops to California agriculture, it is not surprising that this proposed position addresses
several strategic initiatives described in the ANR Strategic Vision. (1) Initiative to improve water quality,
quantity, and security – pesticides are used to reduce arthropod densities, especially those arthropods that
vector disease, and are increasingly appearing as a contaminant of waterways potentially impacting aquatic
life and water quality; (2) Initiative to enhance competitive, sustainable food systems – arthropods that
vector disease agents are key competitors in agroecosystems and the damage they inflict threatens
sustainability, profitability, and the stability of food systems; (3) Initiative to enhance the health of
Californians and California’s agricultural economy – clearly a healthy food supply and environment are
important tenets of this initiative which are potentially impacted by insects and the disease agents they
vector; (4) Initiative for managing endemic and invasive pests and diseases – this proposed Specialist
position would perfectly fit this initiative. Robust, stable management systems have proven to be
extremely difficult to enact for endemic pests and the ever-increasing challenges of invasive pests,
especially those that vector plant disease, have compounded this mission. For example, the Asian citrus
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psyllid and the bacteria they vector, which currently cause major losses to the Florida citrus industry, loom
as major threats to the California citrus industry.
Extension: Delivery of science-based information to improve the sustainability of California’s agriculture
and to reduce its footprint on the environment is critical. A Specialist specializing on Vector Ecology,
Disease Epidemiology and Management would extend results from his/her studies as well as liaison with
campus faculty and county Advisors. Specific clientele groups would also include pest control advisers,
commodity group personnel, governmental agencies, environmental groups, NGOs, and others.
Contributions to ANR publications, e.g., Pest Management Guidelines, are expected.
Research: Numerous research areas exist within the fields of vector ecology, vector/disease epidemiology
and vector management; the successful applicants will be chosen for their ability to contribute to problemsolving research and to the science of insect biology. Emerging areas of research in these areas dovetail
with several missions of Cooperative Extension and land grant colleges. California agricultural economic
losses have recently increased through the invasion of numerous arthropod pests, and some of the most
important are vectors of plant disease (e.g., glassy-winged sharpshooter, vine mealybug, citrus psyllid) or
induce fruit damage through associated rots (e.g., spotted wing drosophila, brown marmorated stink bug).
To meet current and emerging challenges, novel research approaches are expected to be developed and
implemented in response to the needs of clientele. Insect vectors are often heavily treated with insecticides
because a small population can cause considerable damage. The long-term goal is to develop more
sustainable management options by better understanding vector ecology and vector/disease epidemiology.
ANR continuum: Sustainable management of plant disease vectors will be achieved only through a team
effort and the CE Specialist will work closely with campus-based AES and CE and County-based CE
across a broad range of research disciplines. The CE and applied research-based programs developed are
expected to be collaborative efforts, with research and extension faculty in the departments of Entomology,
Plant Pathology, Plant Science, Land, Air & Water Resources, Environmental Toxicology, Biological &
Agricultural Engineering and Environmental Science & Policy at the University of California, Davis and
scientists from other UC campuses. A core of AES and CE entomologists and plant pathologists are active
at KAC (Michalaides, Grafton-Cardwell, Daane, and Johnson) and could provide excellent mentoring for
the individual in the proposed position. Overlap in responsibilities with the entomologists currently at
KAC is limited, as disease vector biology is the focus of these scientists. Similarly, there are research
entomologists located at the USDA ARS San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center, but their
missions include post harvest losses and pests of horticultural crops. Advisors with commodity
specialization are present in the Central Valley and could aid in highlighting relevant research questions.
The greatest need is for an individual to locally synergize with Advisors and ANR clientele, and to
facilitate interactions with campus-based scientists. There is widespread support for this position among CE
Farm Advisors in the Central Valley and many will write letters of support is asked to do so.
Support: Clerical and other administrative support for day-to-day activities would be provided by staff at
the KAC, where the Specialist’s office and laboratory facilities would be located. An account manager in
the UC Davis campus would handle grant administration and personnel matters. The candidate would
receive departmental support for his/her program according to the same formula used for all other faculty
members in the Department of Entomology at UC Davis.
Other support: Numerous commodity groups can be expected to provide monetary support for programs
develop by a CE Specialist working on Vector Ecology, Vector/Disease Epidemiology and Management.
Location: We propose to locate the requested CE position at KAC, where the appointee would help to fill a
void left by the retirement of the CE Specialists listed above. At KAC a CE Specialist in Vector Ecology,
Vector/Disease Epidemiology and Vector Management would be co-located with other entomologists,
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plant pathologists, and others concerned with pest management in the Central Valley. This location also
carries the advantage of proximity to the area’s major production counties: Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera,
Merced and Tulare Counties.
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