Browsing by Author "Held, David"

Now showing items 1-20 of 28

Alabama Phenology Garden Project: Using Degree-days and Phenology to Predict Pest Activity

Young, Raymond (2012-07-24)

Accurate prediction of pest activity is crucial crucial for maintaining a successful urban integrated pest management program. Plant phenology and growing degree days can be useful tools in tracking important pest stages ...

Assessing the pollination contribution of bees within the southeastern United States

Abbate, Anthony (2021-04-19)

Over 80% of the world’s flowering plants rely on animal pollinators, and approximately 75% of the world’s food crops depend on insect pollinators. Insects are crucial in the pollination of many cultivated and wild flowering ...

Biology and Management of Megacopta cribraria (Fabricius) (Heteroptera: Plataspidae): A Recent Invader to The United States

Golec, Julian (2014-11-06)

Identified as both an agricultural pest of soybean and a residential nuisance pest, Megacopta cribraria (F.) (Heteroptera: Plataspidae), is a recently invasive pest species to the southeastern United States. Isolated to a ...

Branched Amphiphilic Peptide Capsules (BAPCs): A promising platform for mRNA therapeutics delivery.

Kunte, Nitish Sunil (2023-12-11) ETD File Embargoed

mRNA therapeutics represent an emerging and powerful strategy for the treatment and prevention of infectious and genetic diseases. However, mRNA molecules are large anionic polymer that necessitate a delivery vector to ...

Characterization of Biopores Resulting from Mole Crickets (Scapteriscus spp.)

Bailey, David L. (2012-09-27)

Soil organisms, particularly arthropods, create biopores as they move or tunnel. The abundance and burrowing nature of mole crickets, a common soil-inhabiting pest in the southeastern United States, will likely influence ...

Characterization of detoxification enzymes in Japanese beetle, Popillia japonica Newman (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)

Adesanya, Adekunle (2015-07-28)

Japanese beetle, Popillia japonica Newman, is a highly polyphagous scarab with a host range of over 300 plant species spreading over 79 families. It is a cosmopolitan pest with agricultural, landscape and horticultural ...

Chemical Ecology of Some Underexplored Aspects of Plant-Herbivore-Parasitoid Tritrophic Interactions

Morawo, Tolulope (2017-11-28)

Plants, herbivorous insects and their natural enemies are involved in an intricate tritrophic interaction in a complex chemical environment. Herbivore infested plants, as well as plant-fed herbivores release volatile organic ...

Evaluation of Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria on Stockpiled Bermudagrass

Griffin, Megan (2019-04-18)

A two-year, small-plot study was conducted to evaluate plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) as an alternative form of N fertilization for fall-stockpiled bermudagrass. Eighteen 1-m2 Coastal bermudagrass plots were ...

Impact of cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica) presence and management strategies on arthropod natural enemy populations in longleaf pine stands

Martin, Sallie (2012-04-09)

Cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica Beav.) is an aggressive, invasive weed that is threatening the integrity of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) ecosystems in southeast Alabama. Various management strategies are implemented ...

Impact of Imperata cylindrica on Populations of Root-feeding Bark Beetle Populations and Factors Associated with Loblolly Pine Decline in a Pinus taeda Stand

Brunson, Ben (2013-11-25)

The non-native, invasive plant, cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica (L.) Beauv) is a threat to the diversity of native plant species of the southeastern United States. Another issue facing landowners of southeastern forests ...

Impacts of Native and Non-native plants on Urban Insect Communities: Are Native Plants Better than Non-natives?

Clem, Carl (2015-12-11)

With continued suburban expansion in the southeastern United States, it is increasingly important to understand urbanization and its impacts on sustainability and natural ecosystems. Expansion of suburbia is often coupled ...

Influence of Plant-Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria on Arthropod Populations, Forage Biomass, and Soil Health in Bermudagrass Pastures

Sullins, Kayla (2021-12-05)

Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.) is a warm-season, perennial grass commonly used in forage production systems in the southeastern United States. Drought tolerance and pronounced yield response to high rates of ...

Investigation of Ticks and Tick-Borne Pathogens in Deciduous Forests of Eastern Central Alabama

Wang, Xiaodi (2017-01-05)

Ticks are obligate hematophagous arthropods, and as vectors of human disease, they are second only to mosquitoes in medical importance. There are many unknowns in Alabama regarding ticks and tick-borne diseases that require ...

Limonene for the management of Crape Myrtle Bark Scale (Acanthococcus lagerstroemiae)

Melson-Jordan, Jordan (2024-04-23)

Crape myrtle bark scale (CMBS, Acanthococcus lagerstroemiae) is an invasive pest of crape myrtles first introduced to the United States less than 20 years ago. CMBS reduce the aesthetic value of these ornamental trees which ...

Mechanisms of Olfaction in Parasitic Wasps: Analytical and Behavioral Studies of Response of a Specialist (Microplitis croceipes) and a Generalist (Cotesia marginiventris) Parasitoid to Host-Related Odor

Ngumbi, Esther Ndumi (2011-07-27)

Parasitic wasps (parasitoids) are known to utilize as host location cues various types of host-related volatile signals. These volatile signals could be plant-based, originate from the herbivore host, or be produced from ...

Nutritive quality of Coastal bermudagrass treated with plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria

Fike, Connie (2017-04-15)

Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are naturally occurring, non-pathogenic soil bacteria that aggressively colonize plant roots. These beneficial bacteria increase nutrient uptake, pest resistance, drought tolerance, ...

Ophiostomatoid Fungal Infection and Insect Diversity in a Mature Loblolly Pine Stand

Ahl, Jessica (2019-04-16)

Root-feeding beetles and weevils are known vectors of ophiostomatoid fungi, such as Leptographium and Grosmannia, that have been associated with a phenomenon called Southern Pine Decline in the Southeastern United States. ...

Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) mediate interactions between abiotic and biotic stresses in cool- and warm-season grasses

Coy, Richard (2017-12-06)

Non-pathogenic, soil microbes that occupy the rhizosphere can influence plant growth and induce changes in the plant’s physiological, chemical, metabolic, molecular activities; influencing plant-microbe interactions with ...

Plasticity of Olfactory Response to Host-Related Plant Volatiles in The Parasitoid Microplitis croceipes

Burrows, Matthew (2016-05-03)

Plants release blends of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in response to herbivore damage. Parasitoids use certain VOCs as indirect cues to locate their herbivore hosts. However, response of parasitoids to these chemical ...

Potential Effects of Biotic and Abiotic Stressors on the Reproductive Health of Honey Bees

Bruckner, Selina (2020-11-30)

Apis mellifera Linnaeus honey bees are the most economically important pollinator species in the United States, yet colonies consistently experience high losses as a result of interacting biotic and abiotic stressors. My ...