Applied Chemical Ecology

Chemical ecology is the study of the role that chemicals play mediating interactions between organisms and organisms and their environment, and the consequences of those interactions in ecological and evolutionary time.  It is not an autonomous discipline but rather an approach to ecology, one of viewing ecological interactions through a chemical lens.  Consequently it is highly interdisciplinary, commonly involving behavior, ecology, genomics, physiology, biochemistry, chemistry and neurobiology.  Olfaction is the dominant modality for how most insects perceive and interact with the biotic world and consequently the study of insect chemical ecology has immense potential to inform our understanding of the natural world.  In addition to its heuristic value, this understanding has potential to provide powerful tools for the management of pests. 

Our research interests lie at the interface of behavioral chemical ecology and pest management.  The primary focus of our work is the development of an understanding of the chemical ecology of insect pests of plantation forests and agricultural tree crops in the southern hemisphere.  By using pest species as model systems we are able to simultaneously make discoveries that advance our understanding of the natural world and provide biorational pest management tools to stakeholders.  Specific ongoing projects include the development and optimization of survey and detection tools, characterization of the active space of semiochemical-baited traps and the biotic and abiotic factors that influence it, the impact of chemical ecology on the efficacy of biological control, the chemical ecology of insect pests of plantation and fruit and nut trees and the causes and consequences of variation in insect sex pheromones.

If any of these topics or related ones interest you please contact us.  We are always looking for talented graduate students, postdocs and collaborators.

 

New Publications

Katumanyane A, Slippers B, Wondafrash M, Malan AP, Hurley BP. (2023) Susceptibility of white grubs from forestry and sugarcane plantations in South Africa to entomopathogenic nematodes. BioControl 10.1007/s10526-023-10185-7
Luki-Marie Scheepers, Jeremy D. Allison, Bernard Slippers, Egmont R. Rohwer, Patrick M. Mc Millan, Jan E. Bello. (2023) Pine Emperor moths from KwaZulu-Natal use the same pheromone component previously isolated from Nudaurelia cytherea (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) from the Western Cape. African Entomology 31((2023)):1-9. 10.17159/2254-8854/2023/a13231
Bose T, Dovey S, Brachmann A, Witfeld F, Begerow D, Kemler M, Roux J, Slippers B, Vivas M, Wingfield MJ. (2023) Retention of post-harvest residues enhances soil fungal biodiversity in Eucalyptus plantations. Forest Ecology and Management 532:120806. 10.1016/j.foreco.2023.120806
Kandasamy D, Zaman R, Nakamura Y, Zhao T, Hartmann H, Andersson MN, Hammerbacher A, Gershenzon J. (2023) Conifer-killing bark beetles locate fungal symbionts by detecting volatile fungal metabolites of host tree resin monoterpenes. PLoS biology 21(2):e3001887.
Wingfield BD, Berger DK, Coetzee MPA, Duong TA, Martin A, Pham NQ, Van den Berg N, Wilken PM, Arun-Chinnappa KS, Barnes I, Buthelezi S, Dahanayaka BA, Durán A, Engelbrecht J, Feurtey A, Fourie A, Fourie G, Hartley J, Kabwe ENK, Maphosa M, Narh Mensah DL, Nsibo DL, Potgieter L, Poudel B, Stukenbrock EH, Thomas C, Vaghefi N, Welgemoed T, Wingfield MJ. (2022) IMA genome‑F17. 13:19. 10.1186/s43008-022-00104-3
Solís M, Hammerbacher A, Wingfield MJ, Naidoo S. (2022) A robust disease scoring method to screen Eucalyptus for resistance against the aggressive leaf blight pathogen, Teratosphaeria destructans. Plant Disease 10.1094/PDIS-06-22-1347-RE
Guillino ML, Pugliese M, Pan X, Makkouk K, Loplan R, Juroszek P, Hurley BP, Garrett K, Chakraborty S, Angelotti F, Al-Jboory I, Albajes R, Stephenson T. (2022) Climate change and pathways used by pests as challenges to plant health in agriculture and forestry. Sustainability 14:12421. 10.3390/su141912421 PDF
Bose T, Hammerbacher A. (2022) The first report of Phytophthora multivesiculata causing black rot of Cymbidium and Ansellia africana from South Africa. Plant Disease 10.1094/PDIS-03-22-0623-PDN
Solís M, Wingfield MJ, Hammerbacher A, Naidoo S. (2022) Comparison of the infection biology of Teratosphaeria destructans and Teratosphaeria epicoccoides on Eucalyptus. Plant Disease 10.1094/PDIS-09-21-1877-RE PDF
Jami F, Marincowitz S, Durán A, Slippers B, Abad JIM, Chen S, Wingfield MJ. (2022) Botryosphaeriaceae diversity on Eucalyptus clones in different climate zones of Indonesia. Forest Pathology :1-14. 10.1111/efp.12737
Makwela MC, Hammerbacher A, Vivas M, Coetzee MPA, Wingfield BD, van Ede G, Bose T. (2022) Uncovering the mycorrhizal community of two Habenaria orchids in South Africa. South African Journal of Botany 10.1016/j.sajb.2022.02.020
Pal E, Almasri H, Paris L, Diogon M, Pioz M, Cousin M, Sene D, Tchamitchian S, Tavares DA, Delbac F, Blot N, Brunet JL, Belzunces L. (2022) Toxicity of the pesticides Imidacloprid, Difenoconazole and Glyphosate alone and in binary and ternary mixtures to winter honey bees: Effects on survival and antioxidative defenses. Toxics 10(3):104. 10.3390/toxics10030104 PDF
Makwela MC, Hammerbacher A, Coetzee MPA, Wingfield BD, van Ede G, Bose T. (2022) Fungal diversity associated with the mycorrhizosphere soil of Brachycorythis conica subsp. transvaalensis, a critically endangered and endemic terrestrial orchid from South Africa. South African Journal of Botany 00:1-8. 10.1016/j.sajb.2022.01.019
Kreuzenbeck NB, Hoffmeister D, Poulsen M, Köllner TG, Hammerbacher A, Schmidt S, Conlon BH, Fricke J, Schwitalla JW, Seibel E, Beemelmanns. (2022) Comparative genomic and metabolomic analysis of Termitomyces species provides insights into the terpenome of the fungal cultivar and the characteristic odor of the fungus garden of Macrotermes natalensis termites. Msystems 7(1):e01214-21.
Nagel R, Hammerbacher A, Kunert G, Phillips MA, Gershenzon J, Schmidt A. (2022) Bark beetle attack history does not influence the induction of terpene and phenolic defenses in mature Norway spruce (Picea abies) trees by the bark beetle-associated fungus Endoconidiophora polonica. Frontiers in Plant Science 13
Netherer S, Hammerbacher A. 2022. The Eurasian spruce bark beetle in a warming climate: Phenology, behavior, and biotic interactions. In: Bark Beetle Management, Ecology, and Climate Change. Academic Press, pp 89-131.
Wood M, Chamaillé-Jammes S, Hammerbacher A, Shrader AM. (2022) African elephants can detect water from natural and artificial sources via olfactory cues. Animal Cognition 25(1):53-61.
Guignard Q, Allison JD, Slippers B. (2022) The evolution of insect visual opsin genes with specific consideration of the influence of ocelli and life history traits. 22:2. 10.1186/s12862-022-01960-8
Dittrich-Schröder G, Garnas JR, Arriagades-Cares D, Ahumada R, Hurley BP, Lawson SA, Slippers B. (2021) Diversity and Introduction History of Glycaspis brimblecombei Reflects a History of Bridgeheads and Distinct Invasions. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change 4:1-11. 10.3389/ffgc.2021.783603
Wondafrash M, Slippers B, Asfaw BA, Makowe IA, Jenya H, Bush S, Kayumba I, Nambazimana A, van der Lingen S, Hurley BP. (2021) Tracing the distribution of natural enemies of non-native invasive eucalypt insect pests in sub- Saharan Africa. Southern Forests: a Journal of Forest Science 83(3):1-10. 10.2989/20702620.2021.1960218