Jennifer Thaler
Associate Professor
jst37@cornell.edu

Area of Expertise

Insect Ecology

Research

My research has two major goals, both unified by mission of developing a predictive framework for understanding the complex interactions that occur between plant and insect species. Given the ubiquitous nature of insect herbivores on plants, a central goal of modern agriculture is to develop novel methods of pest control. I firmly believe that studies of natural ecological systems, coupled with focused studies of particular agroecosystems, can provide insight into controlling insect pests. Thus, the first major goal of my research is to study the ecological interactions between plants, herbivores, and carnivores in wild Solanaceous plant species. Here my approach focuses on understanding behavioral and phytochemical mechanisms of such tri-trophic interactions, and testing theory on the organization of multi-trophic communities. The second goal of my research program is to work on tomato and related crop species in an agroecological setting, to understand the specific role of factors such as plant defense pathways (jasmonate, salicylate, etc) in mediating interactions between plants, herbivores and pathogens, and predators and parasitoids. By employing modern methods associated with the tomato-model system (genetically modified plants with altered defense signaling, phytochemical analyses, etc) we are gaining insight into the function of plant defense in tri-trophic interactions and working towards utilizing novel strategies to control insect pests.

Courses Taught

ENTOM 3690 Chemical Ecology
ENTOM 4550 Insect Ecology

Publications (last 5 years)

• Cook-Patton, S. C., McArt, S. H., Parachnowitsch, A. L., Thaler, J. S.,and Agrawal, A. A. 2011. A direct comparison of the consequences of plant genotypic and species diversity on communities and ecosystem function. Ecology, 92:915-923.
• Kaplan, I. and Thaler, J. S. 2011. Do plant defenses enhance or diminish prey suppression by omnivorous Heteroptera? Biological Control, 59:53-60.
• Rodriguez-Saona, C.R., R.O. Musser, H. Vogel, S.M. Hum-Musser, and J.S. Thaler. 2010. Molecular, biochemical, and organismal analyses of tomato plants simultaneously attacked by herbivores from two feeding guilds. Journal of Chemical Ecology 36:1043-1057.
• J.S. Thaler,A.A. Agrawal, R. Halitschke. 2010. Salicylate-mediated interactions between pathogens and herbivores. Ecology 91:1075-1082.
• Kaplan, I. and J.S. Thaler. 2010. Plant resistance attenuates the consumptive and nonconsumptive impacts of predators on prey. Oikos 119:1105-1103.
• Scott, I.M., J.S. Thaler and J.G. Scott. 2010. Response of a generalist herbivore Trichoplusia ni to jasmonate-mediated induced defense in tomato. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 36:490-499.
• Boutard-Hunt, C.D. Smart, J. S. Thaler, B.A. Nault. 2009. Impact of Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria and Natural Enemies on Myzus persicae Infestations in Pepper. J. Economic Entomology, 102:2183-2191.
• J.S. Thaler and Griffin, C.A. 2008. Relative importance of consumptive and non-consumptive effects of predators on prey and plant damage: the influence of herbivore ontogeny. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 128:34-40.
• Viswanathan, D.V., G. McNickle, and J.S. Thaler. 2008. Heterogeneity of plant phenotypes caused by herbivore-specific induced responses influences the spatial distribution of herbivores. Ecological Entomology 33:86-94.
• Viswanathan, D.V., O.A. Lifchits, and J.S. Thaler. 2007. Consequences of sequential attack for resistance to herbivores when plants have specific induced responses. Oikos 116:1389-1399.