As a chemical ecologist, I investigate how organisms use chemicals in their interactions with members of their own and different species. Insects, the most species-rich and ecologically diverse group of animals, are the primary subjects of study for me and my students. Our research focuses on how host plant chemistry influences the behavior and ecology of herbivorous insects and on how insects utilize chemicals as anti-predator defenses. Since chemical ecology resides at the interface of biology and chemistry, much of our research effort is in collaboration with colleagues in chemistry.
Various projects are ongoing.
This enables the moth to supplement nutrients present at low levels within its food plant and to invest these in its offspring. In addition to these and other projects that are underway, I am sure that new experimental systems will arise as we make discoveries concerning Connecticut's insect fauna.