Of Bugs and Biocontrol
An Interview with Entomology Graduate Student Ken Spence
Ken Spence is a third year PhD student in the lab of Professor Jay Rosenheim. I sat down with him recently to discuss his current research, his future plans, and how his life brought him to the Entomology Department at UC Davis.
Did you always know you were going to be an entomologist?
Not at all. I actually went to school at Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA with the intention of going into medicine. But at the same time, I've always been interested in the natural world and outdoor pursuits. I grew up in Penns Grove, NJ, the "garden" part of the "Garden State", and my grandfather worked for the USDA so I learned about biological conservation from him.
So what were some of the experiences that ultimately led you to entomology?
After high school I spent the summer in Glacier National Park on a volunteer trail crew for the Student Conservation Association. I liked that a lot.
Then during my junior year at Morehouse I was involved in an agriculture internship in the Dominican Republic. I helped some coffee growers deal with a new pest that had been introduced, called the coffee berry borer. I felt it was work that really made a difference, and people appreciated it. I started to rethink my pre-med program.
Then I had a physiology professor at Morehouse who suggested graduate school as a next step. He believed that if you want to help a greater number of people, graduate school is the way to do it. So one morning I woke up and started researching the things that interested me, and investigating graduate schools that had programs in those areas.
Did you enter graduate school immediately after completing your undergraduate degree?
No, I received a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship after graduating from college. One of the main goals of this fellowship is to provide students with an opportunity to see the world and discover new things before settling down into a career track. It is very self-directed.
I spent the fellowship year in Costa Rica and Ecuador studying alternative pest control methods in that part of the world. I talked to growers and scientists in the area and asked them about the major pests of their crops, how were they were dealing with it, what were some alternative pest control methods, and whether they used any biological control or sustainable agricultural techniques.
What was your most memorable experience from that trip?
One experience that really stuck with me is this: At a place called Zarcero in Costa Rica, there were two brothers who had a conventional farm for a very long time, then over the course of about 12 years they converted it to an organic farm. They did all of the research on their own about how to accomplish this. They were able to see how healthy their produce was compared to their neighbors, and they sold it in the market for the same price as conventional produce, because there wasn't a niche market for organic produce there. They did all this because they wanted their children to live on healthier land, and grow up in a healthier environment. This really made an impression on me because I was uncertain about whether farmers in less developed countries would be open to alternative pest control measures.
What made you decide to come to Davis for graduate school?
I only applied to two graduate school programs, UC Davis and Cornell University in NY. I felt very welcomed by the Entomology Department at Davis, and especially by Jay Rosenheim, my advisor. I felt like a part of the department from my first visit. I also really liked what I saw of northern California.
You just took your oral exams in December. Where is your research program going now?
My interests are in induced plant defenses, and their effects on omnivorous insect predators. I have a special interest in the role of true bugs (order Hemiptera).
What specific projects have you developed to study these effects?
This year is my first field season on this project. I want to look at the preference of insects for different plants, and their performance on those plants. When a cotton plant is damaged by herbivory, it releases volatile compounds that may attract natural enemies of those insects. I want to look at how this affects the minute pirate bug (Orius sp.), the big-eyed bug (Geocoris sp.), earwigs (Dermaptera), and other predaceous insects that are found in cotton. Previous studies have shown that omnivorous thrips will switch from herbivory to predation (on mite eggs) in response to changes in plant quality associated with induced defenses. I want to know if this is a general pattern for other omnivorous insects in the cotton system.
Do you think that your work in induced plant defenses will tie in with your previous work in biocontrol and sustainable agriculture?
Right now the biggest strides in induced plant defenses have been against microbial pathogens, and this research is being applied on a pretty large scale already. But similar research on insects is lacking. Eventually I would like to see how this information might be used in Latin America or other underdeveloped countries, because I don't feel like a lot of the knowledge is being transferred to those places, and those are areas of the world that could really use it.
Do you find time to pursue any hobbies while working on your degree?
I love to snowboard - I just went up to the mountains this weekend to do so - and I love salsa dancing. In general I enjoy many outdoor activities like roller blading, hiking, and camping.
What are your long-term plans?
I'm not sure yet. I may want to continue to work in academia, but I am also interested in looking at other options, such as working for the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. From what I have heard, it would be a nice balance of required duties and independent research.
What do you like most about the Entomology Department at UC Davis?
Everyone is so helpful and ready to extend a hand if you need it. It is a very supportive atmosphere. It was one of the reasons I chose to go to Morehouse, a small college, as an undergrad, and it was a major reason I chose Davis over other graduate schools.
And what do you like least?
I guess if I had to choose something, I would say that socially there is not much going on in the town of Davis itself. But at the same time, it is centrally located, so I can go to San Francisco to go salsa dancing and to the mountains to go snowboarding. It is the best of all worlds.
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