Applied Biological Control Research

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Vanessa Lopez
Graduate Student Researcher
Phone: (951) 827-4360
vlope006@ucr.edu

Vanessa Lopez is a Ph.D. candidate in the Entomology Department who joined the Hoddle lab in September 2009. She is working on developing a classical biological control program for the invasive goldspotted oak borer, Agrilus auroguttatus, (GSOB) which includes identifying the native range of GSOB and surveying for co-evolved natural enemies of this pest. Vanessa is also conducting research on the biology and life history of GSOB to understand important traits such as fecundity, longevity, and dispersal potential.

While an undergraduate at the University of California, Riverside (UCR), Vanessa studied overseas via the University of California’s Education Abroad Program. Through this program, she had the opportunity to study tropical conservation and biology in Monteverde, Costa Rica. The Tropical Conservation and Biology program focused strongly on research, and throughout the quarter she participated in several group and individual research projects. These projects encompassed many facets of biology such as behavior, diversity, and ecology. Examples of these research projects include examining species composition at different levels within an intertidal zone, and studying insect diversity in pasture, primary, and secondary forests.

Vanessa's individual study project in Costa Rica examined hitchhiking behavior and load selection in the leaf-cutter ant, Atta cephalotes. In leaf-cutter ants, small workers often ride or “hitchhike” on leaf fragments carried back to the nest by larger foragers. This study focused primarily on the behavior of the small workers, or minima, in Atta cephalotes to determine if there is a correlation between minima activity and the presence of parasitoids (Phoridae).

Degrees

B.S. Biological Sciences: Conservation Biology (2008), University of California, Riverside

Awards

• Allen-Abrahamson Student Poster Competition, 2011: Ph.D. first place winner
• Van den Bosch Memorial Travel Award, 2011
• Van den Bosch Memorial Travel Award, 2010
• Don Dahlsten Memorial Scholarship, 2010
• Eugene Cota-Robles Fellowship, 2009

Current Projects

Goldspotted Oak Borer

GSOB is responsible for major oak mortality on federal, state, and Native American lands. More...

 

Publications

1. Lopez, V.M., T.W. Coleman, M.S. Hoddle, R. Reardon, and S.J. Seybold. (2013). Goldspotted Oak Borer (Agrilus auroguttatusSchaeffer) (Coleoptera: Buprestidae). Saving Trees, Saving Forests: Use of classical biological control to preserve native US and Canadian forests. FHTET publication (in press).

2. Coleman, T., V. Lopez, P. Rugman-Jones, R. Stouthamer, S.J. Seybold, R. Reardon, and M.S. Hoddle. 2012. Can the destruction of California’s oak woodlands be prevented? Potential for biological control of the gold spotted oakborer, Agrilus auroguttatus. BioControl 57: 211-225. 

Professional Presentations

• Lopez, V.M., T.W. Coleman, and M.S. Hoddle. Using Molecular Techniques to Guide the Management of the Invasive Goldspotted Oak Borer Agrilus auroguttatus Schaeffer (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) in California. Entomological Society of America 60th Annual Meeting. Knoxville, Tennessee. November 11-14 2012.
• Lopez, V.M., T.W. Coleman, and M.S. Hoddle. Goldspotted Oak Borer Biological Control: Progress and Future Directions. W-3185 Meeting. Asilomar Conference Center, Pacific Grove, CA, Oct. 3-5, 2012.
• Lopez, V.M., T.W. Coleman, and M.S. Hoddle. Goldspotted Oak Borer Biological Control Research. Spring 2012 GSOB Workshop. Charles S. Farnsworth Park, Altadena, CA. May 2 2012.
• Lopez, V.M., T.W. Coleman, and M.S. Hoddle. Goldspotted Oak Borer Biological Control Research. Spring 2012 GSOB Workshop. Pechanga Government Center, Temecula, CA. May 1 2012.
• Lopez, V.M., T.W. Coleman, and M.S. Hoddle. Progress on Goldspotted Oak Borer Biological Control. Spring 2012 Southern California Forest Pest Council Meeting. Riverside, CA. April 24 2012.
• Lopez, V.M., T.W. Coleman, and M.S. Hoddle. Utilizing Molecular Techniques in the Development of a Biological Control Program for the Invasive Goldspotted Oak Borer (Agrilus auroguttatus). 2012 Western Forest Insect Work Conference. Penticton Lakeside Resort, Penticton British Columbia, March 27 2012.
• Lopez, V.M., and M.S Hoddle. Goldspotted Oak Borer: A Woodborer Killing Native Oaks in Southern California. Target Specialty Products Seminar. Long Beach, CA. March 8 2012.
• Lopez, V.M., T.W. Coleman, and M.S. Hoddle. Feasibility and Potential for Biological Control of Goldspotted Oak Borer Agrilus auroguttatus Schaeffer (Coleoptera: Buprestidae). Invited oral presentation in the P-IE Section Symposium: Biological Control of Invasive Wood Borers: Feasibility, Potential, Progress, and Challenges. Entomological Society of America 59th Annual Meeting. Reno Nevada, November 2011.
• Lopez, V.M. and M.S. Hoddle. Determining Fecundity and Longevity for the Invasive Goldspotted Oak Borer, Agrilus auroguttatus Schaeffer (Coleoptera: Buprestidae). North American Forest Insect Work Conference. Portland, OR. May 2011.
• Lopez, V.M. et.al. Identifying the Area of Origin of the California Population of the Invasive Goldspotted Oak Borer, Agrilus auroguttatus Schaeffer (Coleoptera: Buprestidae). Entomological Society of America 58th Annual Meeting. San Diego, CA, December 2010.
• Lopez, V.M. et.al. Identifying the Area of Origin of the California Population of the Invasive Goldspotted Oak Borer, Agrilus coxalis Waterhouse (Coleoptera: Buprestidae). California Forest Pest Council 59th Annual Meeting. McClellan, CA. November 2010.
• Lopez, V.M., and M.S Hoddle. Goldspotted Oak Borer: A Serious New Invader Killing Native Oaks in Wilderness and Urban Areas. California Association of Pest Control Advisors Meeting. Santa Paula, CA. November 2010.
• Lopez, V.M., et.al. Identifying the Area of Origin of the Invasive Goldspotted Oak Borer, Agrilus coxalis Waterhouse (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) using molecular techniques. Biological Control for Nature Conference. Northampton, MA. October 2010.

GSOB Research Links

• GSOB website: Center for Invasive Species Research
• Youtube GSOB larvae video
• GSOB podcast: An interview with Mark Hoddle and Vanessa Lopez on the Goldspotted Oak Borer. Summer 2010
• GSOB poster presented at the North American Forest Insect Work Conference, Portland, OR. May 10-12, 2011.
• GSOB poster presented at the ESA 58th Annual Meeting, December 12-15, 2010

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