In collaboration with my graduate student Elizabeth Barnes, we are studying how two generalist herbivore species compete with each other on the same host plant even though they do not coexist in time. Competition is one of the fundamental structuring forces in most communities, but has been relatively under-studied for herbivorous insects, especially generalists. We study the effects of competition on two generalist species, tent caterpillars and fall webworms, and how these competitive effects are mediated through bottom-up and top-down interactions. Elizabeth has also recently discovered a new host plant for tent caterpillars, wax currant, that is not used by fall webworms and we recently published with three DU undergraduates on the quality of this novel host for tent caterpillars.
Relevant Publications
Barnes, E. E.* and S. M. Murphy. 2023. Bottom-up and top-down pressures mediated competition between two generalist insects. Ecology 104: e3957
Beshai, R. A.**, E. E. Barnes*, and S. M. Murphy. 2019. The role of enemy-mediated competition in determining the fitness of a generalist herbivore. Southwestern Entomologist 44(1): 69-77.
Barnes, E. E.* and S. M. Murphy. 2018. Time-lagged intraspecific competition in temporally separated cohorts of a generalist insect. Oecologia 186: 711-718.
Barnes, E. E.*, S. Gosnell**, C. Hallagan**, K. E. Otten**, L. P. Slayter** and S. M. Murphy. 2016. Performance of western tent caterpillar (Malacosoma californicum) on two common host plants, including a new host plant record. Journal of the Lepidopterists’ Society 70(4): 277-282.
Relevant Publications
Barnes, E. E.* and S. M. Murphy. 2023. Bottom-up and top-down pressures mediated competition between two generalist insects. Ecology 104: e3957
Beshai, R. A.**, E. E. Barnes*, and S. M. Murphy. 2019. The role of enemy-mediated competition in determining the fitness of a generalist herbivore. Southwestern Entomologist 44(1): 69-77.
Barnes, E. E.* and S. M. Murphy. 2018. Time-lagged intraspecific competition in temporally separated cohorts of a generalist insect. Oecologia 186: 711-718.
Barnes, E. E.*, S. Gosnell**, C. Hallagan**, K. E. Otten**, L. P. Slayter** and S. M. Murphy. 2016. Performance of western tent caterpillar (Malacosoma californicum) on two common host plants, including a new host plant record. Journal of the Lepidopterists’ Society 70(4): 277-282.