Sublethal Pesticide Exposure and Its Effects on Insect Behavior and Respiratory Function by Joe Staples
Sublethal Pesticide Exposure and Its Effects on Insect Behavior and Respiratory Function webinar by Joe Staples which was hosted on Thursday, December 12th, 2024.
In this talk, I summarize ongoing research in the Environmental Entomology and Chemical Ecology Laboratory (EECEL) at USM, examining the subtle yet profound impacts of sublethal pesticide exposure on insects. Even at doses far below lethal levels, pesticides and pollutants can quietly disrupt fundamental activities of insects, including foraging, navigation, communication, and reproduction. Our recent findings raise broader questions about how small disruptions in insect function may ripple through ecosystems, gradually diminishing their capacity to provide essential ecosystem services like pollination and pest control. In considering this, we are once again reminded that these minute yet remarkable organisms wield the greatest influence—not only on the web of life we all share but also on the future we must navigate together.
Dr. Joseph K. Staples
is an Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of Southern Maine, where his wide-ranging interests in entomology, environmental science, and chemical ecology converge. Growing up in Whitefield, Maine, in the 70s and 80s, Dr. Staples has always been fascinated by the natural world. After a stint in the Army, he studied environmental forest biology and insect chemical ecology at the State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) in Syracuse, before going on to receive a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from Illinois State University. Today, Dr. Staples' research focuses on how environmental stressors like climate change and pollution impact insect physiology, behavior, and ecology. A self-described tinkerer, he enjoys developing new methods and technologies to monitor and measure the natural world, reflecting his hands-on approach to both teaching and research.
At USM, Dr. Staples and his graduate students investigate the effects of pesticides and habitat changes on insect species. Current projects range from exploring how permethrin exposure influences predator-prey interactions in Culex pipiens larvae to studying oviposition behavior in mosquitoes, and more recently, examining the physiological effects of sublethal doses of imidacloprid on the flesh fly, Sarcophaga bullata.
