“Bridging basic and applied: Saving the world with a fly”

Jonathan Cammack

Decomposition ecology serves as a platform on which one can  decipher the mechanisms regulating nutrient recycling of ephemeral resources. Such an approach provides opportunities for multidisciplinary studies involving fields such as entomology, microbiology, nutrition ecology, and chemical ecology. In addition to providing a greater understanding of the mechanisms that drive the natural process of decomposition, this research has application in addressing global issues of organic waste management and protein shortages. In this talk, I will present on how such basic research is being applied worldwide to help protect the environment, through mass production of the black soldier fly.

Jillian Wormington
Our colony of triatomine bugs, a resource many years in development, presents a unique opportunity to explore understudied aspects of North American triatomine biology, especially those related to transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi, causative agent of Chagas disease. We have found key differences in wing morphology between T. cruzi infected and uninfected triatomines, with implications for human and animal disease risk. Ongoing projects include comparing diel activity patterns in infected and uninfected triatomines, estimating vector competence using experimental infections with local strains of T. cruzi, and indirect xenodiagnosis using domestic dog and non-human primate blood.