Welcome to the Raffa Lab!
We study processes that drive the population dynamics of forest insects, placing particular emphasis on:
- Tree defenses and insect counter-adaptations
- Behavior and population dynamics of natural enemies
- Symbiotic relationships that mediate ecological interactions
Our goals are to integrate mechanisms operating across multiple levels of scale, link pattern and process to develop comprehensive understanding, and apply this understanding to protect the diverse values of natural resources. We engage in collaborative multidisciplinary research on the basic biologies of forest insects that pose challenges to natural resource management. These issues include:
- Eruptive population dynamics, and their challenges to sustainable forest resources
- Invasive species
- Interactions associated with changing climate and intensive management
Selected presentations:
Founders Award Presentation, ESA 2010 (video, 48m 51s)
Bavarian National Forest Disturbance Conference Lecture (video, 27m 49s)
Hilldale Speech to Faculty Senate (audio, 10m 9s)
Entomological Society of America Symposium in Honor of KF Raffa, National Meetings, 2017 (audio, 1h 34m 30s)
Western Forest Insects Work Conference Founders Lecture, May 26, 2021 (video, 45m 31s)