Dr. Deborah Ann Waller

Associate Professor of Biological Sciences

EDUCATION:

Doctor of Philosophy, Zoology, 1982

University of Texas, Austin

TEACHING RESPONSIBILITIES:

Biol 291, Ecology

Biol 401/501, Entomology

Biol 708/808, Chemical Ecology

Biol 487/488, Honors Research

RESEARCH INTERESTS:

Much of my research concerns the role of insects in ecosystem nutrient dynamics, with special emphasis on the foraging ecology of ants and termites.A long-standing theme in my research involves insect-plant interactions.I also study insect-microbe associations, including the relationship between leaf-cutting ants and their symbiotic fungal partners, the importance of termite gut protozoans and bacteria in termite nutrition, and the effect of ant defensive chemistry on the microbial load of bird feathers as it relates to bird anting behavior.Applied aspects of my research focus on investigating the response of insects to prescribed burns in a longleaf pine forest, comparing the insect fauna in natural and created wetlands, and completing a comprehensive survey of the ants of Virginia.I combine field studies with laboratory experiments to develop an overview of insect ecology that is grounded in the natural world.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:

Milne, M. A., N. A. Grefe III, D. A. Waller. 2008. Survival of the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, in the purple pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea. American Midland Naturalist, In press.

Waller, D.A. 2007. Termite resource partitioning related to log diameter. Northeastern Naturalist 14: 139-144.

Revis, H.C. & D.A. Waller. 2004. Bactericidal and fungicidal activity of ant chemicals on feather parasites: An evaluation of anting behavior as a method of self-medication in songbirds. The Auk 121(4): 1262-1268.

Waller, D.A. & A.D. Curtis. 2003. Effects of sugar-treated foods on preference and nitrogen-fixation rates in Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar) and R. virginicus (Banks) (Isoptera: Rhinotermtidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America 96: 81-85.

Waller, D.A. 2002. Preference for low-PH and low-nitrogen foods in the wood roach, Cryptocercus punctulatus Scudder (Blattaria: Cryptocercidae). Sociobiology 40: 325-330.

Morlino, S.E., Curtis, A.D. & D.A. Waller. 2001. Effects of salt-treated wood on feeding and survivorship in subterranean termites (Rhinotermtidae: Reticulitermes) from coastal and inland forests. Sociobiology 38: 753-764.

Waller, D.A. 2000. Nitrogen fixation by termite symbionts. In: Nitrogen Fixation by Prokaryotes, Cellular and Molecular Processes. E. Triplett (ed.) Horizon Press, pp. 225-236.

Belitz, L. & D.A. Waller. 1998. Effect of temperature and termite starvation on phagocytosis by protozoan symbionts of the Eastern Subterranean Termite, Reticulitermes flavipes Kollar. Microbial Ecology 36: 175-180.

Curtis, A.D. & D.A. Waller. 1998. Seasonal patterns of nitrogen fixation in the subterranean termite Reticulitermes (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) in a forest ecosystem. Functional Ecology 12: 803-807.

Waller, D.A. & J.P. La Fage. 1987. Nutritional ecology of termites. In: Nutritional Ecology of Insects, Mites and Spiders. F. Slansky, Jr. & J.G. Rodriguez (eds.) John Wiley & Sons, Inc., pp. 487-532.

Waller, D.A. 1986. The foraging ecology of Atta texana in Texas. In: Fire Ants and Leaf-cutting Ants: Biology and Management, C.S. Lofgren & R.K. Vander Meer (eds.),Westview Press, Boulder, pp. 146-158.

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