Jeb P. Owen
Assistant Professor
Areas of Interest
Interactions between parasitic arthropods and vertebrate hosts. In particular, the mechanisms of host location and selection by parasites and the role of host immune responses in shaping the population dynamics of parasites. These interests are focused on identifying critical factors in the transmission of pathogens by parasitic arthropods.
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Education
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - RIVERSIDE, Riverside, California.
Doctor of Philosophy in Entomology, 2007
Major: medical & veterinary entomology Minors: parasitology and insect ecology
Advising committee: Drs. Bradley A. Mullens (chair), Richard Stouthamer and Marlene Zuk
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - RIVERSIDE, Riverside, California.
Master of Science in Entomology, 2002
Advising committee: Drs. Bradley A. Mullens (chair), Ring T. Cardé and Jocelyn G. Millar
UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO, Boulder, Colorado
Bachelor of Arts in Environmental, Population and Organismal Biology,
1997
Bachelor of Arts in English, 1997
Publications
(* indicates significant contribution to the research and/or manuscript)
* Owen, J.P., Delany, M.E., Cardona, C.J., Bickford, A., Mullens, B.A. (2009) Host inflammatory response governs fitness in an avian ectoparasite, the northern fowl mite (Ornithonyssus sylviarum). International Journal for Parasitology 39 (7): 789-799.
* Mullens, B.A., Owen, J.P., Kuney, D.R., Szijj, C.E., Klingler, K.A. (2009) Temporal changes in distribution, prevalence, intensity of northern fowl mite (Ornithonyssus sylviarum) parasitism in commercial caged laying hens, with a comprehensive economic analysis of parasite impact. Veterinary Parasitology 160: 116-133.
* Owen, J.P., Delany, M.E., Cardona, C.J., and Mullens, B.A. (2008) MHC haplotype involvement in avian resistance to an ectoparasite. Immunogenetics. 60 (10): 621-631.
Mullens, B.A., Owen, J.P., Kuney, D.R., Mench, J.A. and O’Sullivan, N. (2007) Host-Parasite Relationships, Ectoparasite Control Concerns, and the Changing Animal Welfare Paradigm: Lessons from a Chicken House. Proceedings National Poultry Breeders Roundtable.
* Owen, J.P. and Clayton, D.H. (2007) Where are the parasites in the PHA response? Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 22 (5): 228-229.
Mullens, B.A., Cardona, C.J., McClellan, L., Szijj, C.E., Owen, J.P. (2006) Culicoides bottimeri as a vector of Haemoproteus lophortyx to quail in California, USA. Veterinary Parasitology 140 (1-2): 35-43.
* Owen, J.P., Mullens, B.A., Justus, K.A. and Cardé, R.T. (2005) Northern fowl mite orientation in a thermal gradient and evidence for idiothetic course control. Physiological Entomology 30 (3): 293-302.
* Mullens, B.A., Owen, J.P., Heft, D.E. and Sobek, R.V. (2005) Culicoides and other biting flies on the Palos Verdes peninsula of Southern California, and their possible relationship to equine dermatitis. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 21(1): 90-95.
* Owen, J.P. and Mullens, B. A. (2004) Influence of heat and vibration on the movement of the northern fowl mite (Acari: Macronyssidae). Journal of Medical Entomology 41(5): 865-872.
McGlynn, T.P. and Owen, J.P. (2002) Food supplementation alters caste allocation in a natural population of Pheidole flavens, a dimorphic leaf-litter dwelling ant. Insectes Sociaux 49: 8-14.
(Submitted)
* Huber, S.K., Owen, J.P., Koop, J.A.H., King, M.O., Grant, P.R., Grant, B.R., Clayton, D.H. (2009) Ecoimmunity in Darwin’s finches: Invasive parasites trigger acquired immunity in the medium ground finch (Geospiza fortis). Public Library of Science One.
* Owen, J.P., Nelson, A.C., Clayton, D.H. (2009) Realizing the Potential for Bird-Ectoparasite Systems in Ecological Immunology. Trends in Ecology and Evolution.
* Petersen, W.H., Zack, R.S., Dykstra, E.A., Owen, J.P. (2009) Distribution of Mosquitoes in Eastern Washington State. Journal of American Mosquito Control Association.
(In Preparation)
* Gibbs, A.M., Scoles, G., Brown, W., Owen, J.P. (2009) Effects of host immunity and Anaplasma marginale infection on the fitness of the Rocky Mountain Wood Tick (Dermacentor andersoni). Submission to International Journal for Parasitology.
* King, M.O., Owen, J.P., Schwabl, H.G. (2009) A survey of the immune response and fitness-costs of nestling House Sparrows (Passer domesticus) infested with hemophagous mites. Submission to The Auk.
* Mullens, B.A., Owen, J.P., Chen, B. (2009) Beak condition and cage density determine intensity and spatial distribution of Menacanthus stramineus and Ornithonyssus sylviarum infestations on caged laying hens. Submission to Parasitology.
Grants
FUNDED
2009 USDA-AFRI ($255,952) “Origin and Spread of Northern Fowl Mite: a landscape genetics approach” (PI – Jeb Owen)
2009 WSU New Faculty Seed Grant ($16,900) “Testing Effects of Host Variation on Development, Survival, and Fecundity of the Tick Dermacentor andersoni” (PI – Jeb Owen)
2005 USDA-NRI, Co-Author, "Are Ectoparasite Population Dynamics Governed by Host Immunity?"
(PIs - Bradley Mullens and Carol Cardona)
1999 University of California Graduate Student Fellowship ($27,184)
SUBMITTED
2009 NSF-evolutionary ecology program ($587,242) “Does Immunological Similarity in a Bird Community Explain Host Switching of a Generalist Ectoparasite?” (PIs – Jeb Owen and Jeremiah Busch)
Presentations
2006 XII International Congress of Acarology (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
- Symposium: Diversity and Ecology of Acari Associated with Vertebrates
- Symposium: Recognition Systems in Mites and Ticks
2005 Southern California Entomological Society (Spring meeting,Arboretum, Pasadena, CA)
2005 Animal Care Technician's Meeting (University of California, Riverside) 2004 Southern California Animal Behavior Group (University of California, Riverside)
Department of Entomology
Washington State University
Pullman, WA 99164-6382
Office: FSHN 268
Lab: FSHN 244
Phone: 335-7873 - 335-7893
E-Mail: jowen@wsu.edu