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David Crowder

Associate Professor

Research

My research deals with the ecology of arthropod communities. Most of my work
is conducted in agricultural systems, at the interface between basic and applied ecology.

My interests are broad, currently focusing on five areas:

  • Arthropod natural enemy biodiversity and herbivore control
  • Landscape effects on predator and prey populations
  • Patterns of biodiversity in managed ecosystems
  • Impacts of invasive species on community structure and function
  • Population dynamics of insect-borne diseases

Education

Ph.D. University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, Entomology, August 2008.
M.S. University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, August 2004.
B.S. University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences (high honors), May 2003.

Recent Selected Publications

Email me for reprints.

  • Lichtenberg EM….Crowder DW (2017) A global synthesis of the effects of diversified farming systems on arthropod diversity within fields and across agricultural landscapes. Global Change Biology. DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13714
  • Cohen AL, Crowder DW (2017) The impacts of spatial and temporal complexity across landscapes on biological control. Current Opinions in Insect Science 20, 13-18.
  • Milosavljevic I, Esser AD, Bosque-Perez NA, Crowder DW (2016) The identity of belowground herbivores, not herbivore diversity, mediates impacts on plant productivity. Scientific Reports 6, 39629.
  • Milosavljevic I, Esser AD, Crowder DW (2016) Effects of environmental and agronomic factors on soil-dwelling pest communities in cereal crops. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 225, 192-198.
  • Crowder DW, Reganold JD (2015) Financial performance of organic agriculture on a global scale. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112, 7611-7616.
  • Reif KE, Palmer GH, Crowder DW, Ueti MW, Noh SM (2014) Restriction of Francisella novicida genetic diversity during infection of the vector midgut. PLoS Pathogens 10, e1004499.
  • Chisholm P, Gardiner M, Moon E, Crowder DW (2014) Tools and techniques for investigating impacts of habitat complexity on biological control. Biological Control 75, 48-57.
  • Crowder DW, Jabbour R (2014) Relationships between biodiversity and biological control in agroecosystems: current status and future challenges. Biological Control 75, 8-17.
  • Crowder DW, Dykstra E, Brauner J-M, Duffy A, Reed C, Martin E, Peterson W, Carrière Y, Dutilleul P, Owen J (2013) West Nile virus prevalence across landscapes is mediated by local effects of agriculture on vector and host communities. PLoS ONE 8, e55006.
  • Crowder DW, Northfield TD, Gomulkiewicz R, Snyder WE (2012) Conserving and promoting evenness: Organic farming and fire-based wildland management as case studies. Ecology 93, 2001-2007.
  • Carrière Y, Ellers-Kirk C, Hartfield K, Larocque G, Degain B, Dutilleul P, Dennehy TJ, Marsh SE, Crowder DW, Li X, Ellsworth PC, Naranjo SE, Palumbo JC, Fournier A, Antilla L, Tabashnik BE (2012)  Large-scale, spatially-explicit test of the refuge strategy for delaying insecticide resistance. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 109, 775-780.
  • Crowder DW, Horowitz AR, Breslauer H, Rippa M, Kontsedalov S, Ghanim M, Carrière Y (2011) Niche partitioning and stochastic processes shape community structure following whitefly invasions. Basic and Applied Ecology 12, 685-694.
  • Crowder DW, Northfield TD, Strand MR, Snyder WE (2010) Organic agriculture promotes evenness and natural pest control. Nature 466, 109-112.
  • Crowder DW, Snyder WE (2010) Eating their way to the top? Mechanisms underlying the success of invasive insect generalist predators. Biological Invasions 12, 2857-2876.
  • Northfield TD, Crowder DW, Jabbour R, Snyder WE (in press) Natural enemy functional identity and biological control. In Ecology and Evolution of Trait-Mediated Indirect Interactions: Linking Evolution, Community, and Ecosystem (eds Ohgushi T, Schmitz O, Holt RD). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
  • Heuberger, S, Crowder DW, Brévault T, Tabashnik BE, Carrière Y (in press). Effects of gene flow between Bt and non-Bt cotton on evolution of resistance in insect pests. Environmental Entomology.
  • Crowder DW, Northfield TD, Strand MR, Snyder WE (2010) Organic farming promotes evenness and natural pest control. Nature, 466:109-112.
  • Crowder DW, Horowitz AR, De Barro PJ, Liu S-S, Showalter AM, Kontsedalov S, Khasdan V, Shargal A, Liu J, Carrière Y (2010) Mating behaviour, life-history, and adaptation to insecticides determine species exclusion between whiteflies. Journal of Animal Ecology 79:563-570.
  • Crowder DW, Snyder WE (2010) Eating their way to the top? Mechanisms underlying the success of invasive insect generalist predators. Biological Invasions, 12:2857-2876.
  • Carrière Y, Crowder DW, Tabashnik BE (2010) Evolutionary ecology of insect adaptation to Bt crops. Evolutionary Applications, 3:561-573.
  • Ramirez RA, Crowder DW, Snyder GB, Strand MR, Snyder WE (2010) Antipredator behavior of Colorado potato beetle larvae differs by instar and attacking predator. Biological Control 53:230-237.
  • Crowder DW, Sitvarin MI, Carrière Y (2010) Plasticity in mating behaviour drives asymmetric reproductive interference in whiteflies. Animal Behaviour 79:579-587.
  • Crowder DW, Sitvarin MI, Carrière Y (2010) Mate discrimination in invasive whitefly species. Journal of Insect Behavior, 23:364-380.
  • Crowder DW, Carrière Y (2009) Comparing the refuge strategy for managing the evolution of insect resistance under different reproductive strategies. Journal of Theoretical Biology 261:423-430.
  • Tabashnik BE, Unnithan GC, Masson L, Crowder DW, Li X, Carrière Y (2009) Asymmetrical cross-resistance between Bacillus thuringiensis toxins Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab in pink bollworm. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 106:11889-11894.
  • Crowder DW, Horowitz AR, Tabashnik BE, Dennehy TJ, Denholm I, Gorman K, Carrière Y (2009) Analyzing haplodiploid inheritance of insecticide resistance in whitefly biotypes. Bulletin of Entomological Research 99:307-315.
  • Crowder DW, Ellers-Kirk C, Tabashnik BE, Carrière Y (2009) Lack of fitness costs associated with pyriproxyfen resistance in the B biotype of Bemisia tabaci. Pest Management Science 65:235-240.
  • Crowder DW, Ellsworth PC, Tabashnik BE, Carrière Y (2008) Effects of operational and environmental factors on evolution of resistance to pyriproxyfen in the sweetpotato whitefly (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae). Environmental Entomology 37:1514-1524.
  • Tabashnik BE, Gassmann AJ, Crowder DW, Carrière Y (2008) Field-evolved resistance to Bt toxins – reply. Nature Biotechnology 26:1074-1076.
  • Tabashnik BE, Gassmann AJ, Crowder DW, Carrière Y (2008) Insect resistance to Bt crops: evidence versus theory. Nature Biotechnology 26:199-202.
  • Crowder DW, Ellers-Kirk C, Yafuso C, Dennehy TJ, Degain BA, Harpold VS, Tabashnik BE, Carrière Y (2008) Inheritance of resistance to pyriproxyfen in Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) males and females (B biotype). Journal of Economic Entomology 101:927-932.
  • Crowder DW, Dennehy TJ, Ellers-Kirk C, Yafuso C, Ellsworth PC, Tabashnik BE, Carrière Y (2007) Field evaluation of pyriproxyfen resistance in Bemisia tabaci (B biotype). Journal of Economic Entomology 100:1650-1656.
  • Crowder DW (2007) Impact of release rates on the effectiveness of augmentative biological control agents. Journal of Insect Science 7:15, 11pp. http://insectscience.org/7.15/
  • Onstad DW, Hibbard BE, Clark TL, Crowder DW, Carter KG (2006) Analysis of density-dependent survival of Diabrotica (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in cornfields. Environmental Entomology 35:1272-1278.
  • Crowder DW, Carrière Y, Tabashnik BE, Ellsworth PC, Dennehy TJ (2006) Modeling evolution of resistance to pyriproxyfen by the sweet-potato whitefly (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae). Journal of Economic Entomology 99:1396-1406.
  • Crowder DW, Onstad DW, Gray ME (2006) Planting transgenic insecticidal crops based on economic thresholds: consequences for integrated pest management and insect resistance management. Journal of Economic Entomology 99:899-907.
  • Crowder DW, Onstad DW, Gray ME, Mitchell PD, Spencer JL, Brazee RJ (2005) Economic analysis of dynamic management strategies utilizing transgenic corn for control of western corn rootworm (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Journal of Economic Entomology 8:961-975.
  • Crowder DW, Onstad DW, Gray ME, Pierce CMF, Hager AG, Ratcliffe ST, Steffey KL (2005) Analysis of the dynamics of adaptation to transgenic corn and crop rotation by western corn rootworm (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) using a daily time-step model. Journal of Economic Entomology 98:534-551.
  • Crowder DW, Onstad DW (2005) Using a generational time-step model to simulate the dynamics of adaptation to crop rotation and transgenic corn by western corn rootworm (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Journal of Economic Entomology 98:518-533.
  • Onstad DW, Guse CA, Crowder DW (2004) Heterogeneous landscapes and variable behavior:  modeling rootworm evolution and geographic spread. In Western Corn Rootworm: Ecology and Management (eds Vidal S, Kulhmann U, Edwards CR). CAB Publishing, Wallingford, UK, pp 155-167.
  • Onstad DW, Crowder DW, Mitchell PD, Guse CA, Spencer JL, Levine E, Gray ME (2003) Economics versus alleles: balancing IPM and IRM for rotation-resistant western corn rootworm. Journal of Economic Entomology 96:1872-1885.
  • Onstad DW, Crowder DW, Isard SA, Levine E, Spencer JL, Bledsoe LW, O’Neil ME, Eisley JB, Gray ME, Ratcliffe SA, DiFonzo CD, Edwards CR (2003) Does landscape diversity affect the spread of the rotation-resistant western corn rootworm (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)? Environmental Entomology 32:992-1001.

Close up image featuring Dr. Crowder
Dr. David Crowder

Department of Entomology
Washington State University
Pullman, WA 99164-6382

Office: FSHN 364
E-Mail: dcrowder@wsu.edu

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