Primary expertise in medical-veterinary entomology (insects) and acarology (mites and ticks). Research interests focus on: role of biting midges (Ditpera Ceratopogonidae) as vectors of viruses that cause bluetongue (BT) and epizoogic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) in cattle and white-tailed deer; mosquito-borne arboviruses in southeastern United States; role of ticks in the ecology of Lyme disease in the southeastern United States; tick-induced paralysis in wild birds caused by Ixodes brunneus; use of aquatic insects as biological indicators of water quality; mites (Hydrachnidia and Parasitengona) as parasites of blood-sucking flies, notably Culicidae (mosquitoes), Tabanidae (horse flies and deer flies), Ceratopogonidae (biting midges, no-see-ums), and Simuliidae (black flies); mites of importance to plant and animal health in Alabama.
Major areas of interest include medical-veterinary entomology and acarology, arachnology, and aquatic insects.
Major areas of interest include medical-veterinary entomology and acarology, arachnology, and aquatic insects. Research interests have focused on: biting flies of medical-veterinary importance, notably the biology of biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) and their role as vectors of bluetongue virus and epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus of domestic and wild ruminants; ticks and Lyme disease in Alabama; and host-parasite associations between biting flies (mosquitoes, biting midges, horse flies and deer flies) and mites.
Acarology, Mosquito-borne Arboviruses, Medical Entomology, Tick Paralysis, Veterinary Entomology
