Your Department Name

Dr. Spencer T. Behmer

Spencer T. Behmer

TITLE: Associate Professor

EDUCATION:

Ph.D. (Entomology), The University of Arizona M.S. (Biology/Ecology), University of Nebraska-Lincoln B.S. (Biology), University of Nebraska-Lincoln

RESEARCH INTERESTS:

Emphases: physiology, behavior and ecology. I have broad interests in the physiology and behavior of plant feeding insects.

RESEARCH ACTIVITIES:

My research interests center on insect physiology and behavior as they relate to resource use, and in particular the importance of nutrient acquisition. Specifically, I work at the interface between physiology and ecology, and am interested in how interactions at this level influence the expression of feeding behavior. I use plant-feeding insects, primarily grasshoppers and caterpillars, as model systems, and focus on three broad areas of research: 1) physiological ecology, 2) cholesterol/sterol use in insects and 3) insect learning. I address these issues both in the short-term and across evolutionary time. I have additional interests in phenotypic plasticity of behaviour (e.g. phase transition in locusts) and physiological adaptations for dealing with heavy metal and pH problems in food. I am also a member of the Interdisciplinary Research Program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Texas A&M.

TEACHING ACTIVITIES:

Presently I teach an undergraduate course in insect physiology (Ento 306) and general entomology (Ento 201). Within the department, I am a member of the Faculty Advisor Committee and chair the Seminar Committee.

PUBLICATIONS:

Warbrick-Smith, J., Behmer, S.T., Lee, K.P., Raubenheimer, D. and Simpson, S.J. 2006. Evolving resistance to obesity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 103: 14045-14049

Pompilio, L, Kacelnik, A. and Behmer, S.T. 2006. State-dependent learned valuation drives choice in an invertebrate. Science 313: 1613-1615

Lee, K.W., Behmer, S.T. and Simpson, S.J. 2006. Nutrient regulation in relation to diet breadth: a comparison of Heliothis sister speices and a hybrid. Journal of Exerimental Biology 290: 2076-2084

Behmer, S.T. 2006. Insect dietary needs: plants as food for insects. In: Encyclopedia of Plant and Crop Science (Ed. R. M. Goodman), Marcel Dekker Publishers, New York, NY Abstract

Behmer, S.T., Belt, C.E. and Shapiro, M.S. 2005. Variable rewards and discrimination ability in an insect herbivore: what and how fast can a hungry locust learn. Journal of Experimental Biology 208: 3463-3473

Behmer, S.T. Lloyd, C.M., Raubeheimer, D., Stewart-Clark, J., Knight, J., Leighton, R., Harper, F.A. and Smith, J.A.C. 2005. Metal hyperaccumulation in plants: mechanisms of defense against insect herbivores. Functional Ecology 19: 55-66

Simpson, S.J., Sibly, R.M., Lee, K.P., Behmer, S.T. and Raubenheimer, D. 2004. Optimal foraging with multiple nutrient requirements. Animal Behaviour 68: 1299-1311

Opstad, R., Rogers, S.M., Behmer, S.T. and Simpson, S.J. 2004. Behavioural correlates of phenotypic plasticity in mouthpart chemoreceptor numbers in locusts. Journal of Insect Physiology 50: 725-736

Behmer, S.T. 2004. Insect Nutrition. In: Encyclopedia of Entomology (Ed. J. Capinera), pp. 1576-1583. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands Behmer, S.T. 2004. Insect Learning. In: Encyclopedia of Entomology (Ed. J. Capinera), pp. 1278-1283. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands

Behmer, S.T. and Nes, W.D. 2003. Insect sterol nutrition and physiology: a global overview. Advances in Insect Physiology 31: 1-72

Behmer, S.T., Raubenheimer, D. and Simpson, S.J. 2003. The effects of distance between foods on nutrient regulation in a highly mobile insect herbivore. Animal Behaviour 66: 665-675

Lee, K.P., Raubenheimer, D, Behmer, S.T. and Simpson, S.J. 2003. A correlation between macronutrient balancing and insect host-plant range: evidence from the specialist caterpillar Spodoptera exempta (Walker). Journal of Insect Physiology, 49: 1161-1171

Behmer, S.T., Simpson, S.J. and Raubenheimer, D. 2002. Herbivore foraging in chemically heterogeneous environments: nutrients and secondary metabolites. Ecology 83: 2489–2501

van der Zee, B., Behmer, S.T. and Simpson, S.J. 2002. Food mixing strategies in the desert locust: Effects of phase, distance between foods and food nutrient content. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 103: 227-337

Lee, K.P., Behmer, S.T., Raubenheimer, D. and Simpson, S.J. 2002. A geometric analysis of nutrient regulation in the generalist caterpillar Spodoptera littoralis (Boisduval). Journal of Insect Physiology 48: 655-665

Simpson, S.J., Raubenheimer, D., Behmer, S.T., Whitworth, A., and Wright, G.A. 2002. A comparison of nutritional regulation in solitarious and gregarious phase nymphs of the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria. Journal of Experimental Biology 205: 121-129