Current Graduate Students:

• Jennifer Dean - Recipient of Penn State College of Ag Sciences student grant proposal 2005; President's Prize Student Competition Award, Entomological Society of America 2005 National meeting: Second Place (oral presentation) Section FA; recipient of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship 2004
• Casey Delphia - Awarded NSF Dissertation Improvement Grant 2006; Recipient of Penn State College of Ag Sciences student grant proposal 2005; President's Prize Student Competition Award, Entomological Society of America 2005 National meeting: Second Place (oral presentation) Section CD; recipient of the Entomological Foundation's 2004 Kenneth & Barbara Starks Plant Resistance to Insects, and the Graduate Assistant Outstanding Teaching Award
• Beth Irwin - New graduate student Fall 2007
• Kerry Mauck - New graduate student Fall 2006
• Justin Runyon - Awarded NSF Dissertation Improvement Grant 2006; Recipient of Penn State College of Ag Sciences student grant proposal 2005; recipient of the Entomological Society of Pennsylvania's Outstanding Student Award for 2004
• Lori Shapiro - New graduate student Spring 2007
• Jordan Smith - New graduate student Fall 2007

Current Post-Doctoral Associates

• John Tooker - recipient of the Entomological Foundation's Henry & Sylvia Richardson Research Grant for 2005
• Chris Frost - Recipient of Penn State College of Ag Sciences seed grant (2005)

Link to: Center for Chemical Ecology

Education:

Ph.D.: University of Georgia, 1998.
B.Sc.: Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil, 1992

Department Focus Areas:

Chemical Ecology

Research Interests :

Tritrophic interactions, biological control, plant signaling, plant insect interactions, plant defenses

Research Activities & Interests:

My research focuses on chemically mediated ecological interactions among plants, herbivores, and parasitoids. I am primarily interested in illuminating the critical role of chemical communication in ecological interactions across trophic levels. Among the most significant features of tritrophic systems are defensive responses of plants to insect feeding, including the production and release of volatile compounds that mediate chemical communication among plants and between plants and the natural enemies of insect herbivores. My research efforts are aimed at understanding the ecological dynamics of plant signaling and ultimately at unraveling the influences of chemically mediated communication on community structure and dynamics.

Relevant Publications:

Runyon, J. B., M. C. Mescher, and C. M. De Moraes.  2006  Volatile chemical cues guide host location and selection by parasitic plants.  Science 313: 1964-1967 (pdf file)

Ferrari, M. J., A. G.Stephenson, M. C. Mescher and C. M. De Moraes.  2006.  Inbreeding effects on blossom volatiles in Curcubita pepo ssp. Texana. American Journal of Botany. 93: 1768-1774 (pdf file)

Delphia, C. M., M. C. Mescher, G. W. Felton and C. M. De Moraes.  2006.  The role of insect-derived cues in eliciting indirect plant defenses in tobacco, Nicotiana tabacum. Plant Signaling & Behavior 1: 243-250 (pdf file)

Dean, J.M.  and De Moraes, C. M. 2006 Effects of Genetic Modification on Herbivore-Induced Volatiles from Maize. Journal of Chemical Ecology (pdf file)

Tooker, J.F. and C.M. De Moraes. 2005. Jasmonate in Lepidoptera eggs and neonates. Journal of Chemical Ecology. 31(11): 2753-2759 (pdf file)

De Moraes, C.M. and M.C. Mescher. 2005. Intrinsic competition between larval parasitoids with different degrees of host specificity. Ecological Entomology. 30: 1-7. (pdf file)

De Moraes, C.M. and M.C. Mescher. 2004. Biochemical crypsis in the avoidance of natural enemies by an insect herbivores . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 101: 8993-8997 (pdf file)

De Moraes, C.M., J.C. Schultz, M.C. Mescher and J.H. Tumlinson. 2004. Induced plant signaling and its implications in sensor technology. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health Part A. 67: 819-834. (pdf file)

De Moraes, C.M., M.C. Mescher and J.H. Tumlinson, 2001. Caterpillar-induced nocturnal plant volatiles repel conspecific females. Nature. 410: 577-580. (pdf file) News and Views (pdf file)

De Moraes, C.M., W.J. Lewis, and J.H. Tumlinson. 2000. Examining plant-parasitoid interactions in tritrophic systems. An. Soc. Entomol. Brasil. 29(2): 189-203.

De Moraes, C.M and W.J. Lewis, 1999. Analyses of two parasitoids with convergent foraging strategies. Journal of Insect Behavior. 12:571-583. (pdf file)

De Moraes, C.M., A.M. Cortesero and W.J. Lewis. 1999. Intrinsic and extrinsic competitive interactions between two larval parasitoids of Heliothis virescens. Ecological Entomology. 24:1-9. (pdf file)

De Moraes, C.M., W.J. Lewis, P.W. Paré and J.H. Tumlinson, 1998. Herbivore infested plants selectively attract parasitoids. Nature. 393:570-574.(pdf file)

Suarez, A.V., C.M. De Moraes and A. Ippolito, 1998. Defense of Acacia collinsii by obligate and non-obligate ant species: the significance of encroaching vegetation. Biotropica. 30(3): 480-482

Cortesero, A.M., C.M. De Moraes and W.J. Lewis, 1997. Comparison and contrasts in the host-foraging strategies of two larval parasitoids with different degrees of host specificity. Journal of Chemical Ecology. 23: 1589-1606. (pdf file)

Stapel, J.O., A.M. Cortesero, C.M. De Moraes and W.J. Lewis, 1997. Importance of extrafloral nectary on the food- and host-searching behavior of Microplitis croceipes (Hymenoptera:Braconidae). Environmental Entomology. 26:617-623.

- Picky Eater (Amanda Yarnell). Chemical and Engineering News. June, 2004.
- Unusual diet helps caterpillars. Washington times. June, 2004.
- Choice of food helps hungry caterpillars. Innovations report. June, 2004.
- Finicky caterpillars. (wire reports). Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June, 2004.
- Choice of food helps caterpillars (Andrea Messer). PennState news. June, 2004.
- Talking Trees. (C. Berger). Odyssey Adventures in science. March, 2003.
- Talking plants. (S. Russell). Discover Magazine, 47-51. April, 2002.
- Stay Away from Tobacco (Heather Van Daren). Natural History. October, 2001.
- Making crops cry for help (John Whitfield). Nature. Vol 410:736-737.
- A shield of Green (Virginia Gewin), The Oregonian. Aug 15, 2001.
- Feeding off nighttime attacks. Washington Post. April 15, 2001.
- Plant signal friends, foes with scents that change as day turns to night. Chemical and Engineering News. April 2, 2001.
- Les subtiles leçons de lutte biologique des végétaux contre les prédateurs. Le Monde. France. April 6, 2001.
- La plante qui appelle au secours. La Science. April 3, 2001
- Nocturnal emissions repel moths. Nature (science update). March 29, 2001.
- Leaf me Alone (John Whitfield). Nature (science update). March 29, 2001.
- Plants thwart pests by sending out chemical distress signals (Elliott Minor). January 28, 1999.
- Um perfume para cada inimigo. Super Interessante, 123:14-15. March, 1998.
- BBC and NPR report on De Moraes et al., 1998: "Herbivore infested plants selectively attract parasitoids".
- Plant-Insect communication. The IPM Practitioner, vol XX, (5/6). May /June, 1998.
- It's chemistry : pestered plants cry for help to bring "good bugs" to their aid. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, A8. June 13, 1998.
- Les plantes s'auto-defendant. (Julie Lasterade), Siberation. June 23, 1998.
- Le radar chimique des quepes. (Yves Miserey), Libertade. June 23, 1998.
- Plants send SOS when caterpillars bite. (Jan Suszkiw), Agricultural Research. October, 1998.
- Plants and Wasps nip bad bugs in the bud. (Laura Wexler), Georgia Magazine, vol 77(4):11. 1998.
- Quand les plantes passent a la contre-ataque. (Sophie Coisne), Science e Vie Junior, vol 109. October, 1998.
- Fine-tuned plant response to insect attack. (C. Milot), Science News, 152: 391. December 1997.

HONORS AND AWARDS