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Dan Hare’s Research and Service to the University of California |
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While an undergraduate at Stanford University I heard Paul
Ehrlich and Peter Raven lecture on “coevolution,”
or the potential for reciprocal selection and evolution between plants and
herbivores (1) in one of my classes. Like many other hypotheses, the
coevolution hypotheses was deceptively simple, but, for me, the core question
was to what extent herbivores might reduce plant fitness, and to what extent
they could reduce plant fitness differentially on different plant genotypes,
thereby selecting for more herbivore-resistant plants. Most of my research strives to answer one of three fundamental
questions. The first question asks, "What is the actual impact of
herbivores on plants?" The second related question is, "When do
herbivores impose selection on plants for herbivore resistance?" The
third question asks, "If resistance to herbivores is beneficial, then
why aren't all plants resistant?" The first question tests the assumption that all herbivory is
detrimental and suggests that plants may tolerate some damage. Implicit in
the second and third questions is the assumption that the benefits of any
particular plant resistance mechanism may be limited, and that such benefits
accrue only at some cost. My goals are to learn how herbivores affect plant
fitness and to understand the potential trade-offs between the costs and benefits
of host plant resistance against different herbivore species. I am particularly interested in the genetic
component of such variation and how such variation is mediated chemically.
Perhaps more than any other group, insects assess the quality of their
environment through chemical means. I
have worked with several different plant chemicals that influence
plant-herbivore interactions. These include not only "primary"
chemicals such as leaf protein and individual free amino acids that determine
the nutritional quality of plants, but also several classes of
"secondary" chemicals. These include terpenoids, alkaloids, tannins
and other phenolic compounds, defensive sugar esters, and more recently,
representatives of many of these chemical classes whose production is induced
following herbivore damage. 1.
Ehrlich PR, Raven
PM. 1964. Butterflies and plants: a study in coevolution. Evolution 18:586-608. DOI: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.1964.tb01674.x Research Plant-Herbivore and Tritrophic Interactions
on Datura wrightii in Southern California A Plant
Defense Dimorphism in Western Jimsonweed,
Datura wrightii Basic and
Applied Research in California’s Citrus agroecosystem Citrus Pest
Management Basic and
Applied Research on the Colorado Potato Beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata Pest Management of
the Colorado Potato Beetle Honors and Awards Elected Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science,
Section on Biological Science, 2008. Announcement. Distinguished Campus Service Award.
UC Riverside Academic Senate, 2012.
Announcement. Plant-Insect Ecosystems Award, Pacific Branch, Entomological Society of
America, 2013. Announcement. University of
California Systemwide Academic Senate Vice-Chair (2014-15) and Chair
(2015-16). Announcement. |
University and Public Service
Campus, National,
and International Service
UC Riverside Academic Senate
UC Systemwide
Academic Senate Committees
UC Systemwide Senate Vice-Chair 2014-15
UC Systemwide Senate Chair 2015-16
Faculty Advisor to President Janet Napolitano