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Lab: BNR 201 Lab Phone: 797-2528 RESEARCH
I study the behavior, ecology, and evolution of herbivorous insects. One project uses seed beetles (Callosobruchus maculatus) to understand how insects adapt to novel food plants. We examine the relative importance and genetic lability of various behavioral, physiological, and life history traits during the process by which insects shift to a new grain-legume host. Selection experiments, breeding designs, and population crosses are used to determine whether there are host-associated genetic trade-offs, i.e., whether adapting to a novel host simultaneously reduces beetle performance on an ancestral host.
TEACHING
My teaching includes the evolution, ecology, and animal behavior sections of a large course in introductory biology, and a senior-level course in evolutionary biology.
I also currently serve as an editor of the British Ecological Society journal Functional Ecology.
REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS (For a complete list from 1978 to Present, click HERE)
Fox, C.W., M.L. Bush, and F.J. Messina. 2010. Biotypes of the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus have differing effects on the germination and growth of their legume hosts. Agricultural and Forest Entomology, in press.
Messina, F.J. 2010. Allocating eggs among multiple hosts by parasitic insects. Box 11.1. In: D.F. Westneat and C.W. Fox (eds.), Evolutionary Behavioral Ecology. Oxford Univ. Press, New York, in press.
Fox, C.W., J.D. Wagner, S. Cline, F.A. Thomas, and F.J. Messina. 2009. Genetic architecture underlying convergent evolution of egg-laying behavior in a seed-feeding beetle. Genetica 136: 179-187. PDF
Messina, F.J., and J.C. Jones. 2009. Does rapid adaptation to a poor-quality host by Callosobruchus maculatus (F.) cause cross-adaptation to other legume hosts? Journal of Stored Products Research 45: 215-219. PDF
Messina, F.J., M. Mendenhall, and J.C. Jones. 2009. An experimentally induced host shift in a seed beetle. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 132: 39-49. PDF
Messina, F.J., J.C. Jones, M. Mendenhall, and A. Muller. 2009. Genetic modification of host acceptance by a seed beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus (Coleoptera: Bruchidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America 102: 181-188. PDF
Messina, F.J., A.J. Bloxham, and A.J. Seargent. 2007. Mating compatibility between geographic populations of the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus. Journal of Insect Behavior 20: 489-501. PDF
Messina, F.J., J.L. Morrey, and M. Mendenhall. 2007. Why do host-deprived seed beetles 'dump' their eggs? Physiological Entomology 32: 259-267. PDF
Messina, F.J. 2004. Predictable modification of body size and competitive ability following a host shift by a seed beetle. Evolution 58: 2788-2797. PDF
Messina, F.J., and A.J. Bloxham. 2004. Plant resistance to the Russian wheat aphid: effects on a non-target aphid and the role of induction. Canadian Entomologist 136: 129-137. PDF
Messina, F.J. 2004. How labile are the egg-laying preferences of seed beetles? Ecological Entomology 29: 318-326. PDF
Fox, C.W., R.C. Stillwell, A.R. Amarillo-S., M.E. Czesak, and F.J. Messina. 2004. Genetic architecture of population differences in oviposition behaviour of the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 17: 1141-1151. PDF
Messina, F.J., and M.E. Karren. 2003. Adaptation to a novel host modifies host discrimination by the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus. Animal Behaviour 65: 501-507. PDF
Messina, F.J., and J.D. Fry. 2003. Environment-dependent reversal of a life history trade-off in the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 16: 501-509. PDF
Messina, F.J., R. Taylor, and M.E. Karren. 2002. Divergent responses of two cereal aphids to previous infestation of their host plant. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 103: 43-50. PDF
Messina, F.J. 2002. Host discrimination by seed parasites. In: E.E. Lewis, J.F. Campbell, and M.V.K. Sukhdeo (eds.), The Behavioural Ecology of Parasites. pp. 65-87. CAB International, Oxon, UK. PDF
Messina, F.J., S.L. Durham, J.H. Richards, and E.D. McArthur. 2002. Trade-off between plant growth and defense? A comparison of sagebrush populations. Oecologia 131: 43-51. PDF
Messina, F.J., and S.M. Sorenson. 2001. Effectiveness of lacewing larvae in reducing Russian wheat aphid populations on susceptible and resistant wheat. Biological Control 21: 19-26. PDF
Messina, F.J., and C.W. Fox. 2001. Offspring size and number. In: C.W. Fox, D.A. Roff, and D.J. Fairbairn (eds.), Evolutionary Ecology: Concepts and Case Studies. pp. 113-127. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. PDF
Throne, J.E., J.E. Baker, F.J. Messina, K.J. Kramer, and J.A. Howard. 2000. Varietal resistance. In: B. Subramanyam and D. W. Hagstrum (eds.), Alternatives to Pesticides in Stored-Product IPM. pp. 165-192. Kluwer Academic, Boston. PDF
