Matthew L. Richardson

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

66 NSRC
1101 West Peabody Drive
Urbana, IL 61801
mlrichar"at"illinois.edu

Post Doctoral Research

I research the inheritance of virulence in the soybean aphid (Aphis glycines) on the gene Rag1, which confers resistance to some biotypes of the aphid.

[CV (updated Jul 09)] [Hartman Lab] [Department of Crop Sciences]

Dissertation Research

My dissertation research attempted to identify mechanisms that may underlie patterns of species diversity at local scales. For example, I tested whether ploidal level of plants underlies patterns of species diversity of herbivorous insects. My study system was composed of the perennial herb Solidago altissima, the aphid species Uroleucon luteolum (Williams) and U. nigrotuberculatum (Olive) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), the leaf galler Asteromyia carbonifera (Osten Sacken) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), and the leaf miners Microrhopala vittata (F.) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), and Ophiomyza sp. 1 and Phytomyza sp. 1 (Diptera: Agromyzidae; species currently undescribed). This system was ideal to characterize relationships between ploidal level of host plants and the structure of arthropod communities. S. altissima is a dominant herb in oldfield habitats throughout North America and can be diploid, tetraploid, or hexaploid. The herbivores are specialists on S. altissima, are common, and often are patchily dispersed within and among stands.

[Hanks Lab] [Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology]