William Lamp

At the undergraduate level, I teach a course on Freshwater Biology with an emphasis on invertebrate ecology every spring semester. At the graduate level, I teach a course on Aquatic Entomology every other year. I offer topic seminars every 2 years on various topics relating to plant-insect interactions or biomonitoring.

Population and community ecology as impacted by anthropogenic factors. Development of integrated pest management practices through an understanding of the population response of herbivores to their environment, and of the response of the crop to pest-induced injury. Of particular interest is the crop physiological response to leafhopper injury and the development of tolerant crop genotypes. Currently, I am investigating the impact of sap-feeders on the gas exchange rates of in multiple insect-crop systems, including Medicago spp., grapes, and rice. I am especially interested in mechanisms of tolerance within plant hosts, and have begun using Medicago truncatula as a model system to explore its molecular response to potato leafhopper (Empoasca fabae) injury.

I also maintain a program on the response of insects in aquatic systems to agricultural and urban modifications of watersheds. The long-term goal is to understand the functional relationships of arthropod species with a focus on those inhabiting headwater streams and seasonal wetlands, and have projects specifically focusing on biomonitoring and environmental risk assessment.

3/2002, Undergraduate Research Mentor of the Year Award, University of Maryland