Dr. Jacob Wickham

Jacob obtained his PhD in chemical ecology and entomology in 2009 from SUNY-ESF, exploring the chemical communication and olfactory system of invasive woodboring beetles, including the Asian longhorned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis). Following a brief postdoc to work on Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis) in Michigan, Jacob moved to Beijing as a NSF International Research Fellow to continue work on the chemical ecology of potentially invasive longhorned beetles in diverse forest systems ranging from tropical rainforests in southern Yunnan to deciduous forests in northeast China in Heilongjiang. This work was completed in collaboration with several universities and institutes in the USA and China, and resulted in the identification of pheromone components and attractants for many forest and agricultural pests in China, including the Japanese pine sawyer  (Monochamus alternatus), citrus longhorned beetle  (Anoplophora chinensis), and the sugarcane borer (Dorystheses granulosus).

Jacob’s new partnership with Adirondack Research expands its capacity for  invasive species research to the East Asian Pacific region, particularly China. Having a similar research background as Ezra Schwartsberg, ADK Research’s founder, Jacob brings both expertise and, through a large research network of collaborators at partner universities and institutes, logistical capability to conduct field and laboratory research on both current invasive species or on species considered to be high risk for introduction to North America. With access to GC-EAD and GC-MS instrumentation and aeration equipment in China, Jacob can do the basic research needed to develop novel attractants for potential use in surveying and monitoring programs, including the identification of candidate pheromone components from living insects and kairomones from their hosts. From years of experience conducting general field screening trials of known pheromone components throughout China, Jacob can make identification of pheromone components from live specimens of high risk species collected during those screening trials. Since many invasive species of concern in North America are native to China, this allows field studies to be conducted in China free from quarantine restrictions and even makes it possible to conduct parallel field trapping and monitoring studies in both China and North America through Adirondack Research.

Jacob works as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and as Editor for Integrative Zoology, a partnership journal of the International Society of Zoological Sciences and Wiley. The society, located at the Institute of Zoology, is home to many research programs such as Biological Consequences of Global Change, and the Asian Pacific Forest Invasive Species Network.

For more information contact Jake at jake@adkres.org