Ian Robertson

 

Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies
Department of Biology

 

 

Year arrived at BSU: 2000
Mailing Address: Department of Biology, Boise State University, Boise, ID 83725-1515
Office Location: Science Nursing Building 226
Office phone: 208-426-2394
FAX: 208-426-4267
e-mail address:
iroberts@boisestate.edu

 

Academic Degrees and Positions

B.Sc. (Honors Biology), Carleton University, Ottawa ON, 1989
M.Sc. (Zoology), University of Toronto, Toronto ON, 1992
Ph.D. (Biology), Simon Fraser University, Burnaby BC, 1998
Postdoctoral Fellow (Honorary Killam Postdoctoral Fellowship, NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship), University of Alberta, Edmonton AB, 1998-2000

 

 

Recent Teaching

 

B191 – General Biology I

B192 – General Biology II (zoology section)

Z305 – Entomology

B426 – Insect Ecology

   

 

Research Interests

I am interested in the behavior and evolutionary ecology of insects and their populations.  My projects typically involve the development of a theoretical framework (based upon biological/evolutionary principles) to derive testable hypotheses.  These hypotheses are then subject to investigation in the field and/or laboratory.  Using this approach I have studied a variety of topics which include: insect-mediated pollination in slickspot peppergrass, predator-prey relationships between crab spiders and insects, host choice decisions and the evolution of mass attack in bark beetles (Scolytinae), and the function and duration of parental care in engraver and burying beetles (Scolytinae: Ips spp. and Silphidae: Nicrophorus  spp., respectively).

 

Current and Future Projects

1) Plant-insect interactions on slickspot peppergrass, Lepidium papilliferum, a threatened plant endemic to southwestern Idaho.

 

Research interests include:

- the relative importance of specific pollinating agents

- spider predation on insects visiting slickspot peppergrass flowers

- the impact of herbivory by insects on plant survival and growth

- the prevalence and impact of seed predation by harvester ants

 

Pic of Bombyliid FlyPic of spider predationPic of Ant with Seed

 

 

2) Mating system and population genetics of slickspot peppergrass.

- the importance of outcrossing to fruit set in slickspot peppergrass

- population genetics of slickspot peppergrass (collaboration with Drs. S. Novak and J. Smith)

 

3) Host choice decisions in bark beetles (Scolytinae).  Some bark beetles are a serious threat to the health of forests throughout North America because of their ability to mass colonize and kill healthy trees.  I am interested in developing a general understanding of host choice decisions in bark beetles, as well as exploring the link between the individual host choice decisions and the dynamics of mass colonization on host trees.  A part of this research involves looking at the effects of flight on fat utilization and its consequences for host choice decisions.

   Pic of Flying Beetle on Rotary Flight Mill

 

Graduate Students

 ·  Stephanie Billinge

(Thesis - 2006)  “Reproductive performance as a function of outcrossing distance in Lepidium papilliferum (Brassicaceae), a rare plant endemic to southwest Idaho.”

·  Amy Stillman  

(Thesis 2006)  “Population genetics and mating system of the rare polyploid, Lepidium papilliferum (Brassicaceae), a southwestern Idaho endemic.”

·  Hollie Leavitt

(Thesis 2006) "Pollination and florivory by insects visiting Lepidium papilliferum (Brassicaceae) flowers"

·  Josh White

·  Wyatt Williams

 

Publications (updated Jan. 2007)

Leavitt, H. and I.C. Robertson.  2006.  Petal herbivory by chrysomelid beetles (Phyllotreta sp.) is detrimental to pollination and seed production in Lepidium papilliferum (Brassicaceae).  Ecological Entomology 31: 657-660.

Robertson, I.C. and D. Klemash Maguire.  2005.  Crab spiders deter insect visitations to slickspot peppergrass flowers.  Oikos 109: 577-582.

Robertson, I.C. and A.C. Ulappa.  2004.  Distance between pollen donor and recipient influences fruiting success in slickspot peppergrass, Lepidium papilliferum. Canadian Journal of Botany 82: 1705-1710.

Robertson, I.C.  2004.  Importance of outcrossing for fruit production in slickspot peppergrass, Lepidium papilliferum L. (Brassicaceae).  Western North American Naturalist 64: 265-268.

Robertson, I.C. (in press) The importance of outcrossing for fruit production in slickspot peppergrass, Lepidium papilliferum L. (Brassicaceae). Western North American Naturalist

Robertson, I.C., & D. Klemash. 2003. Insect-mediated pollination in slickspot peppergrass, Lepidium papilliferum L. (Brassicaceae), and its implications for population viability. Western North American Naturalist, 63(3): 333-342.

Robertson, I.C. 2000. Reproduction and developmental phenology of Ips perturbatus (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) inhabiting white spruce. Canadian Entomologist, 132: 529-537.

Roitberg, BD, Robertson, IC & JGA Tyreman.  1999.  Vive la variance: a functional oviposition theory for insect herbivores.  Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, 91: 187-194.

 

Robertson, IC & BD Roitberg.  1998.  Duration of paternal care in pine engraver beetles: why do larger males care less?  Behavioral Ecology & Sociobiology, 43: 379-386.

 

Robertson, IC.  1998.  Paternal care enhances male reproductive success in pine engraver beetles.  Animal Behaviour, 56: 595-602.

 

Robertson, IC.  1998.  Flight muscle changes in male pine engraver beetles during reproduction: the effects of body size, mating status and breeding failure.  Physiological Entomology, 23: 75-80.

 

Robertson, IC, Robertson, WG & BD Roitberg.  1998.  A model of mutual tolerance and the origin of communal associations between unrelated females.  Journal of Insect Behavior, 11: 265-286.

 

Robertson, IC, Roitberg, BD, Williamson, I & SE Senger.  1995.  Contextual chemical ecology: an evolutionary approach to the chemical ecology of insects.  American Entomologist, 41: 237-239.

 

Bouskila, A, Robertson, IC, Robinson, ME, Roitberg, BD, Tenhumberg, B, Tyre, AJ & E vanRanden.  1995.  Submaximal oviposition rates in a mymarid parasitoid: choosiness should not be ignored.  Ecology, 76: 1990-1993.

 

Robertson, IC.  1995.  Extra-pair copulations in burying beetles (Coleoptera: Silphidae).  Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society, 67: 418-420.

 

Robertson, IC.  1993.  Nest intrusions, infanticide, and parental care in the burying beetle, Nicrophorus orbicollis (Coleoptera: Silphidae).  Journal of Zoology, London,  231: 583-593.

 

Robertson, IC.  1992.  Relative abundance of Nicrophorus pustulatus (Coleoptera: Silphidae) in a burying beetle community, with notes on its reproductive behavior.  Psyche, 99: 189-198.