SCHOOL OF SCIENCE
PENN STATE BEHREND
1 PRISCHAK BUILDING
ERIE PA 16563
Biography
Biology
My guiding principle as a Penn State Behrend biology faculty member, whether in the lab, at a field site, or in the classroom, is to empower students to “think like a scientist.” I don’t just teach them about the genetic complexities of the natural world; I strive to create opportunities for students to discover it firsthand. Whether we are identifying invasive species in Africa using eDNA or discovering a new endosymbiotic bacterium, my goal is to bridge the gap between the classroom and the messy, exhilarating process of scientific discovery.
Teaching
Teaching Specialties
- Introductory Biology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Genetics
- Invertebrate Zoology
- Entomology
- Advanced Genetics
- Population Genetics
- Human Genetics
- Conservation Biology
- Molecular Biology of the Gene
- Insect Connections
Teaching Statement
At Penn State Behrend, my primary teaching responsibilities are the introductory biology course for first semester biology students and upper division core courses in genetics and evolution. These three courses are required for all biology degrees at our campus, and I get to teach them every year. I am lucky in this assignment because I get to know all of our biology graduates by name before they graduate. Interaction with the students in our major is one of the highlights of my job. In addition to the courses above, I rotate through teaching multiple 400 level elective courses in area of expertise and some 200 level labs.
Research Interests
My research has two major components: 1) The evolution of endosymbiosis in scale insects and 2) using eDNA for detection of invasive species in the North American Great Lakes and the rivers of Southern Africa.
To investigate endosymbiosis in scale insects I use molecular phylogenetics and genomics to describe new symbionts and determine evolutionary patterns of symbiont acquisition across scale insect families. Scale insects are terrible plants pests responsible for colossal annual losses globally. Beyond researching the evolution of insect – microbe endosymbiosis, I hope that these efforts will contribute to the discovery of new methods to safely control these pest insects.
The focus of my eDNA work is to provide protocols for invasive species monitoring, to track the range expansion of invasive species and to monitor the range of ecologically important species in critical water systems. My lab has worked with five important invasive species in Lake Erie, providing eDNA protocols to monitor the species which are at risk of being transported to Lake Superior, and we have studied the rate of eDNA signal loss to ensure accuracy of the monitoring assays. In Africa we are tracking multiple invasive species through original protocols and have found range expansion in two of them. We are also using eDNA to discover biodiversity in the Limpopo River catchment, rivers of Kruger National Park and pans in the plains of Mpumalanga. In this work I collaborate with Gordon O’Brien (https://riversoflife.co.za/) and Tatenda Dalu (https://www.aquasystems-res.com/).
Funded Projects and Grants
“A comparison and analysis of eDNA aquatic invasive species detection methods in the Great Lakes: Assessing the time and cost effectiveness of species specific eDNA probes vs. a metabarcoding approach.” Great Lakes Protection Fund, Nonprofit Foundations. Gruwell, M. (Principal Investigator). Total awarded: $142,000.00. 2023-2025
"Establishing eDNA Testing Parameters for Ballast-mediated AIS Monitoring," Great Lakes Protection Fund, Nonprofit Foundations. Knight, I. and Gruwell, M. (Co-PI). Total awarded: $506,000.00. 2021-2023
"Early Detection of Ship-Mediated Invasive Species through eDNA Detection," Great Lakes Protection Fund, Nonprofit Foundations. Knight, I. Gruwell, M. (Co-PI). Total awarded: $178,000.00. 2018-2020
Research Interests
Endosymbiosis of Scale Insects and eDNA Detection of Invasive Species
Publications
Working primers and qPCR protocols for rapid eDNA identification of four aquatic invasive species (AIS) found in the lower Great Lakes with high potential for ballast transport to Lake Superior, Hydrobiology - 2025
Collaborators: Amanda Welsbacher, Student Author; Noel Moore, Student Author; Allegra Cangelosi, Secondary Author; Abigail Melendez, Student Author; Ryan Sheehan, Student Author; Ivor Knight, Co-Author
Accelerated Pseudogenization in Ancient Endosymbionts of Giant Scale Insects, Molecular Biology and Evolution - June 25, 2025
Collaborators: Jinyeong Choi, Author; Pradeep Palanichamy, Co-Author; Hirotaka Tanaka, Co-Author; Takumasa Kondo, Co-Author; Fillip Husnik, Author
Chapter 22: Environmental Health and Impact of the Plastisphere - May 1, 2025
Collaborators: Tatenda Dalu; Collins Oduro; Naicheng Wu; Franco Teixeira de Mello; Edmond Sanganyado; Rana Al-Jaibaji; Conrad Sparks; Pule Mpopetsi
Chapter 9: Plastisphere community assemblage in freshwater - May 1, 2025
Collaborators: Tatenda Dalu, Author; Conrad Sparks; Edmond Sanganyado; Rana Al-Jaibaji; Collins Oduro; Frano Teixeira de Mello; Naicheng Wu; Pule Mpopetsi
Quantitative assessment of planktonic AIS eDNA signal duration in Great Lakes harbor water microcosms, Management of Biological Invasions. ICMB Proceedings Special Issue - September 26, 2024
Collaborators: Ryan Sheehan, Author; Ivor Knight, Author; Allegra Cangelosi, Secondary Author; Abigail Melendez, Student Author; Hannah Phillips, Student Author; Amanda Welsbacher, Student Author
Evaluation of eDNA Detection as a Screening Tool for a Target Organism in Great Lakes Harbor and Ballast Water Samples, International Journal of Great Lakes Research - July 17, 2024
Collaborators: Allegra Cangelosi, Author; Mary Balcer, Co-Author; Kelsey Prihoda; Matthew TenEyck; Rebecca Aicher, Co-Author; Yuri Lopez-Camacho, Co-Author; Ivor Knight, Co-Author; Erin Grey, Co-Author
Instructor Resources - Evolution (Norton) - June, 2023
Great Waters Research Collaborative: Great Lakes Ship Ballast Monitoring Project Technical Report - May, 2018
Collaborators: Allegra Cangelosi, Author; Mary Balcer, Author; Ivor Knight, Author
Phylogenetic placement of the white coconut scale, Parlagena bennetti (Hemiptera: Diaspididae), Redia XCIX: Proceedings of the International Symposium of Scale Insect Research - December, 2016
Collaborators: Sklyar Woolman, Student Author; Demian Takumasa Kondo, Secondary Author
Instructor Resources - Evolution (Norton) - May, 2016
Understanding Genetics: A Practitioner's Guide to the DNA Genetique Weight and Wellness Profile - May, 2016
Armored scale insect endosymbiont diversity at the species level: Genealogical patterns of Uzinura diaspidicola in the Chionaspis pinifoliae species complex (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Diaspidiae), Bulletin of Entomological Research - February, 2015
Collaborators: Jeremy Andersen, Author; R. Gwiazdowski, Co-Author; K. Gdanetz, Student Author
Molecular evolution of sexual and parthenogenetic lineages of the armored scale insects Aspidiotus nerii (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) and its primary bacterial endosymbiont, Uzinura diaspidicola. , Annals of the Entomology Society of America - September 1, 2014
Collaborators: J. Andersen, Author; R Gwiazdowski, Co-Author
Investigation of endosymbiotic bacteria associated with scale insects from the family Putoidae (Hemiptera: Coccoidea). , Proceedings of the International Society of Scale Insects Studies in Acta Zoologica Bulgarica - August 1, 2014
Collaborators: Z. Duda, Student Author; J MacCready, Student Author
Molecular identification of Diaspididae and elucidation of non-native species using the genes 28S and 16S. , Insects - July 3, 2014
Collaborators: A. Campbell, Student Author; A. Lawerence, Student Author; C. Hudspath, Student Author
Evolution, Multiple Acquisition, and Localization of Endosymbionts in Bat Flies (Diptera: Hippoboscoidea: Streblidae and Nycteribiidae), Applied and Environmental Microbiology - February 22, 2013
Collaborators: Solon Morse, Primary Author; S. Bush, Co-Author; B. Patterson, Co-Author; C. Dick, Co-Author; K. Dittmar, Co-Author
Distribution of the primary endosymbiont (Candidatus Uzinura diaspidicola) within host insects from the scale insect family Diaspididae, Insects - 2012
Collaborators: M. Flarhety, Student Author; K. Dittmar, Co-Author
Instructor Resources - Evolution (Norton) - 2011
Spatial and Temporal Complexities of Reproductive Behavior and Sex Ratios: A Case from Parasitic Insects, Public Library of Science One - May, 2011
Collaborators: K Dittmar, Co-Author; S Morse, Co-Author; E DiBlasi, Co-Author
A Phylogenetic Analysis of Armored Scale Insects (Hemiptera: Diaspididae), Based Upon Nuclear, Mitochondrial, and Endosymbiont Gene Sequences, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution - December, 2010
Collaborators: J Andersen, Primary Author; J Wu, Co-Author; R Gwiazdowski, Co-Author; S Santana, Co-Author; N Feliciano, Co-Author; G Morse, Co-Author; B Normark, Co-Author
Cryptic Diversity in the Aspidiotus nerii Complex in Australia, Annals of the Entomological Society of America - November, 2010
Collaborators: J Andersen, Primary Author; G Morse, Co-Author; B Normark, Co-Author
Evolutionary Relationships Among Primary Endosymbionts in the Mealybug Subfamily Phenacoccinae (Hemiptera: Coccoiea: Pseudococcidae), Applied and Environmental Microbiology - July, 2010
Collaborators: N Hardy, Co-Author; P Gullan, Co-Author; K Ditmar, Co-Author
Diversity and Phylogeny of Cardinium (Bacteroidetes) in Armored Scale Insects (Hemiptera: Diaspididae), Annals of the Entomological Society of America - August 14, 2009
Collaborators: J Wu, Co-Author; B Normark, Co-Author
Pupal Deposition Patterns and Ecology of the Winged Ectoparasitic Bat Fly Trichobius galei [Diptera:Streblidae] in a Natural Cave Habitat, Ectoparasitology - April, 2009
Collaborators: K Dittmar; C Dick; B Patterson; M Whiting
Phylogenetic Congruence Between Armored Scale Insects (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) and Their Primary Endosymbionts from the Phylum Bacteroidetes, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution - 2007
Collaborators: G. Morse; B. Normark
Preliminary PCR Survey of the Endosymbionts of Scale Insects, Proceedings of the International Symposium for Scale Insect Studies - 2005
Collaborators: C. Von Dohlen; K. Patch; B. Normark
Towards a Combined Molecular and Morphological Phylogenetic Analysis of Diaspididae, Proceedings of the International Symposium on Scale Insect Studies - 2005
Collaborators: G. Morse; B. Normark
Education
Ph.D., Organismic and Evolutionary Biology / Entomology, The University of Massachusetts Amherst
B.S., Zoology, Brigham Young University