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Teaching interests
Ecology
Entomology
Visit the Yee lab Current Graduate Students
Research
Research in my lab focuses on community and population ecology of aquatic invertebrates.
My current interests are in mosquito-dominated container systems and pond communities with a
concentration on predaceous diving beetles. My lab employs a variety of tools when approaching
research problems, including field observations and experiments, laboratory experiments,
and statistical modeling. Our research is conducted in a variety of aquatic systems,
including temporary or permanent ponds, container habitats (e.g., tree holes, discarded automobile tires),
flood plains, and in experimental systems (e.g., cattle tanks).
Mosquitoes
A multitude of animal and human diseases are vectored by adult mosquitoes,
the larvae of which inhabit aquatic containers (e.g., tree holes, discarded automobile tires).
Because they are relatively easy to maintain in the laboratory and obtain and manipulate in the
field they are an ideal study animal for testing ecological theories related to community organization
and population dynamics.
Dytiscids
Predaceous diving beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae) occur in ponds and other bodies of water across North America.
Although this family is composed of about 4,000 species world-wide, there exists little ecological knowledge about
this cosmopolitan group. Larvae and adults all are predaceous, making them an important component of the aquatic
food webs in which they occur.
My lab currently is pursing research that will aid in answering the following broad questions:
How do individual species traits, such as feeding behavior, habitat selection, dispersal,
and oviposition decisions affect species interactions and patterns of species diversity?
What are the traits of invasive species, especially mosquitoes, that allow them to be successful in novel habitats?
How does detritus-derived productivity affect patterns of species richness, and can these patterns can be
explained by changes in abundance?
Selected publications
Ecology of Predaceous Diving Beetles
Yee, D.A. 2010. Behavior and aquatic plants as factors affecting predation in three species of larval predaceous diving beetles (Coloptera: Dytiscidae). Hydrobiologia 637: 33-43
Yee, D.A., S. Taylor, & S.M. Vamosi. 2009. Beetle and plant density as cues initiating dispersal in two species of adult predaceous diving beetles. Oecologia 160: 25-36
Ecology of Container Mosquitoes
Yee, D.A., J.M. Kneitel, & S.A. Juliano. 2010. Environmental correlates of abundances of mosquito species and stages in discarded vehicle tires. Journal of Medical Entomology 47: 53-62
Yee, D.A. 2008. Tires as habitats for mosquitoes : a review of studies within the eastern United States. Journal of Medical Entomology 45: 581-593
Kesavaraju, B., D.A. Yee, & S.A. Juliano. 2007. Interspecific and intraspecific differences in foraging preferences of container-dwelling mosquitoes. Journal of Medical Entomology 44: 215-221
Kling, L.J., S.A. Juliano, & D.A. Yee. 2007. Larval mosquito communities in discarded automobile tires in a forested and non-forested site: detritus type, amount, and water nutrient differences. Journal of Vector Ecology 32: 207-217
Yee, D.A., B. Kesavaraju, & S.A. Juliano. 2007. Direct and indirect effects of animal detritus on growth, survival, and mass of the invasive container mosquito Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae). Journal of Medical Entomology 44: 580-588
Yee, D.A., & S.A. Juliano. 2006. Consequences of detritus type in an aquatic microsystem: assessing water quality, microorganisms, and the performance of the dominant consumer. Freshwater Biology 51: 448-459
Tests of Ecological Theory
Yee, D.A., S.H. Yee, J.M. Kneitel, & S.A. Juliano. 2007. Richness-productivity relationships between trophic levels in a detritus-based system: significance of abundance and trophic linkage. Oecologia 154: 377-385
Yee, D.A., M.G. Kaufman, & S.A. Juliano. 2007. The significance of ratios of detritus types and microorganism productivity to competitive interactions between aquatic insect detritivores. Journal of Animal Ecology 76: 1105-1115
Yee, D.A., & S.A. Juliano. 2007. Abundance matters. A field experiment testing the more individuals hypothesis for richness-productivity relationships. Oecologia 153: 153-162
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