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Deidra Jacobsen

Education

• Ph.D., Evolution, Ecology, & Behavior, Indiana University,  2016
• B.S., Biological Sciences and Environmental Studies, Univ. of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2009

Biographical Information

I am an evolutionary ecologist broadly interested in how plant-insect interactions shape plant defensive strategies, insect behavior, and biodiversity. Research in my lab addresses two overarching questions in plant biology: 1) How do conflicting selective pressures of herbivory and pollination affect plant defensive and reproductive strategies across evolutionary and ecological scales? 2) How is plant defensive evolution shaped by insect host plant choice and insect developmental responses to plant toxins?

My work uses a variety of methods, including experimental manipulations in the greenhouse, field trials, and behavioral assays to study plants and their interactions with insects. Currently, new research projects are aimed at understanding how abiotic factors alter floral morphology, mating traits, and plant-insect interactions in endemic and threatened plant species.

Selected Publications

• Jacobsen, D.J. 2022. “Growth rate and life history shape resistance to herbivores.” American Journal of Botany 109(7):1074-1084. doi: 10.1002/ajb2.16020
• Jacobsen, D.J. and Raguso, R.A. 2021. “Leaf induction impacts behavior and performance of a pollinating herbivore.” Frontiers in Plant Science 12:791680. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2021.791680
• Jacobsen, D.J. 2021. “Manduca sexta experience high parasitoid pressures in the field but minor fitness costs of consuming plant secondary compounds” Ecology and Evolution 11(20):13884-13897. doi: 10.1002/ece3.8094
• Jacobsen, D.J. and R.A. Raguso. 2018. “Lingering effects of herbivory and plant defenses on pollinators.” Current Biology 28:R1164-R1169. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.08.010

Courses Taught

• BIO 131 Plants, Humanity, & the Environment
• BIO 121 Environmental Biology
• BIO 314 Plant Diversity