I am passionate about innovative cropping systems that foster healthy ecosystems and people. My lab focuses on controlled environment agriculture (CEA) which includes all crops grown under protective plastic, glass, or in some cases netting. As an invertebrate community ecologist, I’m interested in exploring how abiotic and biotic factors affect invertebrate communities with an emphasis on the major pests, natural enemies, and pollinators relevant to controlled environments.
Our research focuses on plant-insect interactions, but also determines how abiotic (i.e., light, heat, and humidity) and belowground (soil substrate) factors drive these relationships. Controlled systems provide an ideal environment to explore these questions, as these factors can be intimately manipulated to uncover their underlying mechanisms.
The goal of my research is to identify effective, accessible, and sustainable solutions to crop management that support the wide diversity of CEA growers in New York. As the CEA industry continues to expand, my lab will be proactive in identifying issues and collaborating with growers to plan projects and extension training that address their needs.
Recent Research: The Willden Controlled Environment Entomology lab will officially start Nov 1, 2024. Stay tuned!
Selected Publications:
- Willden, S.A., Nyrop, J., Sanderson, J., Wentworth, K., Stockton, D.G., and Loeb, G.M. 2024. Rearing impacts on dispersal and biocontrol performance: a case study on Phytoseiulus persimilis. Accepted. Journal of Applied Ecology, DOI:10.1111/1365-2664.14798.
- Willden, S.A., Zablah, A., Wallingford, A., and Ingwell, L. 2024. Management of aphids on winter high tunnel crops. Biological Control, 192: 105511. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2024.105511
- Ploessl, S., Willden, S.A., and Ingwell, L. 2023. Invertebrate diversity in peri-urban community gardens and possible mechanisms of community assemblage. Urban Ecosystems. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11252-023-01444-7
- Willden, S.A., Ugine, T., and Loeb, G.M. 2022. The effect of UVB-blocking plastics on Beauveria bassiana and a conventional product against Lygus lineolaris on low tunnel strawberry. Pest Management Science, 78(10): 4268 – 4277. https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.7046
- Willden, S.A., Pritts, M.P., and Loeb, G.M. 2022. The effect of plastic low tunnels on natural enemies and pollinators in strawberry. Crop Protection, 151: 105820. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2021.105820
