Scientists & Staff

R. Talbot Trotter, III
News Releases
Current Research
Current research is focused on three inter-related areas, which can be generally described as:
1) The biology, phenology, and distribution of invasive forest insects and their biological controls.
2) The direct impacts of invasive insects on hosts, and indirect effects on associated ecological communities.
3) Linking points 1 and 2, and scaling/modeling these interactions across larger spatial and temporal scales.
Currently, the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae) and the Asian Longhorned Beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) provide model systems for evaluating the ecological processes associated with the arrival, growth, and impact of invasive forest insects. Using the hemlock woolly adelgid for example, four questions are being investigated.
A) How many, and which species are associated with eastern hemlock in the eastern United States? How many of these species are dependant on hemlock, and how does the removal of hemlock (or the degradation of hemlock condition) alter the capacity and suitability of this forest resource?
B) How does the use of systemic insecticides such as imidacloprid, which is used to control the hemlock woolly adelgid, impact the non-target community of arthropods on easter hemlock? How do these impacts evolve through time relative to the temporal impacts of insecticides on the target species?
C) How does the genetic composition of the host hemlock relate to the associated arthropod community? Can hybrid hemlocks be used as ecological surrogates for the biodiversity associated with eastern hemlock in the eastern United States?
D) How do adelgid population dynamics respond to landscape heterogenaity, and does this heterogenaity interact with the use of biological controls and bio-pesisticides used to control the hemlock woolly adelgid?
Featured Publications & Products
- Trotter, R. Talbot; Warden, Melissa L.; Pfister, Scott ; Vazquez, Ryan J.; Ryan, Josie K.; Bohne, Michael. 2021. ALB Risk version 1.1: Asian longhorned beetle dispersal risk estimation tool. General Technical Report NRS-201. Madison, WI: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 28 p.
- Trotter, R Talbot; Limbu, Samita ; Hoover, Kelli ; Nadel, Hannah ; Keena, Melody A. 2020. Comparing Asian Gypsy Moth [Lymantria dispar asiatica (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) and L. dispar japonica] Trap Data From East Asian Ports With Lab Parameterized Phenology Models: New Tools and Questions. Annals of the Entomological Society of America
- Trotter, R. Talbot; Pepper, Eugene ; Davis, Kevin ; Vazquez, Ryan. 2019. Anisotropic dispersal by the Asian longhorned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis): quantifying spatial risk and eradication effort with limited biological data. Biological Invasions
- Kappel, Alexander P.; Trotter, R. Talbot; Keena, Melody A.; Rogan, John; Williams, Christopher A. 2017. Mapping of the Asian longhorned beetle's time to maturity and risk to invasion at contiguous United States extent. Biological Invasions
- Trotter, III, R. Talbot; Keena, Melody A. 2016. A variable-instar climate-driven individual beetle-based phenology model for the invasive Asian longhorned beetle (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae). Environmental Entomology. 45(6): 1360-1370.
- Trotter, R. Talbot; Morin, Randall S.; Oswalt, Sonja N.; Liebhold, Andrew. 2013. Changes in the regional abundance of hemlock associated with the invasion of hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae Annand). Biological Invasions. 15(12): 2667-2679.
- Elkinton, Joseph S.; Trotter, Robert T.; Paradis, Ann F. 2011. Simulations of population dynamics of hemlock woolly adelgid and potential impact of biological control agents. In: Onken, B.; Reardon, R. eds. Implementation and status of biological control of the hemlock woolly adelgid. FHTET-2011-04. Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team: 15-24. Chapter 2.
Publications & Products
- Coyle, David R.; Trotter, R. Talbot III; Bean, Meredith S.; Pfister, Scott E. 2021. First Recorded Asian Longhorned Beetle (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) Infestation in the Southern United States. Journal of Integrated Pest Management
- Dietschler, Nicholas ; Bittner, Tonya ; Trotter, R Talbot; Fahey, Timothy ; Whitmore, Mark C. 2021. Biological Control of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid: Implications of Adult Emergence Patterns of Two Leucopis spp. (Diptera: Chamaemyiidae) and Laricobius nigrinus (Coleoptera: Derodontidae) Larval Drop . Environmental Entomology
- Crimmins, Theresa M.; Gerst, Katharine L.; Huerta, Diego G.; Marsh, R. Lee; Posthumus, Erin E.; Rosemartin, Alyssa H.; Switzer, Jeff ; Weltzin, Jake F.; Coop, Len ; Dietschler, Nicholas ; Herms, Daniel A.; Limbu, Samita ; Trotter, R. Talbot; Whitmore, Mark. 2020. Short-term forecasts of insect phenology inform pest management. Annals of the Entomological Society of America
- Salom, Scott M.; Davis, Gina ; Elkinton, Joseph ; Foley, Jeremiah ; Havill, Nathan ; Jubb, Carrie ; Mayfield, Albert ; McAvoy, Tom ; Rhea, Rusty ; Talbot Trotter, R. ; Whitmore, Mark. 2019. A response to "Media representation of hemlock woolly adelgid management risks: a case study of science communication and invasive species control," published in biological invasions online on September 18, 2018. Biological Invasions
- Hull-Sanders, Helen; Pepper, Eugene; Davis, Kevin; Trotter, III, Robert Talbot; Doucet, Daniel. 2017. Description of an establishment event by the invasive Asian longhorned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) in a suburban landscape in the northeastern United States. PLOS ONE
- Kung, Wing Yi; Hoover, Kelli ; Cowles, Richard ; Trotter, R. Talbot. 2015. Long-Term Effects of Imidacloprid on Eastern Hemlock Canopy Arthropod Biodiversity in New England. Northeastern Naturalist. 22(1): NENHC-40-NENHC-55.
- Meng, P.S.; Trotter, R.T.; Keena, M.A.; Baker, T.C.; Yan, S.; Schwartzberg, E.G.; Hoover, K. 2014. Effects of pheromone and plant volatile release rates and ratios on trapping Anoplophora glabripennis (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in China. Environmental Entomology. 43(5): 1379-1388.
- Nehme, M.E.; Trotter, R.T.; Keena, M.A.; McFarland, C.; Coop, J.; Hull-Sanders, H.M.; Meng, P.; De Moraes, C.M.; Mescher, M.C.; Hoover, K. 2014. Development and evaluation of a trapping system for Anoplophora glabripennis (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in the United States. Environmental Entomology. 43(4): 1034-1044.
- Trotter, Talbot. 2013. Relationships among climate, forests, and insects in North America: Examples of the importance of long-term and broad-scale perspectives. In: Camp, Ann E.; Irland, Lloyd C.; Carroll, Charles J.W. Long-term silvicultural and ecological studies. Results for science and management: volume 2.GISF Res. Pap. 013. New Haven, CT: Yale University, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Global Institute of Sustainable Forestry: 161-177.
- Ingwell, Laura L.; Miller-Pierce, Mailea; Trotter, R. Talbot; Preisser, Evan L. 2012. Vegetation and invertebrate community response to eastern hemlock decline in southern new England. Northeastern Naturalist. 19(4): 541-558.
- Keena, Melody A.; Trotter III, R. Talbot; Cheah, Carole; Montgomery, Michael E. 2012. Effects of temperature and photoperiod on the aestivo-hibernal egg diapause of Scymnus camptodromus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). Environmental Entomology. 41(6): 1662-1671.
- Trotter III, R. Talbot. 2011. Long-term weather variability and shifting distribution limits of the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae Annand). In: McManus, Katherine A; Gottschalk, Kurt W., eds. 2010. Proceedings. 21st U.S. Department of Agriculture interagency research forum on invasive species 2010; 2010 January 12-15; Annapolis, MD. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-75. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 136-137.
- Trotter, R. Talbot III. 2009. Hemlock canopy arthropods: biodiversity on a threatened host.. In: McManus, Katherine A; Gottschalk, Kurt W., eds. Proceedings. 20th U.S. Department of Agriculture interagency research forum on invasive species 2009; 2009 January 13-16; Annapolis, MD. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-51. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 102.
- Trotter, R. Talbot, III; Shields, Kathleen S. 2009. Variation in winter survival of the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid (Hemiptera: Adelgidae) across the eastern United States. Environmental Entomology. 38(3): 557-587.
- Trotter, R. Talbot; Shields, Kathleen S. 2009. Assessing assumptions about adelgid attributes: landscape patterns of an invasive insect. In: McManus, Katherine A; Gottschalk, Kurt W., eds. Proceedings. 19th U.S. Department of Agriculture interagency research forum on invasive species 2008; 2008 January 8-11; Annapolis, MD. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-36. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 82.
- Costa, Scott D.; Trotter, R. Talbot; Montgomery, Michael; Fortney, Michael. 2008. Low temperature in the hemlock woolly adelgid system. In: Onken, Brad; Reardon, Richard, comps. Fourth Symposium on hemlock woolly adelgid in the eastern United States; 2008 February 12-14; Hartford, CT. FHTET 2008-01. Morgantown, WV: U.S. Forest Service, Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team: 47-52.
- Trotter, R. Talbot III. 2008. Climate matching: implications for the biological control of hemlock woolly adelgid. In: Onken, Brad; Reardon, Richard, comps. Fourth Symposium on hemlock woolly adelgid in the eastern United States; 2008 February 12-14; Hartford, CT. FHTET 2008-01. Morgantown, WV: U.S. Forest Service, Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team: 141-146.
- Trotter, R. Talbot III; Courter, Anthony W.; Turcotte, Richard M.; Onken, Brad. 2008. Incorporating hemlock woolly adelgid impacts into the Forest Vegetation Simulator model. In: Onken, Brad; Reardon, Richard, comps. Fourth Symposium on hemlock woolly adelgid in the eastern United States; 2008 February 12-14; Hartford, CT. FHTET 2008-01. Morgantown, WV: U.S. Forest Service, Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team: 114-117.
- Trotter, R. Talbot; Montgomery, Michael E. 2008. Modeling environmentally driven life cycles for hemlock woolly adelgid and the biological control agent Scymnus sinuanodulus. In: Gottschalk, Kurt W., ed. Proceedings, 18th U.S. Department of Agriculture interagency research forum on gypsy moth and other invasive species 2007; 2007 January 9-12; Annapolis, MD. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-28. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 80.
- Trotter, R. Talbot, III. 2007. The effects of climate, geography, and time on hemlock woolly adelgid and its natural enemies. In: Gottschalk, Kurt W., ed. Proceedings, 17th U.S. Department of Agriculture interagency research forum on gypsy moth and other invasive species 2006; Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-10. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 100.
National Research Highlights
New Adaptive Tools Enhance Shared Stewardship in Battling Asian Longhorned Beetle
Year: 2020
Researchers and managers with the USDA Forest Service and Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) are developing new tools that share the activities and results of the cooperative Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) eradication programs, contributing to a more efficient response and speedier eradication of a potentially devastating nonnative invasive species.
Asian longhorned beetle has broad climate adaptability and invasion potential
Year: 2017
The Asian longhorned beetle has flexibility in its life history, putting it in a good position to successfully invade a broad range of locations and climate conditions. Forest Service scientists have developed a new climate-driven phenology model which demonstrates that few locations with host trees in the U.S. or Europe are safe from potential invasion by this insect.
Precision Targeting of Surveys to Eradicate the Asian Longhorned Beetle
Year: 2016
Using data collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s Asian Longhorned Beetle Eradication Program, Forest Service research shows the potential to identify local patterns of dispersal by the beetle and target survey efforts.
Patterns and Probabilities of Spread Highlight Hot Spots in Asian Longhorned Beetle Infestations
Year: 2015
A Forest Service scientist in collaboration with the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service is accelerating the fight against the Asian longhorned beetle by identifying infestation hot-spots.
The Future of Hemlock Trees in the Eastern U.S. Remains Dicey
Year: 2013
The arrival of the hemlock woolly adelgid, an invasive insect from Asia, threatens the stability and sustainability of hemlock in the eastern U.S. An analysis of landscape level data provided by the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program shows that while some local impacts have been severe, at a landscape scale, hemlock is not yet severely impacted. But the researchers predict, if the adelgid continues to go unchecked, the fate of hemlocks remains unknown.