Curriculum Vitae
Michael S. Crossley
Address: 250 Townsend Hall / 531 S. College Ave, Newark, DE 19716
Phone: (608) 316-5120
E-mail: crossley@udel.edu
Research interests
I am an agricultural entomologist and molecular ecologist who integrates eco-informatics and population genomics approaches to understand how changing agricultural landscapes and management practices affect insect ecology and evolution. My research specifically explores the role of rapid evolution in driving pest success, and seeks to develop and refine innovative pest management strategies that benefit growers, the environment, and society.
Education
2019 Ph. D. in Entomology (minor in Geographic Information Systems), University of Wisconsin-Madison. GPA 3.90/4.0
2014 M. S. in Entomology, University of Wisconsin-Madison GPA: 3.90/4.0
2011 B. S. in Entomology, University of Wisconsin-Madison. GPA: 3.72/4.0
Employment
2019-2021 Postdoctoral Associate, University of Georgia, Dr. Bill Snyder
2019 Predoctoral Fellow, USDA NIFA AFRI ELI
2019 Teaching Fellow, WISCIENCE
2016-2018 NSF IGERT, Novel Ecosystems, UW-Madison
2014-2016 Graduate research assistant, UW-Madison, Dr. Sean Schoville
2012-2014 Graduate research assistant, UW-Madison, Dr. David Hogg
2011 Field research assistant, UW-Madison, Dr. David Hogg
2008-2011 Lab research assistant, UW-Madison, Dr. Richard Lindroth
2010 Vegetable crops pest scout, West Michigan IPM, Private Pest Management Consulting
2009 Field research assistant, UW-Madison, Dr. Eileen Cullen
2008 Field research assistant, UW-Madison, Dr. Russell Groves
Publications (27; 16 lead-author)
Aigner, BL, MS Crossley, MR Abney. 2021. Biology and management of peanut burrower bug (Hemiptera: Cydnidae) in Southeast USA peanut. Journal of Integrated Pest Management (in press).
Crossley MS, OM Smith, TS Davis, SD Eigenbrode, GL Hartman, D Lagos-Kutz, SE Halbert, DJ Voegtlin, MD Moran, WE Snyder. 2021. Complex life histories predispose aphids to recent decline. Global Change Biology (in press). https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/gcb.15739
Hemberger J, MS Crossley, C Gratton. 2021. 130 years of agricultural intensification has decreased the occurrence of North American bumble bees. Ecology Letters (in press). https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ele.13786
Fu Z, MS Crossley, B Epstein, C Bates, DW Crowder, AA Elling, PA Hohenlohe, R Jabbour, RA Ramirez, WE Snyder. 2021. Using fine-scale relatedness to infer natural enemy movement. Biological Control 160:104662. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1049964421001328
Krey KL, OM Smith, EG Chapman, MS Crossley, DW Crowder, Z Fu, JD Harwood, AS Jensen, CA Lynch, GB Snyder, WE Snyder. 2021. Prey and predator biodiversity mediate aphid predation by generalists. Biological Control 160:104650. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1049964421001201
Crossley MS, OM Smith, LL Berry, R Phillips-Cosio, J Glassberg, KM Holman, JG Holmquest, AR Meier, SA Varriano, MR McClung, MD Moran, WE Snyder. 2021. Recent climate change is creating hotspots of butterfly increase and decline across North America. Global Change Biology 27:2702-2714. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/gcb.15582
Crossley MS, WE Snyder, MD Moran. 2021. MS Crossley et al. reply. Nature Ecology & Evolution 5:595-599. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-021-01429-9
Crossley, MS, SD Schoville, VC Radeloff. 2020. Recent collapse of crop belts and declining diversity of US agriculture since 1840. Global Change Biology 27:151–164. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15396
Crossley, MS, and WE Snyder. 2020. What is the spatial extent of a Bemisia tabaci population? Insects 11: 813. https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/11/11/813
Gautam, S, MS Crossley, B Dutta, T Coolong, AM Simmons, A Silva, WE Snyder, and R Srinivasan. 2020. Low Genetic Variability in Bemisia tabaci MEAM1 Populations within Farmscapes of Georgia, USA. Insects 11:834. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects11120834
Crossley MS, AR Meier, EM Baldwin, LL Berry, LC Crenshaw, GL Hartman, D Lagos-Kutz, DH Nichols, K Patel, S Varriano, WE Snyder, MD Moran. 2020. No net insect abundance and diversity declines across US Long Term Ecological Research sites. Nature Ecology & Evolution 4:1368–1376 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-020-1269-4
Crossley MS, WE Snyder, NB Hardy. 2021. Insect-plant relationships predict the speed of insecticide adaptation. Evolutionary Applications 14:290-296. https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.13089
Yang F, N Liu, MS Crossley, P Wang, Z Ma, J Guo, R Zhang. 2020. Cropland connectivity affects genetic divergence of Colorado potato beetle along an invasion front. Evolutionary Applications 14:553-565. https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.13140
Dively GP, MS Crossley, SD Schoville, N Steinhauer, DJ Hawthorne. 2020. Regional differences in gene regulation may underlie patterns of sensitivity to novel insecticides in Leptinotarsa decemlineata. Pest Management Science 76:4278-4285. https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.5992
Miller T, MS Crossley, F Zhen, AR Meier, DW Crowder, WE Snyder. 2020. Exposure to predators, but not intraspecific competitors, heightens herbivore susceptibility to entomopathogens. Biological Control 151:104403. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2020.104403
Williams, J, K Burke, MS Crossley, D Grant, V Radeloff. 2019. Land use and climatic causes of environmental novelty in Wisconsin over the past century. Ecological Applications 29:e01955. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.1955
Crossley, MS, SI Rondon, SD Schoville. 2019. Effects of contemporary agricultural land cover on Colorado potato beetle genetic differentiation in the Columbia Basin and Central Sands. Ecology and Evolution 6:9385-9394. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5489
Crossley, MS, SI Rondon, SD Schoville. 2019. Patterns of genetic differentiation in Colorado potato beetle correlate with contemporary, not historic, potato land cover. Evolutionary Applications 12:804-814. https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.12757
Crossley, MS, SI Rondon, SD Schoville. 2018. A comparison of resistance to imidacloprid in Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say) populations collected in the Northwest and Midwest U.S. American Journal of Potato Research 95:495–503. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12230-018-9654-0
Crossley, MS, SD Schoville, DM Haagenson, SH Jansky. 2018. Plant resistance to Colorado potato beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in diploid F2 families derived from crosses between cultivated and wild potato. Journal of Economic Entomology 111:1875-1884. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toy120
Pélissié, B, MS Crossley, Z Cohen, SD Schoville. 2018. Rapid evolution in insect pests: the importance of space and time in population genomics studies. Current Opinions in Insect Science 26:8-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2017.12.008
Crossley, MS, B Pélissié, Z Cohen, SD Schoville. 2017. Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) observed feeding on Chamaesaracha sp. in Eastern Colorado. The Great Lakes Entomologist 50:93-97. https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol50/iss2/10
Crossley, MS, YH Chen, RL Groves, SD Schoville. 2017. Landscape genomics of Colorado potato beetle provides evidence of polygenic adaptation to insecticides. Molecular Ecology 26:6284-6300. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.14339
Crossley, MS, SA Steffan, DJ Voegtlin, KL Hamilton, DB Hogg. 2017. Variable isotopic compositions of host plant populations preclude assessment of aphid overwintering sites. Insects 8:128. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects8040128
Crossley, MS, DB Hogg. 2015. Potential overwintering locations of soybean aphid (Hemiptera: Aphididae) colonizing soybean in Ohio and Wisconsin. Environmental Entomology 44:210-222. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvv012
Crossley, MS, DB Hogg. 2015. Rag virulence among soybean aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) in Wisconsin. Journal of Economic Entomology 108:326-338. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jee/tou022
Meehan, TD, MS Crossley, RL Lindroth. 2010. Impacts of elevated CO2 and O3 on aspen leaf litter chemistry and earthworm and springtail productivity. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 42: 1132-1137. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2010.03.019
Publications in review (5) / in prep (2)
Crossley MS, TS Davis, GL Hartman, D Lagos-Kutz, DJ Voegtlin, WE Snyder. (in review). Precipitation change accentuates or reverses temperature effects on aphid dispersal. Ecological Applications.
Crossley MS, CE Latimer, CM Kennedy, WE Snyder. (in review). Past and recent farming degrades aquatic insect genetic diversity. Molecular Ecology.
Crossley MS, B Pélissié, Z Cohen, SI Rondon, D Hawthorne, YH Chen, A Alyokhin, SD Schoville. (in review). Limiting a superpest: Ecological and evolutionary factors mitigating Colorado potato beetle adaptation to insecticides. Chapter in: Insect Pests of Potato 2nd Edition.
Pélissié B, YH Chen, MS Crossley, ZP Cohen, DJ Hawthorne, V Izzo, SD Schoville. (in review). Genome resequencing reveals rapid, repeated evolution in the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata. Molecular Biology and Evolution.
Cohen ZP*, MS Crossley*, RF Mitchell, P Engsontia, YH Chen, SD Schoville. (in review). Chemosensory genes linked to potato-feeding are under positive selection in Leptinotarsa decemlineata. Heredity. *co-equal first authors
Lynch CA, OM Smith, EG Chapman, MS Crossley, DW Crowder, Z Fu, JD Harood, AS Jensen, KL Krey, GB Snyder, WE Snyder. (in review). Alternative prey and farming system mediate predation of Colorado potato beetles by generalists. Biological Control
Thaler J, T Ugine, MS Crossley, S Finkner, E Bueno, Y Chen, SD Schoville, B Pélissié, MB Baker. (In Prep). Novel costs of insecticide resistance: prey responses to predators cause strong reductions in growth. Target journal: Journal of Applied Ecology
Grants (total funding acquired: $85,090)
Crossley MS, WE Snyder, MR Abney. 2020. Sources of burrower bug infestations in peanut. National Peanut Board, Southeastern Peanut Research Initiative $25,000
Crossley MS, M Hubert. 2018. Rapid adaptation to agricultural chemicals: Testing the role of pre-existing genetic variation and new mutations using historical samples. IGERT Competitive Innovation Incentive Fund $2,870
Crossley MS, BM Havlicek. 2017. Can humans facilitate continent-wide species redistributions? A case study with the Colorado potato beetle. IGERT Competitive Innovation Incentive Fund $3,420
Crossley, MS, RL Groves, SD Schoville. 2015. Adaptation in spatially structured agroecosystems: managing Colorado potato beetles in working landscapes. Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association $12,000
Crossley MS, SD Schoville. 2016. Summer Agricultural Research Station Internship $4,800
Crossley MS, DB Hogg, and S Steffan. 2015. Determining the sources of soybean aphids colonizing soybean in Wisconsin. Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board $12,200
Crossley MS, SD Schoville. 2015. Summer Agricultural Research Station Internship $4,800
Crossley MS, C Grau, DB Hogg. 2012. Mechanisms of plant resistance to soybean aphid and resistance-defeating aphid biotypes. Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board $20,000
Fellowships & awards (total funding received: $269,191)
2021 USDA NIFA AFRI EWD Postdoctoral Fellowship $154,952
2018 USDA NIFA AFRI ELI Predoctoral Fellowship $43,739
2016 NSF Integrative Graduate Education & Research Traineeship (IGERT) – UW-Madison $62,000
Gureen Gulstein Research Fellowship $1,000
UW-Madison Graduate School – Student Research Travel Award $500
2012 Travel Grant from Entomological Society of America, Student and Young Professionals Committee. Funding to attend the 2012 International Congress of Entomology (ICE) held in Daegu, South Korea $1,500
2011 Undergraduate Achievement Award, Plant-Insect Ecosystems Section, Entomological Society of America $1,500
2010 University Book Store Academic Excellence $1,000
2009 Holstrom Environmental Scholarship $3,000
Teaching & mentoring
2020 Guest Lecture: Insects and the Environment (ENTO 2010)
Topic: Case study – geographic variation in rates of adaptation to insecticides
2019 Guest Lecture: Insect Ecology (ENTO 8500)
Topic: What makes a pest a pest?
2018 WISCIENCE teaching fellow (teaching “Exploring Biology” – INTEGSCI 100)
Fellows received training in scientific teaching best-practices, then collaboratively developed and taught an introductory course in the biological sciences to 1st year students, included some first-generation college students.
BIOLOGY 152 (Introductory Biology) Independent Research Mentor
2017 Guest lecture & lab tutorials: Molecular Ecology ENTOM 624
Taught lectures and developed hands-on data analysis learning activities on the topics of: 1) Population structure, 2) Genome scans
BIOLOGY 152 Independent Research Mentor
2016 BIOLOGY 152 Independent Research Mentor
2015 Promega Youth Apprenticeship Program student mentor
Mentored a high school student in molecular lab techniques and field research.
2013 BIOCORE 382 (Evolution, Ecology & Genetics Lab) Teaching Assistant
Taught a lab section of 24 2nd-3rd year students, guiding students through the conception, implementation, and communication of four research projects.
2012 Guest lecture: Principles of Economic Entomology (ENTOM 351)
Topic: Host Plant Resistance
BIOLOGY 152 Independent Research Mentor
2011 Principles of Economic Entomology (ENTOM 351) Practicum in Teaching
Developed and graded quizzes and exams.
Outreach
2018 PEOPLE program summer science internship mentor
The PEOPLE program recruits and prepares students from underrepresented groups to succeed in college, and this internship specifically exposes students to STEM research experiences.
Molecular Ecology lab outreach (Darwin Day, Saturday Science)
2017 Middle school Science Symposium mentor
This program involved middle school students to semester-long independent research projects. Schools I served included Badger Rock Middle School, a charter school serving predominantly black and Latinx students from low-income neighborhoods.
PEOPLE program summer science internship mentor
Molecular Ecology lab outreach (Darwin Day, Saturday Science)
2016 PEOPLE program summer science internship mentor
Middle school Science Symposium mentor
Math tutor, 3rd grade, John Muir Elementary School
2011-2016 Insect Ambassadors (Entomology education/inspiration for youth)
Media
Kozik, LA, 2021. More agriculture, less crop variety, fewer bumble bees. https://7c140796.flowpaper.com/agbeecomic/#page=1
Wurst, J. 2021. Athens News Matters: Climate Impact on Butterflies. https://www.wuga.org/post/athens-news-matters-climate-impact-butterflies#stream/0
McDermott, A. 2020. News Feature: To understand the plight of insects, entomologists look to the past. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/12/16/2018499117#ref-16
Weaver, M. 2020. Climate helps battle against Colorado potato beetle. Capital Press. https://www.capitalpress.com/ag_sectors/research/climate-helps-battle-against-colorado-potato-beetle/article_22d4b5de-4200-11ea-86a8-67d01fcbb04e.html
Crossley, MS. 2017. “Holding off a potato super-pest” Potato Country. January issue (pgs. 14-16) http://reader.mediawiremobile.com/ColumbiaMediaGroup/issues/110338
Research presentations
Invited talks
- Ecoinformatics of declines and rebounds amidst the “Insect Apocalypse”. Entomological Society of America 2021 (invited contribution to upcoming “Early Career Professional Recognition Symposium”)
- Linking warmer temperatures, greater insecticide use, and worsening pest outbreaks. Entomological Society of America 2021 (invited contribution to upcoming section symposium “Ecology, Epidemiology, and Management of Whiteflies and Whitefly-transmitted Viruses”)
- Are insects broadly in decline? Department of Entomology seminar, University of Georgia, Fall 2020.
- Beyond candidate genes: Genomics of Colorado potato beetle adaptation to insecticides. Member Symposium: Applications of Molecular Ecology and Ecological Genomics to Agriculture and Pest Management. ESA 2019
- Novelty of Wisconsin landscapes relative to historic baselines: Assessing the relative role of climate, land-use, and forest changes. Biodiversity and Conservation in Human-Dominated Landscapes: A Symposium on Novelty in Ecosystems. UW-Madison 2018
- Landscape genomics of Colorado potato beetle provides evidence of polygenic adaptation to insecticides. Member Symposium: Genomics of Adaptation: Linking the Next Generation of Genome-Wide Analysis to Understand and Manage Complex Traits. ESA 2017
- Consequences of lignin modification in biofuel poplar for insect pest susceptibility: Do we have a green light? ESA 2011
Contributed talks and posters
- Colorado potato beetle adaptation to changing agricultural landscapes and management practices. PhD exit seminar, UW-Madison 2019
- Changing agricultural landscapes drive genetic differentiation in Colorado potato beetle”. Entomological Society of America annual meeting (talk) 2018
- Assessing population structure among Colorado potato beetles (Leptinotarsa decemlineata) in the Midwest with genotyping-by-sequencing. (talk) ESA 2016
- Gene flow and resistance in Colorado potato beetle. (poster) ESA 2015
- Seasonal dispersal and population genetics of soybean aphid (Aphis glycines) occurring in Wisconsin. (talk) ESA 2014
- Rag virulence at a low frequency among soybean aphids (Aphis glycines) occurring in Wisconsin. (poster) ESA 2014
- Challenges managing soybean aphid: Plant resistance and population genetics. UW-Madison Dept. of Plant Pathology students and postdocs seminar. (talk) 2014
- Distribution of virulent soybean aphid (Aphis glycines) biotypes in Wisconsin. (talk) ESA 2013
- Taking on Popeye of the arthropods: A novel approach to managing Garden Symphylan in hoop-houses. (poster) ESA 2013
Extension presentations
Invited talks
- Limiting a superpest: Colorado potato beetle in the Pacific Northwest. 11th Washington – Oregon Potato Conference 2019
- Colorado potato beetle resistance management. Hermiston Farm Fair 2016
- Examples of pesticide resistance: how it happens and how we can stop it. Hermiston Farm Fair 2016
- Understanding the spread of neonicotinoid resistance among Colorado potato beetle populations at regional and local scales. UW Extension & Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association conference (UWEX-WPVGA) 2014
Contributed talks
- Do the nightshades in my field help Colorado potato beetle? UWEX-WPVGA 2019
- Colorado potato beetle genetics over the landscape: A comparison between the Central Sands and Columbia Basin. UWEX-WPVGA 2018
- Gene flow and evolution of insecticide resistance in Colorado potato beetle. UWEX-WPVGA 2016
- CALS: The fast track to a career in science. College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Alumni Breakfast & Board of Visitors Meeting 2011
Professional Service
Contributor to the Bumble Bee Watch https://www.bumblebeewatch.org/
Manuscript reviewer since 2014 https://publons.com/researcher/1346719/michael-crossley/
American Journal of Potato Research, Arthropod-Plant Interactions, Atmosphere, Communications Biology, Ecology and Evolution, Environmental Entomology, Evolutionary Applications, Global Ecology and Biogeography, Insects, Journal of Economic Entomology, Molecular Ecology, Molecular Ecology Resources, Pest Management Science, Scientific Data, Scientific Reports, Trends in Ecology and Evolution
Student Volunteer and/or Moderator. Entomological Society of America Annual Meetings 2011-2018
