Sergio Rasmann

Picture of Sergio Rasmann
Assistant Professor, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
School of Biological Sciences
Ph.D., University of Neuchâtel, 2006, Chemical Ecology
Phone: (949) 824-5284
Email: srasmann@uci.edu
University of California, Irvine
463 Steinhaus Hall
Irvine, CA 92697
Research Interests
community ecology, plant-herbivore interaction, plant defenses, insect ecology
Appointments
University of Lausanne (Research Associate 2011 - 2013)
Cornell University (Post-doc 2007 - 2011)
Research Abstract
Our lab studies the ecology and evolution of plant-insect interactions, including aspects of herbivory, community ecology, chemical ecology, ecological gradients, and coevolution. Research projects include work on tritrophic interactions and trophic cascades, above-belowground interactions, local biodiversity, the biology of soil biota, the evolution of plant defense strategies, and epigenetic mechanisms of plant resistance.
Publications
Moreira X, Mooney K, Rasmann S, Petry W, Carrillo-Gavilan A, Zas R, Sampedro L. Trade-offs between constitutive and induced defences drive geographical and climatic clines in pine chemical defences. 2014. Ecology Letters in press
Rasmann S, Pellissier L, and Alvarez N. The altitudinal niche breadth hypothesis in plant-insect interaction. 2014. Annual Plant Reviews.
Megali L, Glauser G, Rasmann S. Fertilization with beneficial microorganisms decreases tomato defenses against insect pests. Agronomy for Sustainable Development. 2014. doi:10.1007/s13593-013-0187-0
Zhou Z, Rasmann S, Li M, Guo J, Chen H, Wan F. Transgenerational induced resistance to cold temperatures in Ophraella communa. 2013. Plos One DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0074760
Vannette R, Hunter MD, Rasmann S. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi alter above- and below-ground chemical defense expression differentially among Asclepias species. 2013. Frontiers in Plant Science. Special topic in Frontiers in Plant-Microbe Interaction. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2013.00361
Rasmann S, Pellissier P, Defossez E, Jactel H, Kunstler G. Climate-driven change in plant-insect interactions along elevation gradients. 2013. Functional Ecology doi: 10.1111/1365-2435.12135
Roger A, Gétaz M, Rasmann S, and Sanders IR. Identity and combinations of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal isolates influence plant resistance and insect preference. 2013. Ecological Entomology. 38: 330-338
Pellissier L, Ndiribe C, Dubuis A, Pradervand J-N, Salamin N, Guisan A, Rasmann S. Turnover of plant lineages shapes herbivore phylogenetic beta diversity along ecological gradients. 2013. Ecology Letters 16: 600-608
Vannette RL and Rasmann S. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi mediate belowground plant-herbivore interactions: a phylogenetic study. 2012. Functional Ecology. 26: 1033–1042.
Manson JS, Rasmann S, Halitschke R, Thomson JD, Agrawal AA. Cardenolides in nectar may be more than a consequence of allocation to other plant parts: a phylogenetic study of Asclepias. 2012. Functional Ecology. 26: 1100–1110.
Turlings TCJ, Hiltpold I, Rasmann S. The importance of root-produced volatiles as foraging cues for entomopathogenic nematodes. 2012. Plant and Soil 358: 51-60
Pellissier L, Fiedler K, Ndribe C, Dubuis A, Pradervand J-N, Guisan A, Rasmann S. Shifts in species richness, herbivore specialisation and plant resistance along elevation gradients. 2012. Ecology and Evolution 8:1818-25
Pellissier L, Rasmann S, Litsios G, Fiedler K, Dubuis A, Pottier J, Guisan A. 2012. High host-plant nitrogen content: a prerequisite for the evolution of ant-caterpillar mutualism? Journal of Evolutionary Biology 25: 1658-1666
Rasmann S, Ali J G, Helder J, van der Putten WH. Ecology and Evolution of Soil Nematode Chemotaxis. 2012. Journal of Chemical Ecology. 38: 615-628.
Rasmann S, Hiltpold I, Ali J. The Role of Root-Produced Volatile Secondary Metabolites in Mediating Soil Interactions. 2012. In Advances in Selected Plant Physiology Aspects (Montanaro G and Cichio B eds). InTech Open Access Publisher, Croatia. 269-290.
Rasmann S, De Vos M, and Jander G. Ecological role of transgenerational resistance against biotic threats. 2012. Plant signalling and behavior 7:4.
Rasmann S, De Vos M, Casteel C, Tian D, Sun JY, Agrawal A A, Felton G W, and Jander G. Herbivory in the previous generation primes plants for enhanced insect resistance. 2012. Plant Physiology. 158: 854-863.
Agrawal AA, Petschenka G, and Bingham RA, and Rasmann S. Toxic cardenolides: Chemical ecology and coevolution of specialized plant-herbivore interactions. 2012. New Phytologist 194: 28-45
Johnson MTJ and Rasmann S. The latitudinal herbivorydefence hypothesis takes a detour on the map. 2011. New Phytologist. 191: 589–592.
Rasmann S and Agrawal AA . Evolution of specialization: a phylogenetic study of host range in the red milkweed beetle (Tetraopes tetraophthalmus). 2011. The American Naturalist. 177: 728-737
Rasmann S and Agrawal AA. Latitudinal patterns in plant defense: evolution of cardenolides, their toxicity, and induction following herbivory. 2011. Ecology Letters 14: 476-483
Rasmann S, Bauerle T L, Poveda K, Vannette R. Predicting root defence against herbivores during succession. 2011. Functional Ecology 25: 368–37.
Rasmann S, Erwin AC, Halitschke R, Agrawal AA. Direct and indirect root defences of milkweed (Asclepias syriaca): trophic cascades, trade-offs and novel methods for studying subterranean herbivory. 2011. Journal of Ecology. 99:16–25
Agrawal AA, Conner JK, and Rasmann S. Tradeoffs and adaptive negative correlations in evolutionary ecology. 2010. In: Bell, Eanes, Futuyma, and Levinton (editors), Evolution After Darwin: the First 150 Years. Sinauer Associates. 243-268.
Rasmann S, Johnson MD, Agrawal AA. Induced responses to herbivory and jasmonate in three milkweed species. 2009. Journal of Chemical Ecology. 35: 1326-1334.
Agrawal AA, Fishbein M, Halitschke R, Hastings AP, Rabosky DL, Rasmann S. The tempo of trait evolution: evidence for adaptive radiation from the study of plant defense. 2009. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of USA 106: 18067–18072
Rasmann S, Agrawal AA, Cook SC, Erwin AC. Cardenolides, induced responses, and interactions between above and belowground herbivores in the milkweeds (Asclepias spp). 2009.Ecology 90: 2393-2404.
Rasmann S and AA Agrawal. Plant defense against herbivory: progress in identifying synergism,redundancy, and antagonism between resistance. 2009. Current Opinion in Plant Biology 12: 1-6.
Rasmann S and Agrawal AA. In defense of roots: a research agenda for studying plant resistance to belowground herbivory. 2008. Plant Physiology 146: 875-880.
Rasmann S and Turlings TCJ. First Insights into Specificity of Belowground Tritrophic Interactions. 2008. Oikos 117: 362–369.
Rasmann S and Turlings TCJ. Simultaneous feeding by aboveground and belowground herbivores affects the plant-mediated attraction of their respective natural enemies. Ecology Letters. 2007. 10: 926-936.
Rasmann S, Kollner TG, Degenhardt J, Hiltpold I, Toepfer S, Kuhlmann U, Gershenzon J, and Turlings TCJ. Recruitment of entomopathogenic nematodes by insect-damaged maize roots. 2005. Nature 434: 732-737.
Gotthard K, Margraf N, Rasmann S, and Rahier M. The evolution of larval foraging behaviour in response to host plant variation in a leaf beetle. 2005. Oikos 109: 503-512.
Last updated
01/21/2014