Research interests:
Animal behavior, Population ecology
E-mail: okuyama@ntu.edu.tw
Lab: Insect Population Laboratory
Tel: +886 2 3366 5282
Academic:
2002-2006 Ph D. University of Florida Department of Zoology
1999-2001 MS Clemson University Department of Mathematical Sciences
1996-1999 MS University of Nebraska - Lincoln School of Biological Sciences
1993-1996 Miami University, Department of Zoology
Experience:
2012-present Associate Professor, NTU
2008-2012 Assistant Professor, NTU
2006-2008 Postdoctoral Fellow , Rice University Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Research:
Species interactions and community dynamics
I am broadly interested in animal behavior and community ecology. Simultaneously considering behavioral and community level processes provides us more comprehensive understanding of the ecological processes than studying each level separately because community dynamics are inevitably affected by individual behavior, and individual fitness is also affected by the community dynamics. Currently ongoing projects work with spiders, mites, and bean beetles (not all of them in one experiment).
Ecological consequences of pesticide resistance
Pesticide resistance provides an interesting opportunity to test ecological and evolutionary theory in the field. Furthermore, such information is useful for the management of pesticide resistance. Currently we work with the oriental fruit fly to test whether the evolved resistance can affect individual fitness through their ecological interactions, and whether the resistant and susceptible populations differentially affect the dynamics of community they belong to.
Courses:
Ecology
Research Methods in Ecology
Ecological Modelling