Tatyana Rand

Research Ecologist

tatyana.rand@ars.usda.gov

www.ars.usda.gov/pa/nparl/trand

Phone: 406.433.9439
Fax: 406.433.5038 
  
 
• Education • Current Research • Research Experience • Publications • Grants and Fellowships •
   
 

Additional Pages:  Research Projects,*Publications *   

*Taken from the Agricultural Research Information System (ARIS) database.

EDUCATION

CURRENT RESEARCH

I am a community ecologist with a broad interest in understanding the factors driving spatial variation in the importance of trophic interactions and its implications for conservation and agriculture. My current focus is on understanding how large-scale factors, such as changes in landscape structure and habitat configuration, interact with local scale biotic and abiotic variables to mediate the intensity and outcome of interaction based ecosystems services, such as pest suppression by natural enemies (i.e. biological control of arthropod pests and weeds). This information is critical to informing conservation biological control measures aimed at maximizing enemy impacts on key pests while minimizing potential non-target effects. I am currently working on three main projects.

1. Assessment of Collyria catoptron, a parasitoid wasp from China, as a potential classical biological control agent against wheat stem sawfly in N. America.

2. Effects of semi-natural grassland habitats on grass stem feeding herbivore-parasitoid food web dynamics and pest pressure in small grains

3. Effects of landscape structure on the diversity, composition and impact of natural enemy communities associated with key alfalfa pests

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

I have worked on trophic dynamics in a variety both natural and managed systems, from north Atlantic salt marshes and New Zealand beech forests, to agricultural landscapes in Germany and the USA. Prior to joining USDA in March, 2009, I was a research associate at the University of Canterbury, in New Zealand, where I worked on an ongoing collaborative project examining the impacts of habitat edges on the quantitative food web structure of leaf feeding Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) and their associated parasitoids (flies and wasps). For more information on past research projects, please see the Grants and Fellowships section below.

PUBLICATIONS:

• Rand, T.A., Senior, L. 2023. Honeydew associated with four common crop aphid species increases longevity of the parasitoid wasp, Bracon cephi (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). The Canadian Entomologist. 155:1-8. Article e20. https://doi.org/10.4039/tce.2023.5.

• West, N.M., Gaskin, J.F., Milan, J., Rand, T.A. 2022. High genetic diversity in the landscape suggests frequent seedling recruitment by Euphorbia virgata Waldst. & Kit. (leafy spurge) in the northern U.S. Biological Invasions. 25:645-652. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-022-02954-9.

• Pellissier, M.E., Rand, T.A., Murphy, M.A., Jabbour, R. 2022. Landscape composition and management history affect alfalfa weevil but not its parasitoid. Environmental Entomology. 51(5):892-900. https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvac057.

• Gaskin, J.F., Littlefield, J., Rand, T.A., West, N.M. 2022. Variation in reproductive mode across the latitudinal range of an invasive Russian knapweed. AoB Plants. 14(4). Article plac032. https://doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/plac032.

• Rand, T.A., Allen, B.L., Campbell, J.W., Jabro, J.D., Rana Dangi, S. 2022. Pests associated with two brassicaceous oilseeds and a cover crop mix under evaluation as fallow replacements in dryland production systems of the northern Great Plains. The Canadian Entomologist. 154(1). Article e27. https://doi.org/10.4039/tce.2022.14.

• Jabro, J.D., Allen, B.L., Rand, T.A., Rana Dangi, S., Campbell, J.W. 2021. Effect of previous crop roots on soil compaction in 2 yr rotations under a no-tillage system. Land. 10(2):202. https://doi.org/10.3390/land10020202.

• Peirce, E.S., Rand, T.A., Cockrell, D.M., Ode, P.J., Peairs, F.B. 2021. Effects of landscape composition on wheat stem sawfly (Hymenoptera: Cephidae) and its associated Braconid parasitoids. Journal of Economic Entomology. 114(1):72-81. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toaa287.

• Rand, T.A., Waters, D.K., Srygley, R.B., Branson, D.H. 2020. Tri-trophic interactions are resilient to large shifts in precipitation levels in a wheat agroecosystem. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment. 301:1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2020.106981.

• Rand, T.A., West, N.M., Russell, F., Louda, S.M. 2020. Post-dispersal factors influence recruitment patterns but do not override the importance of seed limitation in populations of native thistle. Oecologia. 193(1):143-153. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-020-04656-2.

• Rand, T.A., Richmond, C.E., Dougherty, E.T. 2020. Modeling the combined impacts of host plant resistance and biological control on the population dynamics of a major pest of wheat.  Pest Management Science. 76:2818-2828. DOI: 10.1002/ps.5830

• Rand, T.A., Titus, E.F., Waters, D.K. 2019. Do floral resources benefit the herbivorous sawfly, Cephus cinctus, a major pest of wheat in North America? Journal of Economic Entomology. 112(2):565-570. DOI: 10.1093/jee/toy408.
• Sylvain, Z.A., Branson, D.H., Rand, T.A., West, N.M., Espeland, E.K. 2019. Decoupled recovery of ecological communities after reclamation. PeerJ. DOI: 10.7717/peerj.7038.
• Sylvain, Z.A., Espeland, E.K., Rand, T.A., West, N.M., Branson, D.H. 2019. Oilfield reclamation recovers productivity but not composition of arthropod herbivores and predators. Environmental Entomology. 48(2):299-308. DOI: 10.1093/ee/nvz012.
• Karp, D.S., Chaplin-Kramer, R., Meehan, T.D., Martin, E.A., Declerck, F., Grab, H., Gratton, C., Hunt, L., Larsen, A.E., Rand, T.A., Et al 2018. Crop pests and predators exhibit inconsistent responses to surrounding landscape composition. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. p. 1-8. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1800042115.
• Rand, T.A., Lundgren, J.G. 2018. Quantifying temporal variation in the benefits of aphid honeydew for biological control of alfalfa weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Environmental Entomology. 48(1):141–146. DOI: 10.1093/ee/nvy165.
• Rand, T.A., Pellissier, M., Jabbour, R., Lundgren, J.G., Waters, D.K. 2018. Evaluating the establishment success of Microctonus aethiopoides (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a parasitoid of the alfalfa weevil (Coleoptera:Curculionidae), across the northern Great Plains of North America. The Canadian Entomologist. 150(2):274-277. DOI: 10.4039/tce.2017.65.
• Espeland, E.K., Hendrickson, J.R., Toledo, D.N., West, N.M., Rand, T.A. 2017. Soils determine early revegetation establishment with and without cover crops in northern mixed grass prairie after energy development. Ecological Restoration. 35(4):311-319.
• Peralta, G., Frost, C.M., Didham, R.K., Rand, T.A., Tylianakis, J.M. 2017. Non-random food-web assembly at habitat edges increases connectivity and functional redundancy. Ecology. 98(4):995–1005. DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1656.
• Rand, T.A. 2017. Assessing the role of generalist predators in the biological control of alfalfa weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). The Canadian Entomologist. 149(4):525- 533. DOI: 10.4039/tce.2017.9.
• Bruno, J.F., Rand, T.A., Emery, N.C., Bertness, M.D. 2017. Facilitative and competitive interaction components among New England salt marsh plants. PeerJ. 5:e4049. DOI: 10.7717/peerj.4049.
• Cockrell, D.M., Griffin-Nolan, R.J., Rand, T.A., Altilmisani, A., Ode, P., Peairs, F. 2017. Host plants of the wheat stem sawfly (Hymenoptera: Cephidae). Environmental Entomology. DOI: 10.1093/ee/nvx104.
• Rand, T.A., Richmond, C.E., Dougherty, E. 2017. Using matrix population models to inform biological control management of the wheat stem sawfly, Cephus cinctus. Biological Control. 109:27-36. DOI: 10.1016/j.biocontrol.2017.03.007.
• Frost, C.M., Peralta, G., Rand, T.A., Didham, R.K., Varsani, A., Tylianakis, J.M. 2016. Apparent competition drives community-wide parasitism rates and changes in host abundance across ecosystem boundaries. Nature Communications. 7:12644. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12644.
• Mogren, C.L., Rand, T.A., Lundgren, J.G. 2016. The effects of crop intensification on the diversity of native pollinator communities. Environmental Entomology, 45(4), 865–872. DOI: 10.1093/ee/nvw066.
• Rand, T.A., Louda, S.M., Bradley, K., Crider, K. 2015. Effects of invasive knapweed (Centaurea stoebe subsp. micranthos) on a threatened native thistle (Cirsium pitcheri) vary with environment and life stage. Botany. 93(9):543-558. DOI: 10.1139/cjb-2015-0032.
• Rand, T.A., Morrill, W.L., Runyon, J.B., Hoelmer, K.A., Shanower, T.G., Littlefield, J.L., Weaver, D.K. 2015. Assessing phenological synchrony between the Chinese sawfly, Cephus fumipennis, its egg-larval parasitoid, Collyria catoptron, and the North American sawfly, Cephus cinctus: Implications for biological control. The Canadian Entomologist. 148(4):482-492. DOI: 10.4039/tce.2015.64.
• Rand, T.A., Waters, D.K., Shanower, T.G. 2015. Preliminary evaluation of the parasitoid wasp, Collyria catoptron, as a potential biological control agent against the wheat stem sawfly, Cephus cinctus, in North America. Biocontrol Science and Technology. 26(1):61-71. DOi: 10.1080/09583157.2015.1076377.
• Lundgren, J.G., McDonald, T., Rand, T.A., and Fausti, S.W. 2015. Spatial and numerical relationships of arthropod communities associated with key pests of maize. Journal of Applied Entomology. 139:446-456. DOI: 10.1111/jen.12215.
• Frost, C., Didham, R.K., Rand, T.A., Peralta, G., Tylianakis, J.M. 2015. Communitylevel net spillover of natural enemies from managed to natural forest. Ecology. 96(1):193-202. DOI: 10.1890/14-0696.1. (PDF)
• Guadalupe, P., Frost, C.M., Rand, T.A., Didham, R.K., Tylianakis, J.M. 2014. Complementarity and redundancy of interactions enhance attack rates and spatial stability in host-parasitoid food webs. Ecology. 95(7):1888-1896. DOI: 10.1890/13-1569.1. (PDF)
• Rand, T.A., Waters, D.K., Blodgett, S.L., Knodel, J.J., Harris, M.O. 2014. Increased area of a highly suitable host crop increases herbivore pressure in intensified agricultural landscapes. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment. 186:135-143. (PDF; 788 KB)
• Grez, A.A., Rand, T.A., Zaviezo, T., Castillo-Serey, F. 2013. Land use intensification differentially benefits alien over native predators in agricultural landscape mosaics. Diversity and Distributions. 19(7): 749-759; DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12027.  (PDF; 389 KB)
• Rand, T.A. 2013. Host density drives spatial variation in parasitism of the alfalfa weevil, Hypera postica, across dryland and irrigated alfalfa cropping systems. Environmental Entomology. 42(1):116-122. (PDF; 397 KB)
• Rand, T.A., Waters, D.K., Blodgett, S.L., Knodel, J.J., Harris, M.O. 2014. Increased
  area of a highly suitable host crop increases herbivore pressure in intensified
  agricultural landscapes. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment. 186:135-143. DOI: 10.1016/j.agee.2014.01.022. (PDF)
• Blitzer, E.J., Dorman, C.F., Holzschuh, A., Rand, T.A., Tscharntke, T., and Klein, A.-M. 2012. Spillover of functionally important organisms between managed and natural habitats. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment. 146:34-43. (PDF; 588 KB) 
• Rand, T.A., Louda, S. 2012. Exotic weevil invasion increases floral herbivore community density, function, and impact on a native plant. Oikos. 121(1):85-94. (PDF; 226 KB) 
• Rand, T.A., Waters, D.K., Shanower, T.R., and Berzonsky, W.A. 2012. Effects of genotypic variation in stem solidity on parasitism of a grass-mining insect. Basic and Applied Ecology. 13(3):250-259. (PDF; 423 KB)
• Tscharntke, T., Tylianakis, J.M., Rand, T.A., Didham, R.K., Fahrig, L., Batary, P., Bengtsson, J., Clough, Y., Crist, T.O., Dormann, C.F. 2012. Landscape moderation of biodiversity patterns and processes - seven hypotheses. Biological Reviews. 87(3):661-685. (PDF; 1017 KB) 
• Louda, S.M., Rand, T.A., Kula, A.A.R., Arnett, A.E., West, N.M., Tenhumberg, B. 2011. Priority resource access mediates competitive intensity between an invasive weevil and native floral herbivores. Biological Invasions. 13:2233-2248. (PDF; 249 KB) 
• Rand, T.A., Van-Veen, F.F., Tscharntke, T. 2011. Landscape complexity differentially benefits generalist fourth, over specialized third, trophic level natural enemies. Ecography. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0587.2011.07016.x. 35(2):97-104.  (PDF; 249 KB)
• Rand, T.A., Waters, D.K., and Shanower, T.R. 2011. Unexpectedly high levels of parasitism of wheat stem sawfly larvae in post-cutting diapause chambers. Canadian Entomology. 143(5):455-459. (PDF; 82 KB)
• Tylianakis, J.M., Rand, T.A., Kahmen, A., Klein, A.-M., Buchmann, N., Perner, J. & Tscharntke, T. 2008. Resource heterogeneity moderates the biodiversity-function relationship in real world ecosystems. PLoS Biology: 6(5):e122 (PDF; 349 KB)
• Didham, R.K., Tylianakis, J.M., Gemmell, N.J, Rand, T.A., and R.M. Ewers.  2007. Interactive effects of habitat modification and species invasion on native species decline. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 22:489-496. (PDF; 808 KB)
• Rand, T.A., and T. Tscharntke.  2007.  Contrasting effects of natural habitat loss on generalist and specialist aphid natural enemies. Oikos. 116:1353-1362. DOI: 10.1111/j.0030-1299.2007.15871.x (PDF; 105 KB)
• Russell, F.L., Louda, S.M., Rand, T.A. and S.D. Kachman. 2007. Variation in herbivore-mediated indirect effects of an invasive plant on a native plant. Ecology 88:413-423. (PDF; 241 KB)
• Tscharntke, T., Bommarco, R., Clough, Y., Crist, T.O, Kleijn, D., Rand, T.A., Tylianakis, J.M., van Nouhuys, S., and S. Vidal. 2007. Conservation biological control and enemy diversity on a landscape scale. Biological Control. 43:294-309. (PDF; 763 KB)
• Tscharntke, T., Hochberg, M.E., Rand, T.A.,  Resh, V.H., and Krauss, J. 2007. Author Sequence and Credit for Contributions in Multiauthored Publications. PLoS Biology. 5(1):e18. (PDF; 80 KB)
• Rand, T.A. and S.M. Louda.  2006.  Spillover of agriculturally subsidized predators as a potential threat to native insect herbivores in fragmented landscapes. Conservation Biology. 20:1720-1729. (PDF; 2005 KB)
• Rand, T.A. and S.M. Louda.  2006.  Invasive insect abundance varies across the biogeographic distribution of a native host plant.  Ecological Applications. 16:877-890. (PDF; 285 KB)
• Rand, T. A., Tylianakis, J. M. and T. Tscharntke. 2006.  Spillover edge effects: the dispersal of agriculturally subsidized insect predators into adjacent natural habitats.  Ecology Letters. 9:603-614. (PDF; 250 KB)
• Louda, S.M., Rand, T.A., Russell, F.L. and A.E. Arnett.  2005.  Assessment of ecological risks in weed biocontrol: input from retrospective ecological analyses. Biological Control. 35:253-264. (PDF; 731 KB)
• Tscharntke, T., Rand, T.A., and F. Bianchi. 2005.  The landscape context of trophic interactions: insect spillover across the crop-noncrop interface. Annales Zoologici Fennici. 43:421-432. (PDF; 234 KB)
• Louda, S.M., Rand, T.A., Arnett, A.E., McClay, A.S., Shea, K. and A. K. McEachern. 2005. Evaluation of ecological risk to populations of a threatened plant from an invasive biocontrol insect.  Ecological Applications. 15:234-349. (PDF; 251 KB)
• Rand, T.A., Russell, F.L. and S.M. Louda.  2004.  Local vs. landscape scale indirect effects of an invasive weed on native plants.  Weed Technology. 18:1250-1254. (PDF; 58 KB)
• Rand, T.A. and S.M. Louda.  2004.  Exotic weed invasion increases the susceptibility of native plants to attack by a biocontrol herbivore.  Ecology. 85:1548-1554. (PDF; 561 KB)
• Rand, T.A.  2004.  Competition, facilitation and compensation for insect herbivory in an annual salt marsh forb. Ecology. 85:2046-2052. (PDF; 171 KB)
• Bruno, J.F., Kennedy, C., Rand, T.A., and M.B. Grant. 2004.  Landscape-scale patterns of biological invasions in shoreline plant communities.  Oikos. 107: 531-540. (PDF; 245 KB)
• Rand, T.A.  2003. Herbivore mediated apparent competition between two salt marsh forbs. Ecology. 84:1517-1526. (PDF; 127 KB)
• Louda, S.M., Arnette, A.E., Rand, T.A. and F. L. Russell.  2003. Invasiveness of some biological control insects and adequacy of their ecological risk assessment and regulation.  Conservation Biology. 17:73-82. (PDF; 386 KB)
• Rand, T.A.  2002.  Variation in insect herbivory across a salt marsh tidal gradient influences plant survival and distribution. Oecologia. 132:549-558. (PDF; 120 KB) DOI: 10.1007/s00442-002-0989-2
• Rand, T.A. 2000.  Seed dispersal, habitat suitability and the distribution of halophytes across a salt marsh tidal gradient. Journal of Ecology. 88:608-621. (PDF; 558 KB)
• Rand, T.A.  1999.  Effects of environmental context on the susceptibility of Atriplex patula to attack by herbivorous beetles. Oecologia. 121:39-46. DOI: 10.1007/s004420050905
• Brewer, S. J., Rand, T.A., Levine, J.M. and M. D. Bertness.  1998.  Biomass allocation, clonal dispersal, and competitive success in three salt marsh plants. Oikos. 82:347-353.

RESEARCH GRANTS AND FELLOWSHIPS

• 2009-2012 Royal Society of New Zealand, Marsden Grant. "An unnatural nexus: do food webs merge at the interface between natural and managed habitats?" J.M. Tylianakis (PI), T.A. Rand (Co-PI), and R.K. Didham (Co-PI). University of Canterbury, New Zealand.
• 2004-2006 Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellowship: "Consequences of habitat loss for the structure and function of native herbivore- parasitoid food webs." University of Goettingen, Germany.
• 2000-2003 USDA, NRI Competitive Grants Program Award: "Herbivore-mediated indirect effects of an exotic thistle on native thistles." S.M. Louda (PI): T.A. Rand, (Involved Collaborator; co-wrote proposal). University of Nebraska, USA.
• 2000-2002 David H. Smith Conservation Research Postdoctoral Fellowship: "Effects of landscape context on the susceptibility of native plants to the colonization and impact of an invasive biocontrol insect in grassland preserves." University of Nebraska, USA.

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