Insect Systematics and Biodiversity

Jaco Le Roux

E-mail: roux [at] hawaii [dot] edu
Phone:
Office (808) 956-6740
Home (808) 228-4686
Fax (808) 956-3894

I completed my Bachelors in Biology in 1999 at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. Thereafter, I pursued a B.Sc. (Honors) with specialization in microbial ecology. In 2003, I finished my Masters degree, in the same department, also in microbial ecology and biodiversity. My M.Sc. research involved the systematic characterization of rhizobial symbionts associated with the legume genus Lotononis, indigenous to South Africa. I received my Ph.D. at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 2007. My Ph.D. research focused mainly on assessing genetic diversities and population genetic structure of invasive plant species. I used three different invaders in the Hawaiian Islands as model systems--Pennisetum setaceum, Senecio madagascariensis and Miconia calvescens--in order to address questions related to their invasive success and history, evolutionary biology, and ecology. I am currently a Junior Researcher at the University of Hawaii. My research encompasses various genetic aspects of invasive insect species (e.g. determining native provenances, systematics, phylogeography) as well as conservation genetics of endangered lepidopteran species (evolutionary significant units, phylogeography).

Education

2003 - 2007: University ofHawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI. Doctor of Philosophy. Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences. Dissertation title: Phylogeography and molecular ecology of invasive species in the Hawaiian Islands.

2000 - 2002: University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa. Magister Scientia (cum laude). Microbiology. Dissertation title: The diversity of root nodule bacteria associated with indigenous Lotononis spp. as determined by sodium dodecyl-sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and 16S rDNA sequencing.

1999 - 2000: University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa. Bachelor of Science (Honours) (cum laude). Microbiology with specialization in microbial systematics and taxonomy.

1997 - 1999: University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa. Bachelor of Science. Major: Microbiology.

2003 - present: Junior Researcher . Department of Plant and Environmental Protection Services, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI. Projects: Phylogeography and molecular systematics of various insect taxa.

2003 - 2007: Research Assistant. Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI. Project: Phylogeography and molecular ecology of invasive species in the Hawaiian Islands.

2006: Environmental impact assessment (consultant). Bishop Museum, Honolulu, HI. Project: Population and biodiversity studies of endemic Wekiu bug (Nysius wekiuicola) on Mauna Kea volcano.

July 2002 - September 2002: Supervisor (consultant). Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Pretoria, South Africa, in collaboration with the European Union (EU). Project: Epidemiology of E. coli; determining the origin of bacterial contamination in drinking water in rural Africa areas and its relation to infant diseases.

2001 - 2002: Part-time tutor. Department for Microbiology and Plant Pathology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa. Teaching undergraduate course in molecular and cellular biology.

Le Roux, J.J., Hall A.N., Jaftha J.B. and Steyn, P.L. (2001) A Novel Bacillus species isolated from leguminous root-nodules. In : Proceedings of the 40 th Annual Conference of the Microscopy Society of Southern Africa: Microscopy Society of Southern Africa , pp 43-44.

Le Roux, J. J., Wieczorek, A. M., Ramadan, M. M. and Tran, C. T. (2006) The native provenance of invasive fireweed (Senecio madagascariensis Poir.) in the Hawaiian islands as inferred from phylogenetic analysis. Diversity and Distributions 12 : 694–702

Le Roux, J. J. and Wieczorek, A. M. (2006) Isolation and characterization of polymorphic microsatellite markers from fireweed, Senecio madagascariensis Poir. (Asteraceae). Molecular Ecology Notes 7 : 327-329

Le Roux, J. J., Wieczorek, A. M., Wright, M. G. and Tran, C. T. (2007) Super-genotype, global monoclonality defies the odds of nature. PLoS ONE 2 (7): e590

Le Roux, J. J. and Wieczorek, A. M. (2008) Isolation and characterization of polymorphic microsatellite markers from velvet tree, Miconia calvescens DC. (Melastomataceae). Molecular Ecology Resources (In Press )

Le Roux, J.J., Meyer J-Y, and Wieczorek A.M. (2008) Genetic diversity and structure of the invasive tree Miconia calvescens in Pacific islands. Diversity and Distributions (In Press).

Le Roux, J.J. and Wieczorek, A.M. (In Review) Molecular systematics and population genetics of biological invasions: towards a better understanding of invasive species management. Annals of Applied Biology.

Le Roux, J.J. and Wieczorek, A.M. (In Review) Genetic insights into invasive fireweed, a member of the Senecio madagascariensis Poir. species complex. Heredity

Le Roux, J.J. and Rubinoff, D. (In Review) Molecular data reveals California as the source of an undescribed Aster-yellows (phytoplasma) transmitting leafhopper (Macrosteles sp. nr. severini Hamilton) in Hawaii. Annals of Applied Biology.