Education
| 2006 | PhD Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis. Advisor: Patricia G. Parker. |
| 2000 | MSc Entomology, University of Missouri-Columbia. Advisor: Robert W. Sites. |
| 1998 | BA cum laude Distinction in Biology, Saint John's University (MN). |
Research Interests:
I am broadly interested in the ecology and evolution of host-symbiont interactions. My research interests span the fields of behavioral ecology, coevolutionary biology, conservation biology, disease ecology, entomology, immunology, microbiology, ornithology, parasitology and population genetics. Taxa that are the subject of these studies include a variety of birds, insects (as hosts and parasites), bacteria, filarial nematodes, malarial parasites, plants, trypanosomes, and poxviruses. For my dissertation research I focused on the ecological and recent evolutionary dynamics of co-distributed ectoparasite species and their host, the Galápagos Hawk (Buteo galapagoensis), in the Galápagos Islands.
New research avenues I am pursuing as a postdoctoral fellow include:
1. Understanding latitudinal gradients and host-specificity of herbivorous insects, their parasitoids and tropical trees in Southeast Asia
2. Patterns of Wolbachia spp. infections in five ectoparasites of the Galápagos Hawk
3. Dissecting proximate and ultimate mechanisms for manipulation of defense signaling pathways by pathogens in a model plant-pathogen-herbivore system (Arabidopsis, Pseudomonas syringae and caterpillars)
4. Understanding transmission dynamics of directly transmitted ectoparasites (lice) of vertebrates (Galápagos hawks) through use of fine-scale molecular markers and epidemiological modeling
Publications:
Peters, M.D., Q-Y. Xiang, D.T. Thomas, J. Stucky & N.K. Whiteman. (In press) Genetic analyses of the federally endangered Echinacea laevigata using amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP): Inferences in population genetic structure and mating system. Conservation Genetics
Santiago-Alarcon, D., N.K. Whiteman, P.G. Parker, R.E. Ricklefs & G. Valkiunas. (In press) Patterns of parasite abundance and distribution in island populations of Galápagos endemic birds. Journal of Parasitology
Whiteman, N.K. & R.W. Sites. (In press) Aquatic insects as umbrella species for ecosystem protection in Death Valley National Park. Journal of Insect Conservation (Online First) [PDF]
Whiteman, N.K., R.T. Kimball & P.G. Parker. (2007) Co-phylogeography and comparative population genetics of the threatened Galápagos Hawk and three ectoparasite species: Ecology shapes population histories within parasite communities. Molecular Ecology 22:4759-4773 [cover feature © Heidi Snell and Noah Whiteman] [PDF available upon request]
Merkel, J., H. Jones, N.K. Whiteman, N. Gottdenker, H. Vargas, E. K. Travis, R.E. Miller & P.G.Parker. (2007) Microfilariae in Galapagos penguins (Spheniscus mendiculus) and Flightless cormorants (Phalacrocorax harrisi): Genetics, morphology and prevalence. Journal of Parasitology 93:495-503 [PDF]
Whiteman, N.K., P. Sánchez, J. Merkel, H. Klompen & P.G. Parker. (2006) Cryptic host specificity of an avian skin mite (Epidermoptidae) vectored by louseflies (Hippoboscidae) associated with two endemic Galápagos bird species. Journal of Parasitology 92:1218-1228 [PDF]
Parker, P.G., N.K. Whiteman & E.R. Miller. (2006) Conservation medicine on the Galápagos Islands: Partnering behavioral, population and veterinary scientists. Auk 123:625-638.[PDF]
Padilla, L., N.K. Whiteman, J. Merkel, K.D. Huyvaert & P.G. Parker. (2006) Health survey of seabirds on Genovesa Island, Galápagos. Ornithological Monographs 60:86-97.[PDF]
Whiteman, N.K., K.D. Matson, J.L. Bollmer & P.G. Parker. (2006) Disease ecology in the Galápagos Hawk (Buteo galapagoensis): Host genetic diversity, parasite load and natural antibodies. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B: Biological Sciences 273:797-804. [cover feature © Heidi Snell] [PDF]
Bollmer, J.L., R.T. Kimball, N.K. Whiteman, J.H. Sarasola & P.G. Parker. (2006) Phylogeography of the Galápagos hawk (Buteo galapagoensis): A recent arrival to the Galápagos Islands. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 39:237-247.[PDF]
Whiteman, N.K. & P.G. Parker. (2005) Using parasites to infer host population history: A new rationale for parasite conservation. Animal Conservation 8:175-181.[PDF]
Bollmer, J.L., N.K. Whiteman, M. Donaghy Cannon, J.C. Bednarz, T. de Vries & P.G. Parker. (2005) Population genetic structure of the Galápagos Hawk: Genetic monomorphism within isolated populations. Auk 122:1210-1224.[PDF]
Whiteman, N.K., S.J. Goodman, B.J. Sinclair, T. Walsh, A.A. Cunningham, L.D. Kramer & P.G. Parker. (2005) Establishment of the avian disease vector Culex quinquefasciatus Say 1823 (Diptera: Culicidae) on the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Ibis 147:843-847.[PDF]
Thiel, T., N.K. Whiteman, A. Tirapé, M. Ines Baquero, V. Cedeño, T. Walsh, G. Jimenez U. & P.G. Parker. (2005) Characterization of canarypox-like viruses infecting endemic birds in the Galápagos Islands. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 41:342-353.[PDF]
Whiteman, N.K. & P.G. Parker. (2004) Body condition and parasite load predict territory ownership in the Galápagos Hawk. Condor 106:916-922.[PDF]
Whiteman, N.K., D. Santiago-Alarcon, K.P. Johnson & P.G. Parker. (2004) Differences in straggling rates between two genera of dove lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera) reinforce population genetic and cophylogenetic patterns. International Journal for Parasitology 34:1113-1119.[PDF]
Whiteman, N.K. & P.G. Parker. (2004) Effects of host sociality on ectoparasite population biology. Journal of Parasitology 90:939-947.[PDF]
Whiteman, N.K. & R.W. Sites. (2003) Lentic beetles of the Missouri Prairie Region: Habitat and regional associations, with keys to the Hydradephaga. Transactions of the American Entomological Society 129:185-243.
Whiteman, N. & R.W. Sites (2001) Aquatic Polyphaga (Coleoptera) state records from the Prairie Region of Missouri. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 74:101-105.
Whiteman, N.K. & B.H.P. Landwer. (2000) Parasitoids reared from Polistes (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Polistinae) nests in Missouri, with a new state record of Elasmus polistis Burks (Hymenoptera: Elasmidae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 73:186-188.
Noah K. Whiteman 
