About

Jeremy C. Andersen is an Assistant Professor interested in using molecular methods to inform the study of invasive insects and weeds, to more successfully implement biological control programs, and to inform insect conservation efforts.

Research topics

• Biology
• Evolutionary biology
• Ecology
• Computer Science
• Zoology
• Genetics
• Computational biology
• Telecommunications
• Botany

Selected publications

• Comparison of environmental DNA and bulk DNA metabarcoding for assessing terrestrial arthropod diversity across three habitat types on Guam

  bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2026-02-04 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract DNA based methods offer a rapid and cost-effective way for detecting species occurrence and monitoring biodiversity; among them bulk DNA metabarcoding is well-established, and recently developed environmental DNA (eDNA)-based methods offer a non-destructive alternative. With a goal to develop suitable methods for assessing insect biodiversity in ecosystems for which DNA reference libraries are not well developed and incomplete, such as remote islands, we compared established bulk DNA metabarcoding methods with eDNA across three replicated terrestrial ecosystem types (limestone forest, degraded forest, and grassland) in Guam. Using two mitochondrial COI primer pairs, we performed bulk DNA metabarcoding of standard entomological collection methods (malaise traps, pan traps, vegetation beating), and compared the assessment of biodiversity with that from different eDNA sources (flowers, spider webs, leaves, tree trunks). In our samples, eDNA and bulk DNA metabarcoding both detected a large proportion of overall taxa (OTUs, 86.6% and 60.3%, respectively). Although DNA metabarcoding detected significantly more taxa, eDNA proved to be a reasonable non-destructive alternative. As expected, because of limitations in existing reference databases for remote habitats, species-level identification was achieved for only a few OTUs. Overall, the sampling approach was the dominant driver of arthropod diversity, explaining ∼17% of the observed variation, while habitat type accounted for ∼4%. Thus, each sampling approach captured some unique diversity signals and contributed to the complementary effect of maximizing detection. For rapid insect biodiversity surveys of terrestrial arthropods, we recommend an integrated metabarcoding approach, and in sensitive habitats where insect capture is undesirable, eDNA offers a powerful alternative to monitor diversity and community change.

  PublisherDOI

• Topography structures of arthropod communities revealed by leaf-derived environmental DNA on O’ahu, Hawai’i

  bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2026-04-10

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Arthropod communities on oceanic islands are shaped by spatial isolation, environmental gradients, and biological invasions, yet their structure remains difficult to resolve due to incomplete taxonomic coverage. In particular, it remains unclear (i) how non-native arthropods can influence community composition and (ii) how they interact with native and non-native plants. To answer the first question, we used leaf-derived environmental DNA (eDNA) to characterize arthropod communities across elevational gradients on five ridges on O’ahu, using the native tree Metrosideros polymorpha as a standardized plant. To understand the second question, we compared leaf-derived eDNA from Metrosideros polymorpha (Native), Acacia koa (native), and Psidium cattleianum (invasive), co-occurring in two ridges on O’ahu. Additionally, to overcome limitations of reference databases, we applied NIClassify to infer native versus introduced status without requiring species-level identification. Across 96 leaf samples (with 851 Arthropod ASVs), we found arthropod richness increased with elevation, while the proportion of introduced taxa declined significantly. Community composition was primarily structured by ridge, with strong distance–decay relationships indicating high spatial turnover in both native and non-native assemblages. In contrast, plant species effects were context dependent and did not show a consistent native versus invasive signal. Threshold analyses identified a community transition (native vs introduced) near 500 m elevation. These results show that plant-derived eDNA can resolve spatial and environmental structuring of arthropod communities while capturing invasion dynamics under incomplete taxonomic knowledge. Classifier-based inference enables community-level ecological interpretation beyond reference-limited taxa, providing a scalable framework for biodiversity monitoring in data-poor systems.

  PublisherDOI

• Differences in Diel Timing of Flight May Reduce Hybridization Between Native and Introduced Geometrid Moth Congeners

  Journal of Insect Behavior · 2025-01-23

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Limited establishment from widespread releases of the knotweed psyllid Aphalara itadori, a biological control agent for knotweeds in the USA

  BioControl · 2025-11-09 · 1 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• First field validation of <i>Ontsira mellipes</i> (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) as a potential biological control agent for <i>Anoplophora glabripennis</i> (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in South Carolina

  Florida Entomologist · 2025-01-01 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract The Asian longhorned beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), is an invasive woodboring beetle present in several areas in North America. The typical management strategy for this pest involves eradicating incipient A . glabripennis populations from a detected area by removing all infested and high-risk hosts, and therefore, all beetles. While effective, this method may not work in all areas, particularly those that are perpetually wet or swampy and where access for tree removal is limited. Biological control may be a viable and complimentary management strategy in these areas, as natural enemies act on a landscape scale rather than individual trees. Recently, a native parasitoid, Ontsira mellipes Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), was found parasitizing A . glabripennis and shows effective host-finding behavior under controlled conditions. The active A . glabripennis infestation in South Carolina, U.S. provides an opportunity to conduct the first field validation of the ability of O. mellipes to find and use A . glabripennis as a host. Adult O. mellipes were released on several trees infested with A . glabripennis in the South Carolina quarantine zone in summer 2023, and after 3 weeks trees were destructively sampled. Two A . glabripennis larvae were found to be attacked by O. mellipes , a result confirmed by DNA sequencing. This represents the first field validation that laboratory-reared O. mellipes can and will attack and use wild A . glabripennis as hosts. While additional research is needed to identify optimal release timing, and to determine the efficacy of O. mellipes as a biological control agent, these results suggest this strategy may be a useful supplement to the current A . glabripennis management strategy.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Ash survival and growth in response to emerald ash borer invasion in Massachusetts riparian forests: Impacts of biological control

  Forest Ecology and Management · 2025-06-30

  article
  PublisherDOI

• The Effect of Myiasis on Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) Body Condition, Movement, and Habitat Use at Camp Edwards in Massachusetts

  Northeastern Naturalist · 2024-07-23 · 3 citations

  article

  In 2020, natural resource managers at Camp Edwards, Barnstable County, MA, observed Terrapene carolina carolina (Eastern Box Turtle) individuals infected by myiasis, where parasitic flesh flies larviposit into the living tissue of a host. The hypothesized parasite was Dexosarcophaga cistudinis, but its impacts on the host's body condition, movement, and habitat use were unknown. Our objectives were to identify the parasite at Camp Edwards and to compare the body condition, movement, and habitat characteristics at capture locations of Eastern Box Turtles for infected and noninfected individuals. We radio-tracked turtles weekly and encountered 48 individuals from May to August 2022 at Camp Edwards, MA. Upon capture, we recorded turtle infection status, mass, carapace length, shell surface temperature, GPS location, and habitat characteristics of the capture location. We confirmed D. cistudinis as the parasite and found that myiasis-infected turtles had a significantly higher shell temperature (27.92 ± 5.28 °C) than noninfected turtles (26.77 ± 5.64 °C). However, we did not find an effect of myiasis on body condition, habitat use, or average daily distance moved. Collectively, our results suggest that infected turtles may exhibit behavioral fever, a mechanism by which ectotherms move to warmer microclimates to raise their body temperature in response to infections. Eastern Box Turtles at Camp Edwards may be able to use behavioral fever in response to myiasis infection because of the habitat mosaic made available through detailed habitat-management regimes.

  PublisherDOI

• Mad Resistance/Mad Alternatives

  2024-09-12

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  Mad resistance and activism are partly about protest, but they are also about building alternatives. This chapter charts examples of direct-action strategies for creating alternatives beyond the mainstream.

  PublisherDOI

• Pest control services on farms vary among bird species on diversified, low-intensity farms

  Global Ecology and Conservation · 2023-03-30 · 12 citations

  articleOpen access

  Avian species provide pest control services in some agricultural systems, which may incentivize farmers to conserve natural habitats for native biodiversity. A critical component of this equation, however, is verifying that avian species are consuming potential pest species in the agricultural ecosystems. We used a DNA metabarcoding approach to determine the frequency of pest presence in songbird fecal samples collected from birds caught on diversified, low-intensity farms in New England, USA, during the bird breeding season. Twelve species of insect pest were identified in fecal samples, and across all songbird species 12.6% of samples included DNA from at least one pest. Frequency of pest presence depended on songbird species, with Common Yellowthroats and Gray Catbirds eating pests more frequently than Song Sparrows. Pests were also more frequently found in fecal samples collected from hatch-year birds and birds caught later in the year. Although we observed a lower frequency of pest consumption than observed in previous comparable research, growers can likely improve pest control by songbirds by promoting the woody, non-crop habitat types preferred by insectivorous species, in our system specifically Gray Catbirds and Common Yellowthroats.

  PublisherDOI

• Establishment and postrelease recovery of <i>Laricobius nigrinus</i> and <i>Laricobius osakensis</i> (Coleoptera: Derodontidae), released for biological control of <i>Adelges tsugae</i> (Hemiptera: Adelgidae), in the Northeastern United States

  Environmental Entomology · 2023-07-26 · 4 citations

  article

  Hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), Adelges tsugae Annand, is a major forest pest in the eastern United States responsible for killing millions of eastern hemlock, Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carrière and Carolina hemlock, T. caroliniana Engelmann. The US biological control program for HWA has largely invested in the rearing and release of Laricobius nigrinus Fender and more recently L. osakensis Montgomery and Shiyake. Though the establishment of L. nigrinus has been well-documented in the southern, mid-Atlantic, and coastal portions of the northeastern United States, documentation in interior areas of the northeastern United States is limited. Establishment of L. osakensis in the northeastern United States has not yet been documented. Release locations in the northeastern United States were surveyed for L. nigrinus and L. osakensis establishment to examine the relationship between establishment success and winter temperatures, as winter minimum temperatures likely limit the northern range of introduced Laricobius species. Our results suggest that L. nigrinus establishment is limited by winter minimum temperatures and that the probability of establishment declines as absolute minimum temperature declines. We found L. nigrinus established at sites in Maine, New York, and Pennsylvania, but did not recover any L. nigrinus in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, or Vermont. Similarly, we found L. osakensis established at sites in New York and Pennsylvania and recovered individuals in Maine, though further sampling is necessary to confirm presence of the F3 generation. We also report the first field observation of reproduction of silver flies, Leucotaraxis argenticollis (Diptera: Chamaemyiidae), released predator of HWA, in the eastern United States.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Joseph S. Elkinton

  University of Massachusetts Amherst

  31 shared

• Nathan P. Havill

  Northern Research Station

  17 shared

• Brian P. Griffin

  Cleveland Clinic

  11 shared

• Adalgisa Caccone

  Yale University

  10 shared

• Nicholas J. Mills

  University of California, Berkeley

  8 shared

• Rodger Gwiazdowski

  University of Massachusetts Amherst

  7 shared

• Benjamin B. Normark

  University of Massachusetts Amherst

  7 shared

• Jennifer L. Chandler

  US Forest Service

  6 shared

Labs

• Jeremy C. AndersenPI

Education

• PhD, Environmental Science Policy and Management

  University of California Berkeley

  2015

• MS, Organismic and Evolutionary Biology

  University of Massachusetts Amherst

  2009