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Northern Research Station
11 Campus Blvd., Suite 200
Newtown Square, PA 19073
(610) 557-4017
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Scientists & Staff

Patrick Tobin

Title: Research Entomologist
Unit: Ecology and Management of Invasive Species and Forest Ecosystems
Address: Northern Research Station
180 Canfield St.
Morgantown, WV 26505
Phone: 304-285-1514
E-mail: Contact Patrick Tobin

Jump to Publications

Education

Ph.D. (2002) Entomology with minors in Statistics and Operations Research, Penn State University, University Park, PA
M.S. (1997) Entomology, Penn State University, University Park, PA
B.S. (1991) Environmental Health Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA

Civic & Professional Affiliations

Faculty member, Population Ecology Section, Faculty of 1000
Editor, Environmental Entomology
Chair, Gypsy Moth Slow-the-Spread Project Technical Committee
Research Representative to the National Gypsy Moth Management Board
Ecological Society of America
Entomological Society of America

Current Research

I am a population ecologist with specific training and experience in quantitative biology, theoretical ecology, and the analysis of spatial data. My primary research interest is the study of ecological, biological, and meteorological factors that influence the abundance of populations over spatial and temporal scales, with particular attention to the gypsy moth and other nonindigenous species in forest ecosystems.

Why is This Important

Invasions by nonindigenous species impose considerable economic and ecological threats to forest ecosystems in the United States. My research seeks to understand the population dynamics and spatiotemporal ecology of biological invasions, and this information is used to formulate appropriate and feasible management strategies.

Featured Publications

Tobin, Patrick C.; Berec, Ludek; Liebhold, Andrew M. 2011. Exploiting Allee effects for managing biological invasions. Ecology Letters. 14: 615-624.
Tobin, Patrick C.; Nagarkatti, Sudha; Loeb, Greg; Saunders, Michael C. 2008. Historical and projected interactions between climate change and insect voltinism in a multivoltine species. Global Change Biology. 14: 951-957.
Liebhold, Andrew M.; Tobin, Patrick C. 2008. Population ecology of insect invasions and their management. Annual Review of Entomology. 53: 387-408.
Tobin, Patrick C.; Whitmire, Stephanie L.; Johnson, Derek M.; Bjornstad, Ottar N.; Liebhold, Andrew M. 2007. Invasion speed is affected by geographical variation in the strength of Allee effects. Ecology Letters. 10: 36-43.
Tobin, Patrick C.; Blackburn, Laura M. 2007. Slow the Spread: a national program to manage the gypsy moth. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-6. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 109 p.

Additional Online Publications

Suckling, David Maxwell; Tobin, Patrick C.; McCullough, Deborah G.; Herms, Daniel A. 2012. Combining tactics to exploit allee effects for eradication of alien insect populations. Journal of Economic Entomology. 105(1): 1-13.
Turcotte, Richard M.; Elliott, Thomas R.; Fajvan, Mary Ann; Park, Yong-Lak; Snider, Daniel A.; Tobin, Patrick C. 2012. Effects of ice storm damage on hardwood survival and growth in Ohio. Northern Journal of Applied Forestry. 29(2): 53-59.
Tobin, Patrick C.; Bai, Barry B.; Eggen, Donald A.; Leonard, Donna S. 2012. The ecology, geopolitics, and economics of managing Lymantria dispar in the United States. International Journal of pest Management. 58(3): 195-210.
Bigsby, Kevin M.; Tobin, Patrick C.; Sills, Erin O. 2011. Anthropogenic drivers of gypsy moth spread. Biological Invasions. 13: 2077-2090.
Vercken, E.; Kramer, A.M.; Tobin, P.C.; Drake, J.M. 2011. Critical patch size generated by Allee effect in gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.). Ecology Letters. 14: 179-186.
Tobin, Patrick C.; Zhang, Aijun; Onufrieva, Ksenia; Leonard, Donna. 2011. Field evaluation of effect of temperature on release of Disparlure from a pheromone-baited trapping system used to monitor gypsy moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae). Journal of Economic Entomology. 104(4): 1265-1271.
Hajek, Ann E.; Tobin, Patrick C. 2011. Introduced pathogens follow the invasion front of a spreading alien host. Journal of Animal Ecology. 80: 1217-1226. Includes supporting information pages.
Chen, Shi; Fleischer, Shelby J.; Tobin, Patrick C.; Saunders, Michael C. 2011. Projecting insect voltinism under high and low greenhouse gas emission conditions. Environmental Entomology. 40(3): 505-515.
Blackburn, Laura M.; Leonard, Donna S.; Tobin, Patrick C. 2011. The use of Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki for managing gypsy moth populations under the Slow the Spread Program, 1996-2010, relative to the distributional range of threatened and endangered species. Res. Pap. NRS-18. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 20 p.
Tobin, Patrick C.; Van Stappen, Julie; Blackburn, Laura M. 2011. Visitation rates to the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore and the introduction of the non-native species Lymantria dispar (L.). In: McManus, Katherine A; Gottschalk, Kurt W., eds. 2010. Proceedings. 21st U.S. Department of Agriculture interagency research forum on invasive species 2010; 2010 January 12-15; Annapolis, MD. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-75. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 134.
Tobin, Patrick C.; Diss-Torrance, Andrea; Blackburn, Laura M.; Brown, Brian D. 2011. What does "local" firewood buy you? Managing the risk of invasive species introduction. In: McManus, Katherine A; Gottschalk, Kurt W., eds. 2010. Proceedings. 21st U.S. Department of Agriculture interagency research forum on invasive species 2010; 2010 January 12-15; Annapolis, MD. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-75. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 135.
Liebhold, Andrew M.; Tobin, Patrick C. 2010. Exploiting the Achilles heels of pest invasions: allee effects, stratified dispersal and management of forest insect establishment and spread. New Zealand Journal of Forestry Science. 40 suppl.: S25-S33.
Timer, Jody; Tobin, Patrick C.; Saunders, Michael C. 2010. Geographic variation in diapause induction: The grape berry moth (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Environmental Entomology. 39(6): 1751-1755.
Tobin, Patrick C.; Van Stappen, Julie; Blackburn, Laura M. 2010. Human visitation rates to the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore and the introduction of the non-native species Lymantria dispar (L.). Journal of Environmental Management. 91: 1991-1996.
Hajek, Ann E.; Tobin, Patrick C. 2010. Micro-managing arthropod invasions: eradication and control of invasive arthropods with microbes. Biological Invasions 12: 2895-2912.
Tobin, Patrick C.; Diss-Torrance, Andrea; Blackburn, Laura M.; Brown, Brian D. 2010. What does "local" firewood buy you? Managing the risk of invasive species introduction. Journal of Economic Entomology. 103(5): 1569-1576.
Raffa, Kenneth F.; Aukema, Brian; Bentz, Barbara J.; Carroll, Allan; Erbilgin, Nadir; Herms, Daniel A.; Hicke, Jeffrey A.; Hofstetter, Richard W.; Katovich, Steven; Lindgren, B. Staffan; Logan, Jesse; Mattson, William; Munson, A. Steven; Robison, Daniel J.; Six, Diana L.; Tobin, Patrick C.; Townsend, Philip A.; Wallin, Kimberly F. 2009. A literal use of "forest health" safeguards against misuse and misapplication. Journal of Forestry. 107(5): 276-277.
Tobin, Patrick C.; Frazier, James L. 2009. A slide down a slippery slope: ethical guidelines in the dissemination of computer-based presentations. Ecological Society of America. 90(1): 39-42.
Hajek, Ann E.; Tobin, Patrick C. 2009. A space-time odyssey: movement of gypsy moth and its pathogens. In: McManus, Katherine A; Gottschalk, Kurt W., eds. Proceedings. 20th U.S. Department of Agriculture interagency research forum on invasive species 2009; 2009 January 13-16; Annapolis, MD. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-51. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 34.
Hajek, Ann E.; Tobin, Patrick C.; Blackburn, Laura; Hannam, Joshua J.; Diss-Torrance, Andrea; Raffa, Kenneth; Nielsen, Charlotte. 2009. Dispersal of gypsy moth pathogens to newly established host populations. In: McManus, Katherine A; Gottschalk, Kurt W., eds. Proceedings. 19th U.S. Department of Agriculture interagency research forum on invasive species 2008; 2008 January 8-11; Annapolis, MD. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-36. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 32.
Tobin, Patrick C.; Klein, Kenneth T.; Leonard, Donna S. 2009. Gypsy moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) flight behavior and phenology based on field-deployed automated pheromone-baited traps. Environmental Entomology 38: 1555-1562.
Ambrose, Mark; Bauch, Simone; Bigsby, Kevin; Wu, Yun; Tobin, Patrick; Sills, Erin. 2009. Gypsy moth sex in the city: estimating costs and losses. In: McManus, Katherine A; Gottschalk, Kurt W., eds. Proceedings. 19th U.S. Department of Agriculture interagency research forum on invasive species 2008; 2008 January 8-11; Annapolis, MD. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-36. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 4.
Tobin, Patrick C.; Hajek, Ann E.; Blackburn, Laura M.; Hannam, Joshua J.; Diss-Torrance, Andrea; Raffa, Kenneth F.; Nielson, Charlotte. 2009. Space-time interactions between gypsy moth and associated entomopathogens in newly established populations. In: McManus, Katherine A; Gottschalk, Kurt W., eds. Proceedings. 19th U.S. Department of Agriculture interagency research forum on invasive species 2008; 2008 January 8-11; Annapolis, MD. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-36. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 81.
Tobin, Patrick C.; Robinet, Christelle; Johnson, Derek M.; Whitmire, Stefanie L.; Bjornstad, Ottar N.; Liebhold, Andrew M. 2009. The role of Allee effects in gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.), invasions. Population Ecology. 51: 373-384.
Tobin, Patrick C.; Whitmire, Stephanie L.; Johnson, Derek M.; Bjornstad, Ottar N.; Liebhold, Andrew M. 2008. Allee effects and gypsy moth invasions. In: Gottschalk, Kurt W., ed. Proceedings, 18th U.S. Department of Agriculture interagency research forum on gypsy moth and other invasive species 2007; 2007 January 9-12; Annapolis, MD. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-28. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 79.
Smith, Michael T.; Tobin, Patrick; Wu, Jinquan; He, Weizhi; Xu, Xuenong; Gries, Gerhard; Gries, Regine; Borden, John H.; Turgeon, Jean J.; de Groot, Peter. 2008. Behavioral ecology of host selection in the Asian longhorned beetle: implications for surveying, detecting, and monitoring adult beetles. In: Gottschalk, Kurt W., ed. Proceedings, 18th U.S. Department of Agriculture interagency research forum on gypsy moth and other invasive species 2007; 2007 January 9-12; Annapolis, MD. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-28. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 71-72.
Tobin, Patrick C. 2008. Cost analysis and biological ramifications for implementing the gypsy moth Slow the Spread Program. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-37. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 21 p.
Hajek, Ann E.; Hannam, Joshua; Nielsen, Charlotte; Diss-Torrance, Andrea; Raffa, Ken; Tobin, Patrick. 2008. Dispersal of gypsy moth pathogens into areas newly colonized by gypsy moth. In: Gottschalk, Kurt W., ed. Proceedings, 18th U.S. Department of Agriculture interagency research forum on gypsy moth and other invasive species 2007; 2007 January 9-12; Annapolis, MD. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-28. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 32.
Tobin, Patrick C.; Blackburn, Laura M. 2008. Long-distance dispersal of the gypsy moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) facilitated its initial invasion of Wisconsin. Environmental Entomology 37(1):87-93
Gray, Rebecca Hoffman; Lorimer, Craig G.; Tobin, Patrick C.; Raffa, Kenneth F. 2008. Preoutbreak dynamics of a recently established invasive herbivore: roles of natural enemies and habitat structure in stage-specific performance of gypsy moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) populations in northeastern Wisconsin. Environmental Entomology. 37(5): 1174-1184.
Turcotte, Richard M.; Tobin, Patrick C. 2008. Relationship between the fungal pathogen Entomophaga maimaiga and the gypsy moth on the Monongahela National Forest. In: Gottschalk, Kurt W., ed. Proceedings, 18th U.S. Department of Agriculture interagency research forum on gypsy moth and other invasive species 2007; 2007 January 9-12; Annapolis, MD. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-28. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 81.
Tobin, Patrick C.; Liebhold, Andrew M.; Roberts, E. Anderson. 2007. Comparison of methods for estimating the spread of a non-indigenous species. Journal of Biogeography. 34: 305?312.
Tobin, Patrick C.; Thorpe, Kevin W.; Blackburn, Laura M. 2007. Multi-year evaluation of mating disruption treatments against gypsy moth. In: Gottschalk, Kurt W., ed. Proceedings, 17th U.S. Department of Agriculture interagency research forum on gypsy moth and other invasive species 2006; Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-10. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 98-99.
Thorpe, Kevin W.; Tcheslavskaia, Ksenia S.; Tobin, Patrick C.; Blackburn, Laura M.; Leonard, Donna S.; Roberts, E. Anderson. 2007. Persistent effects of aerial applications of disparlure on gypsy moth: trap catch and mating success. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata. 125: 223-229.
Tobin, Patrick C. 2007. Space--time patterns during the establishmentof a nonindigenous species. Population Ecology. 49: 257?263.
Morin, Randall S.; Liebhold, Andrew M.; Tobin, Patrick C.; Gottschalk, Kurt W.; Luzader, Eugene. 2007. Spread of beech bark disease in the eastern United States and its relationship to regional forest composition. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 37: 726-736.
Johnson, Derk M.; Liebhold, Andrew M.; Tobin, Patrick C.; Bjornstad, Ottar N. 2006. Allee effects and pulsed invasion by the gypsy moth. Nature. 444: 361-363.
Liebhold, Andrew M.; Tobin, Patrick C. 2006. Growth of newly established alien populations: comparison of North American gypsy moth colonies with invasion theory. Population Ecology 48:253-262
Huebner, Cynthia D.; Tobin, Patrick C. 2006. Invasibility of mature and 15-year-old deciduous forests by exotic plants. Plant Ecology 186:57-68
Whitmire, Stefanie L.; Tobin, Patrick C. 2006. Persistence of invading gypsy moth populations in the United States. Oecologia. 147: 230-237.
Tobin, Patrick C.; Smith, Michael T.; Li, Guohong; Gao, Ruitong. 2005. Dispersal and Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Asian Longhorned Beetle in China. In: Gottschalk, Kurt W., ed. Proceedings, XV U.S. Department of Agriculture interagency research forum on gypsy moth and other invasive species 2004; 2004 January 13-16; Annapolis, MD. Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-332. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station: 80.
Tobin, Patrick C.; Whitmire, Stefanie L. 2005. Persistence of Invading Gypsy Moth Populations [abstract]. In: Gottschalk, Kurt W., ed. Proceedings, 16th U.S. Department of Agriculture interagency research forum on gypsy moth and other invasive species 2005; 2005 January 18-21; Annapolis, MD. Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-337. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station: 86.
Tobin, Patrick C.; Bjornstad, Ottar N. 2005. Roles of dispersal, stochasticity, and nonlinear dynamics in the spatial structuring of seasonal natural enemy-victim populations. Population Ecology 47:221-227
Tobin, Patrick C.; Whitmire, Stefanie L. 2005. Spread of Gypsy Moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) and Its Relationship to Defoliation. Environmental Entomology 34:1448-1455
Tobin, Patrick C. 2005. The Spread of Gypsy Moth in Wisconsin: a New Paradigm for the Midwest Invasion?. In: Gottschalk, Kurt W., ed. Proceedings, XV U.S. Department of Agriculture interagency research forum on gypsy moth and other invasive species 2004; 2004 January 13-16; Annapolis, MD. Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-332. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station: 78-79.
Tobin, Patrick C. 2004. Estimation of the spatial autocorrelation function: consequences of sampling dynamic populations in space and time. Ecography. 27: 767-775.
Tobin, Patrick C.; Sharov, Alexei A.; Liebhold, Andrew A.; Leonard, Donna S.; Roberts, E. Anderson; Learn, Matthew R. 2004. Management of the gypsy moth through a decision algorithm under the STS project. American Entomologist. 50(4): 200-209.

Last Modified: 02/15/2012