Biology Department
Michael Sitvarin
Job Title
Visiting Assistant Professor
Wold Center 124
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Email
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Areas of expertise
Animal behavior, ecology, invertebrate biology, predator-prey interactions
Research interests
My work has focused mainly on predator-prey interactions, as I am perpetually fascinated by the ways organisms detect, pursue, evade, and capture one another. Spiders have served as a useful model for understanding predator-prey behavior, though I have worked with a variety of invertebrates. I am also broadly interested in sensory ecology, cannibalism, sexual selection, evolution, and the broader impacts of predation on the environment.
Teaching interests
Intro to Environmental Science (ENS 100)
Publications
Nelsen D, Corbit A, Chuang A, Deitsch J, Sitvarin M, Coyle D. 2023. Veni, vidi, vici? Future spread and ecological impacts of a rapidly-expanding invasive predator population. Ecology and Evolution https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10728.
Chuang A, Deitsch JF, Nelsen DR, Sitvarin MI, Coyle DR. 2022. The jorō spider (Trichonephila clavata) in the southeastern U.S.: an opportunity for research and a call for reasonable journalism. Biological Invasions https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-022-02914-3.
Rosenwald LC, Sitvarin MI, White JA. 2020. Endosymbiotic Rickettsiella causes cytoplasmic incompatibility in a spider host. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 287: 20201107.
Athey KJ, Sitvarin MI, Harwood JD. 2018. Laboratory and field investigation of biological control for brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys (Stal)(Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)).Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 90: 341-352
Whitney TD, Sitvarin MI, Roualdes EA, Bonner SJ, Harwood JD. 2018. Selectivity underlies the dissociation between seasonal prey availability and prey consumption in a generalist predator. Molecular Ecology 27: 1739-1748.
Additional media
Academic credentials
B.S. Muhlenberg College, Ph.D. Miami University
Integrated Science and Engineering Complex (ISEC) 319
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