Elizabeth Bernays Explained

Elizabeth A. Bernays (1940[1] – 5 March 2024) was an Australian entomologist who was a Regents Professor at the University of Arizona (died).[2] She was known for studies of physiological, behavioral, and ecological interactions between plants, herbivorous insects and their predators. Bernays worked on the feeding behavior of a variety of insects including aphids, grasshoppers, and hawkmoths.[3] [4] [5] She was known for championing the idea that predation drove many insects to specialize on a few species of hostplants, rather than specialization being solely the outcome of a chemical arms race between plant and insect herbivores.[6] [7] [8]

Early life

Educated at the University of Queensland, Australia, she moved to London to teach high school students; she subsequently studied for a PhD there.[9] Prior to moving to the University of Arizona, she was a professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

Career

Bernays published more than 100 book chapters, peer-reviewed journal articles, edited volumes and books on a variety of entomological subjects including insect learning, feeding, taste and water homeostasis.[10] [11] [12] Her research into the feeding behavior of insects helped guide interventions designed to minimize crop pest damage. Along with Michael S. Singer, she published a paper in 2005 in Nature showing that parasitized tiger moth caterpillars have greater sensitivity to pyrrolizidine alkaloids than non parasitized caterpillars and that parasitized caterpillars seek out plants containing these chemicals to defend themselves from predation and parasitism.[13] [14]

Academic honors

In 1986, she received the Vatican's highest scientific honor, the Pius XI Gold Medal of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.[15]

Late career activities

After retirement, Bernays studied for a master's degree in creative writing at the University of Arizona. She wrote two memoirs. The first memoir, Six Legs Walking: Notes from an Entomological Live, described her childhood experiences with nature, her work with her husband as an applied entomologist in Africa, and her professional experiences as a woman in science moving from the science culture of the U.K. to a professorship at the University of California, Berkeley.[16] Her second memoir, Across the Divide: The Strangest Love Affair, describes her personal and creative relationship with her wife Linda Hitchcock which included collaborating on children's nature books and traveling the southwestern U.S.[17]

Personal life

She was married to the English entomologist Reginald Frederick Chapman until his death in 2003. She subsequently married the photographer Linda Hitchcock.

Selected books and edited volumes

Notes and References

  1. Web site: VIAF ID 93683213 . 2024-05-13 . VIAF.
  2. Web site: Garvey . Kathy Keatley . 25 March 2024 . In Remembrance: Entomologists Charles Mitter, Elizabeth Bernays and Kim Flottum . 12 May 2024 . UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology website.
  3. Bernays . Elizabeth A. . Funk . Daniel J. . 1999 . Specialists make faster decisions than generalists: experiments with aphids . Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B . 266 . 1415 . 151–156. 10.1098/rspb.1999.0615 . 1689657 .
  4. News: Copenhaver . Larry . 18 December 1990 . Pet project: Marvelous munching Menlanoplus excite, sadden students . 12 May 2024 . Tucson Citizen . C1.
  5. Espelie . K.S. . Bernays . E.A. . 1989 . Diet-related differences in the cuticular lipids of Manduca sexta larvar . Journal of Chemical Ecology . 15 . 7 . 2003–2017. 10.1007/BF01207433 . 24272291 .
  6. Mira . Alex . Bernays . Elizabeth A. . 2002 . Tradeoffs in host use by Manduca sexta: plant characters versus natural enemies . Oikos . 97 . 387–397. 10.1034/j.1600-0706.2002.970309.x .
  7. News: Frederick . Donald J. . 5 September 1993 . Potent ocean poisons could help fight diseases on land . 12 May 2024 . Los Angeles Times . A10.
  8. News: Minard . Anne . 19 January 2005 . The writing bug has captured scientist . 12 May 2024 . Arizona Daily Star . B1–B2.
  9. Bernays . Elizabeth A. . 2019 . An Unlikely Beginning: A Fortunate Life . Annual Review of Entomology . 64 . 1–13. 10.1146/annurev-ento-011118-111820 . 30629895 .
  10. Reuven . Dukas . Bernays . Elizabeth A . 2000 . Learning improves growth rate in grasshoppers . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 97 . 2637–26. 10.1073/pnas.05046149 . 2024-05-15 . free .
  11. Reisenman . Carolina E. . Riffell . Jeffrey A. . Bernays . Elizabeth A. . Hildebrand . John A. . 2010 . Antagonistic effects of floral scent in an insect–plant interaction . Proceedings of the Royal Society B . 277 . 1692 . 2371–2379. 10.1098/rspb.2010.0163 . 20335210 . 2894902 .
  12. Woods . H. Arthur . Bernays . Elizabeth A. . 2001 . Water homeostasis by wild larvae of Manduca sexta . Physiological Entomology . 25 . 82–87. 10.1046/j.1365-3032.2000.00167.x .
  13. Bernays . Elizabeth A. . Singer . Michael S. . 2005 . Taste alteration and endoparasites . Nature . 436 . 7050 . 476. 10.1038/436476a . 16049466 .
  14. News: Hathaway . William . 1 August 2005 . Insect eats to fight what ails it . 12 May 2024 . Los Angeles Times . F6.
  15. News: 13 September 1986 . Berkeley Professor Honored by Vatican . Los Angeles Times . 19.
  16. News: 1 May 2022 . Local authors cover wide range of topics . 12 May 2024 . Arizona Daily Star . E2.
  17. News: 3 September 2023 . Poems, memoirs, history and mysteries . 12 May 2024 . Arizona Daily Star . E7.

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