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5. Michael J. Pitcairn

Michael J. Pitcairn

Senior Environmental Scientist – Supervisor (Retired)

California Department of Food and Agriculture
Biological Control Program
3294 Meadowview Road
Sacramento, CA 95832
(916) 262-2049(office)
(916) 996-1425(cell)
mike.pitcairn@cdfa.ca.gov

Curriculum Vitae

• Education

  Ph.D. (Entomology)	University of California, Berkeley, CA	1986
  Dissertation: The Diapause Phenology and Population Dynamics of the Egyptian Alfalfa Weevil and Two of Its Parasitoids in California. Major Advisor: Dr. Andrew Guiterrez
  M.S. (Entomology)	University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE	1981
  Thesis: Production of Benthic Macroinvertebrates in Maple Creek, Stanton and Colfax Counties, Nebraska. Major Advisor: Dr. Kenneth Pruess
  B.S. (Double Major: Biology and General Science) University of Oregon, Eugene, OR		1977

• Professional Experience

  California Department of Food and Agriculture Biological Control Program Senior Environmental Scientist, Supervisor (classification change) Senior Environmental Research Scientist, Supervisor	2010-2020 2001-2010
  California Department of Food and Agriculture Biological Control Program Associate Environmental Research Scientist	1991-2001
  University of California, Davis Statewide IPM Project Postgraduate Researcher	1988-1991
  University of California, Davis Department of Entomology Postgraduate Researcher	1986-1987
  Calgene, Inc., Davis, CA Consultant, Insect Rearing	1990
  NASA/Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA National Research Council Research Associate	1987-1988
  University of California, Berkeley Department of Entomological Sciences, Division of Biological Control Research Assistant	1981-1985

• Honors And Awards
  • California Invasive Plant Council – Jake Sigg Award for Vision and Dedicated Service 2018
  • USDA – Certificate of Appreciation for contributions to the revision of the Manual for the Technical Advisory Group for Biological Control Agents of Weeds (TAG-BCAW) and for effective reviews of the TAG-BCAW petitions during 2012/2013, Sept. 2014.
  • Western Association of Agricultural Experiment Station Directors – Award for Excellence in Research, as member of the Technical Committee for W-2185 “Biological Control in Pest Management Systems of Plants”, 2010.
  • California Department of Food and Agriculture – Leadership Challenge Group – Featured Supervisor in the “Respect and Civility Campaign”, 2007.
  • National Weed Awareness Week – Member of team receiving a national award for development of integrated controls against yellow starthistle at Fort Hunter Liggett, Monterey County, CA.
  • National Research Council – Awarded Research Associateship 1987
  • University of California, Berkeley - Graduate Council Award 1983
• Professional Activities And Services
  • USDA-APHIS-PPQ Technical Advisory Group for Biological Control Agents of Weeds. I currently serve on the TAG as the National Plant Board Representative (2010 to present). Previously, I served as a subject matter expert from 1997 through 2010.
  • California Exotic Pest Plant Council – Elected President 1998, re-elected 1999.
  • California Exotic Pest Plant Council – Elected Treasurer 1994, re-elected 1995, 1996, & 1997
  • Reviewer for journals: Annals of the Entomological Society of America, Environmental Entomology, Biological Control, BioControl, Biocontrol Science and Technology, Acta Oecologia, Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, Pan-Pacific Entomologist, Invasive Plant Science and Management, African Journal of Aquatic Science.
  • Internal manuscript (peer) reviewer: USDA-ARS
  • Grant reviewer: Exotic and Invasive Pest and Diseases Research Program, University of California; Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, California Department of Food and Agriculture
  • Laboratory Reviewer: USDA-ARS Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory Program Review
• Publications (Peer-Reviewed, Last 7 Years)
  • Pratt, P.D., J.C. Herr, R.I. Carruthers, M.J. Pitcairn, B. Villagas, and M. Brent Kelly. 2019. Release, establishment and realized geographic distribution of Diorhabda carinulata and D. elongata (Coleoptera(Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in California, U.S.A. Biocontrol Science and Technology 29(7-8):686-705.
  • Pratt, P. D., M. J. Pitcairn, S. Oneto, M. Brent Kelly, C. J. Sodergren, F. Beaulieu, W. Knee, J. Andreas. 2019. Invasion of the gall mite Aceria genistae (Acari: Eriophyidae), a natural enemy of the invasive weed Cytisus scoparius, into California USA and predictions for climate suitablitiy in other regions using ecological niche modelling. Biocontrol Science and Technology 29(5): 494-513.
  • Pitcairn, M. J. 2018. Weed biological control in California: review of the past and prospects for the future. Biocontrol 63(3): 357-398.
  • Akers, R. P., R. W. Bergmann, and M. J. Pitcairn. 2017. Biological control of water hyacinth in California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta: observations on establishment and spread. Biocontrol Science and Technology 27(6): 755-768.
  • DiTomaso, J. M., R. A. Van Steenwyk, R. M. Nowierski, L. A. Meyerson, O. C. Doering, E. Lane, P. E. Cowan, K. Zimmerman, M. J. Pitcairn, and C. P. Dionigi. 2017. Addressing the needs for improving classical biological control programs in the USA. Biological Control 106: 35-39.
  • Hopper, J. V., P. D. Pratt, K. F. McCue, M. J. Pitcairn, P. J. Moran, and J. D. Madsen. 2017. Biological control agents associated with Eichhornia crassipes in the Sacramento in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Biological Control 111: 13-22.
  • Gutierrez, A. P., L. Ponti, M. Cristofaro, L. Smith, and M. J. Pitcairn. 2016. Assessing the biological control of yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis L): prospective analysis of the impact of the rosette weevil (Ceratapion basicorne (Illiger)). Agricultural and Forest Entomology DOI: 10.1111/afe. 12205.
  • Moran, P. J., M. J. Pitcairn, and B. Villegas. 2016. First establishment of the planthopper, Megamelus scutellaris Berg, 1883 (Hemiptera: Delphacidae), released for biological control of water hyacinth in California. Pan-Pacific Entomologist 92(1): 32-43.
  • Smith, L., D. M. Woods, and M. J. Pitcairn. 2014. Biological Control Methods. In: California Weed Science Society (ed.), Principles of Weed Control, 4th edition., Thomson Publications, Fresno, CA. pp. 67-88.
  • Spencer, D. F., P-S. Liow, M. J. Pitcairn, and B. Villegas. 2014. Variation in seed characteristics and growth for thistles (Cynareae: Asteraceae) in California and Oregon. Madroño 61(4): 339-349.
  • Spencer, D. F., S. F. Enloe, M. J. Pitcairn, and J. M. DiTomaso. 2014. Impacts of mowing and bud destruction on Centaurea solstitialis growth, flowering, root dynamics, and soil moisture. Weed Research, 54(2): 140-150.
  • Cline, A. R., B. Villegas, M. J. Pitcairn, C. O’Brien. 2013. The status of Euhrychiopsis lecontei (Dietz) (Coleotpera: Curculionidae), with notes on other weevils associated with Myriophyllum (Saxifragales: Haloragaceae) milfoil in California. The Coleopterists’ Bulletin, 67(2): 75-80.
  • Pickett, C. H., D. J. Nieto, J. A. Bryer, S. L. Swezey, M. Stadtherr, D. Wisheropp, M. Erlandson, and M. J. Pitcairn. 2013. Post-release dispersal of the introduced lygus bug parasitoid Peristenus relictus in California. Biocontrol Science & Technology, 23(8): 861-871.

  Technical Reports, Proceedings, Newsletters (last 7 years)

  • Andreas, J. E., R. L. Winston, E. M. Coombs, T. W. Miller, M. J. Pitcairn, C. B. Randall, S. Turner, W. Williams. 2017. Biology and Biological Control of common gorse and Scotch broom. USDA Forest Service, Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team, Morgantown, West Virginia. FHTET-2017-01.
  • Randall, C. B., R. L. Winston, C. A. Jette, M. J. Pitcairn, and J. M. DiTomaso. 2017. Biology and Biological Control of Yellow Starthistle. Fourth Edition. USDA Forest Service, Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team, Morgantown, West Virginia. FHTET-2016-08.
  • Pitcairn, M. J., L. Smith, and P. Moran. 2014. Weed biological control agents approved for California. Cal-IPC News, 22(1): 6-7, 12-13.
• Invited Lectures
  • “Biological Control of Weeds” Invited Lecture in Weed Ecology, an upper division class taught by Dr. Marcel Rejmanek, University of California, Davis. (1996 to present)
  • “Biological Control of Weeds” Invited Lecture and Laboratory in Introduction to Weed Science, an upper division class taught by Dr. Mohsen Mesgaran, University of California, Davis. (2013 to present).
  • “Exotic Pests and Their Control” Invited Lecture in Current Issues in Environmental Studies, an upper division class taught by Dr. Gordon Frankie, University of California, Berkeley. (1998 to 2018).
  • I’ve given several lectures as part of the Seminar Series for the Department of Entomology and for the Weed Science Group, Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis
  • I’ve given numerous presentations at the following scientific gatherings:
    • Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America
    • Annual Meeting of the Pacific Branch of the Entomological Society of America
    • Annual Meeting of the Western Society of Weed Science
    • California Weed Science Society Annual Meeting
    • Annual Meeting of the Weed Science Society of America
    • California Invasive Plant Council Annual Symposium
    • California Conference on Biological Control
    • International Symposium on the Biological Control of Weeds
    • University of California Cooperative Extension Workshops