The Marsico Lab

​Uden, D. R., A. M. Mech, N. P. Havill, A. N. Schulz, M. P. Ayres, D. A. Herms, A. M. Hoover, K. J. K. Gandhi, R. A. Hufbauer, A. M. Liebhold, T. D. Marsico, K. F. Raffa, K. A. Thomas, P. C. Tobin, and C. R. Allen.  2023.  Phylogenetic risk assessment is robust for forecasting the impact of European insects on North American conifers.  Ecological Applications 33(2): e2761.  https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2761. PDF.

 

Bellis, E. S., R. D. Lucardi, K. Saltonstall, and T. D. Marsico.  2022.  Predicting invasion risk of grasses in novel environments requires improved genomic understanding of adaptive potential.  American Journal of Botany 109(12): 1965-1968.  https://doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.16079.  Invited submission to “On the Nature of Things.” https://doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.16079. PDF.

 

Berrios, H. K., I. Coronado, and T. D. Marsico.  2022.  High species richness and turnover of vascular epiphytes is associated with water availability along the elevation gradient of Volcán Maderas, Nicaragua.  Ecology and Evolution 12(11): e9501. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9501. PDF.

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​Worthy, S. J., T. D. Marsico, R. D. Lucardi, L. E. Whitehurst, and K. S. Burgess.  2022.  Variation in plant traits and phylogenetic structure associated with native and nonnative species in an industrialized flora.  NeoBiota 77: 101-123. doi: 10.3897/neobiota.77.87307. PDF.

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Soteropoulos, D. L., J. A. Ledvina, and T. D. Marsico.  2022.  An exploration of the vascular flora of Pine City Natural Area, Monroe Co., Arkansas, U.S.A., in comparison to the Mississippi Alluvial Plain in eastern Arkansas.  Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (JBRIT) 16(1): 165-194. https://doi.org/10.17348/jbrit.v16.i1.1226. PDF.

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Soteropoulos, D. L. and T. D. Marsico.  2022.  Community science success for herbarium transcription in Arkansas: Building a network of students and volunteers for Notes from Nature.  Castanea 87(1): 54-74. PDF reprint available by request.

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Monfils, A. K., E. Krimmel, D. Linton, T. D. Marsico, A. B. Morris, and B. Ruhfel.  2022.  Collections Education: The extended specimen and data acumen.  BioScience 72(2): 177-188.  https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biab109. PDF.

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Schulz, A. N., A. M. Mech, M. P. Ayres, K. J. K. Gandhi, N. P. Havill, D. A. Herms, A. M. Hoover, R. A. Hufbauer, A. M. Liebhold, T. D. Marsico, K. F. Raffa, P. C. Tobin, D. R. Uden, and K. A. Thomas.  2021.  Predicting non-native insect impact: focusing on the trees to see the forest. Biological Invasions 23(12): 3921-3936.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-021-02621-5. PDF.

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Schulz, A. N., R. D. Lucardi, and T. D. Marsico.  2021.  Strengthening the ties that bind: an evaluation of cross-disciplinary communication between invasion ecologists and biological control researchers in entomology.  Annals of the Entomological Society of America 114(2): 163-174. https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/saaa052. PDF.

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Monfils, A. K., E. R. Krimmel, J. M. Bates, J. E. Bauer, M. W. Belitz, B. C. Cahill, A. Caywood, N. S. Cobb, J. Colby, S. Ellis, D. M. Krejsa, T. Levine, T. D. Marsico, T. J. Mayfield-Meyer, J. Miller-Camp, R. M. (Gil) Nelson, M. A. Phillips, M. A. Revelez, D. R. Roberts, R. A. Singer, and J. M. Zaspel.  2020. Regional collections are an essential component of biodiversity research infrastructure.  BioScience 70(12): 1045-1047. doi:10.1093/biosci/biaa102.  PDF.

 

Marsico, T. D., E. R. Krimmel, J. R. Carter, E. L. Gillespie, P. D. Lowe, R. McCauley, A. B. Morris, G. Nelson, M. Smith, D. L. Soteropoulos, and A. K. Monfils.  2020.  Small herbaria contribute unique biogeographic records to county, locality, and temporal scales.  American Journal of Botany 107(11): 1577-1587. doi:10.1002/ajb2.1563.  PDF.

 

Lucardi, R. D., E. S. Bellis, C. E. Cunard, J. K. Gravesande, S. C. Hughes, L. E. Whitehurst, S. J. Worthy, K. S. Burgess, and T. D. Marsico.  2020.  Seeds attached to refrigerated shipping containers represent a substantial risk of nonnative plant species introduction and establishment.  Scientific Reports 10: 15017. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-71954-3.  PDF.

 

Whitehurst, L. E., C. E. Cunard, J. N. Reed, S. J. Worthy, T. D. Marsico, R. D. Lucardi, and K. S. Burgess.  2020.  Preliminary application of DNA barcoding toward the detection of viable plant propagules at an initial, international point-of-entry in Georgia, USA.  Biological Invasions 22: 1585-1606. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-020-02204-w.  PDF.

 

Schulz, A. N., A. M. Mech, C. R. Allen, M. P. Ayres, K. J. K. Gandhi, J. Gurevitch, N. P. Havill, D. A. Herms, R. A. Hufbauer, A. M. Liebhold, K. F. Raffa, M. J. Raupp, K. A. Thomas, P. C. Tobin, and T. D. Marsico.  2020.  The impact is in the details: evaluating a standardized protocol and scale for determining non-native insect impact.  NeoBiota 55: 61-83.  https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.55.38981.  PDF.

 

Lucardi, R. D., C. E. Cunard, K. S. Burgess, J. N. Reed, S. J. Worthy, L. E. Whitehurst, and T. D. Marsico.  2020.  An initial industrial flora: a framework for botanical research in cooperation with industry for biodiversity conservation.  PLoS One 15(4): e0230729. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0230729.  PDF.

 

Mech, A. M., K. A. Thomas, T. D. Marsico, D. A. Herms, C. R. Allen, M. P. Ayres, K. J. K. Gandhi, J. Gurevitch, N. P. Havill, R. A. Hufbauer, A. M. Liebhold, K. F. Raffa, A. N. Schulz, D. R. Uden, and P. C. Tobin.  2019.  Evolutionary history predicts high-impact invasions by herbivorous insects.  Ecology and Evolution 9(21): 12216-12230.  https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5709.  PDF.

 

Schulz, A. N., R. D. Lucardi, and T. D. Marsico.  2019.  Successful invasions and failed biocontrol: the role of antagonistic species interactions.  BioScience 69(9): 711-724.  https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biz075.  PDF.   This first publication from Ashley Schulz's doctoral dissertation is a fascinating review article addressing top-down effects of antagonists on introduced species. We argue for future research to emphasize fourth trophic level and below-ground interactions to understand invasion success.

 

Ling, T., W. H. Lang, J. Craig, M. B. Potts, A. Budhraja, J. Opferman, J. Bollinger, J. Maier, T. D. Marsico, and F. Rivas.  2019.  Studies of Jatrogossone A as a reactive oxygen species inducer in cancer cellular models.  Journal of Natural Products 82(5): 1301-1311. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jnatprod.8b01087.

 

Gerdes, C., K. M. Harris, M. Beas-Moix, and T. D. Marsico.  2017.  The transformative power of student-led natural history collections clubs.  Collection Forum 31 (1-2): 70-83. https://doi.org/10.14351/0831-4985-31.1.70.  PDF.

 

Sauby, K. E., J. Kilmer, M. C. Christman, R. D. Holt, and T. D. Marsico.  2017.  The influence of herbivory and weather on the vital rates of two closely related species.  Ecology and Evolution 7(17): 6996-7009. doi: 10.1002/ece3.3232.  PDF.

 

Harris, K. M. and T. D. Marsico.  2017.  Digitizing specimens in a small herbarium: a viable workflow for collections working with limited resources.  Applications in Plant Sciences 5(4): 1600125.  PDF.  This paper describes a digitization workflow if supply and personnel budgets are limited.  We have improved and modified our workflow since the publication of this work, so please email me (tmarsico@astate.edu) for updated recommendations on specific elements of workflow design.

 

Justus, B. G., D. R. L. Burge, J. M. Cobb, T. D. Marsico, and J. L. Bouldin.  2016.  Macroinvertebrate and diatom metrics as indicators of water-quality conditions in connected depression wetlands in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain.  Freshwater Science 35(3): 1049-1061.  PDF.  This work is the primary contribution from the thesis work of David Burge and Jennifer Cobb in an Arkansas State University collaboration with the US Geological Survey.

 

Foard, M., D. J. Burnette, D. R. L. Burge, and T. D. Marsico.  2016.  River channelization and the invasive shrub Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense Lour.) inversely influence oak (Quercus spp.) growth rates in hydrologically altered bottomland hardwood forests.  Applied Vegetation Science.  Version of Record online: 28 APR 2016 | DOI: 10.1111/avsc.12240.  PDF.  This publication is from Meghan Foard's master's thesis work, and it demonstrates the negative impact Chinese privet invasion can have on canopy trees.

 

Thigpen, C. S., S. E. Trauth, and T. D. Marsico.  2015.  A case of frugivory in a green treefrog (Hyla cinerea) from northeastern Arkansas.  Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science 69: 98-100.  PDF.  This interesting note resulted from the discovery of seeds inside a frog's stomach.

 

Nelson, G., P. Sweeney, L. E. Wallace, R. K. Rabeler, D. Allard, H. Brown, J. R. Carter, M. W. Denslow, E. R. Ellwood, C. C. Germain-Autrey, E. Gilbert, E. Gillespie, L. R. Goertzen, B. Legler, D. B. Marchant, T. D. Marsico, A. B. Morris, Z. Murrell, M. Nazaire, C. Neefus, S. Oberreiter, D. Paul, B. R. Ruhfel, T. Sasek, J. Shaw, P. S. Soltis, K. Watson, A. Weeks, A. R. Mast.  2015.  Digitization workflows for flat sheets and packets of plants, algae, and fungi.  Applications in Plant Sciences 3(9): 1500065.  PDF.  This methods paper is a collaborative effort arising from the Workflows for Herbarium Digitization Workshop, Valdosta State University, Valdosta, Georgia (26-30 January 2015).

 

Burge, D. R. L., T. D. Marsico, and M. B. Edlund.  2015.  Stauroneis kingstonii sp. nov. (Bacillariophyta: Naviculales), a new diatom species from the Black Swamp, Arkansas, USA.  Phytotaxa 205(3): 177-186.  PDF.  This exciting work describes a new diatom species to science!  There is a lot of undescribed diversity out there, and we need to know about the organisms on earth in order to appreciate and conserve them.  This research is a first for the Marsico lab, but hopefully is opening the door to other new species discoveries.

 

Marsico, T. D., K. E. Sauby, C. P. Brooks, M. E. Welch, and G. N. Ervin.  2015.  Phylogeographic evidence for a Florida panhandle-peninsula discontinuity in the distribution of Melitara prodenialis Walker (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), a native cactus-boring moth.  Insect Conservation and Biodiversity.  PDF reprint available by request.  In this manuscript, my coauthors and I demonstrate that there is a biogeographic discontinuity along the Suwannee River in the Florida portion of the native range of the cactus-boring moth M. prodenialis.  This work adds an insect example to the well-documented similar biogeographic discontinuities in Florida.  We show that there are environmental differences between Florida panhandle and peninsula regions, and that these differences existed at the last interglacial, as well.  Changes in host plant abundance and distribution and coastline in Florida may have contributed to the isolated insect populations observed.

 

Beck, J. J., N. Baig, D. Cook, N. E. Mahoney, and T. D. Marsico.  2014.  Semiochemicals from ex situ abiotically stressed cactus tissue: A contributing role of fungal spores?  Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 62: 12273-12276. PDF.

 

Stephens, F. A., A. M. Woodard, and T. D. Marsico. 2012. Comparison between eggsticks of two cactophagous moths, Cactoblastis cactorum and Melitara prodenialis (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). Florida Entomologist 95(4): 939-943.  PDF.  This paper's lead author was an undergraduate REU student who worked one summer in my research laboratory.

 

Sauby, K. E., T. D. Marsico, G. N. Ervin, and C. P. Brooks. 2012. The role of host identity in determining the distribution of the invasive moth Cactoblastis cactorum (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in Florida. Florida Entomologist 95(3): 561-568.  PDF.

 

Woodard, A. M., G. N. Ervin, and T. D. Marsico. 2012. Host plant defense signaling in response to a coevolved herbivore combats introduced herbivore attack. Ecology and Evolution 2: 1056-1064.  PDF.

 

Harris, K. M., M. B. Foard, and T. D. Marsico. 2012. Understanding floristic diversity through a database of Greene County specimens. Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science 66: 94-105.  PDF.  This manuscript is a publication of an undergraduate honors thesis that I advised.

 

Stewart, J. M., T. D. Marsico, D. Burge, and J. J. Hellmann. 2012. Largest known Quercus garryana Douglas ex Hook. clone discovered on a steep slope at the boundary of Larrabee State Park, Washington, USA. International Oaks 23: 68-75.  PDF.  Another undergraduate student in my laboratory led the effort to publish this interesting note.

 

Schartel, T. E., T. D. Marsico, and C. P. Brooks. 2011. First records of the parasitoid Temelucha sinuata Cushman (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) in Mississippi and Florida, U.S.A. Entomological News 122: 376-377.  PDF.  This note extends the known range of an important parasitoid species of the native cactus borer Melitara prodenialis.

 

Marsico, T. D., L. E. Wallace, G. N. Ervin, C. P. Brooks, J. E. McClure, and M. E. Welch. 2011. Geographic patterns of genetic diversity from the native range of Cactoblastis cactorum (Berg) support the documented history of invasion and multiple introductions for invasive populations. Biological Invasions 13: 857-868.  PDF.  In this publication my coauthors and I demonstrate that the invasive insect pest, Cactoblastis cactorum, has high levels of geographically partitioned genetic diversity in its native range relative to its invasive range in North America.  We show that the only genetic diversity within the invaded range is also from the documented original biological control collection site in Entre Rios, Argentina.  Still, it appears that there have been multiple introductions into North America, likely from the neighboring Caribbean.  There is no evidence that the success of C. cactorum invasion in North America is due to the recombination of geographically-disparate genotypes from the native range, as has been suggested for the invasion success of some species.

 

Marsico, T. D., J. W. Burt, E. K. Espeland, G. W. Gilchrist, M. A. Jamieson, L. Lindström, G. K. Roderick, S. Swope, M. Szűcs, and N. D. Tsutsui. 2010. Underutilized resources for studying the evolution of invasive species during their introduction, establishment, and lag phases. Evolutionary Applications 3: 203-219.  PDF.  This manuscript is the outcome of a collaboration that began at a conference on the role of evolution in species invasions.  I am proud of this work, as I was able to lead this diverse group of graduate students, post-docs, and senior scientists to produce this meaningful contribution.  In this paper, my coauthors and I put forth the idea that natural history specimens, biological control release and follow-up records, and horticultural import records can be more effectively used to determine the role of evolution in the success of species invasions.

 

Marsico, T. D. and J. J. Hellmann. 2009. Dispersal limitation inferred from an experimental translocation of Lomatium (Apiaceae) species outside their geographic ranges. Oikos 118: 1783-1792.  PDF.  Field research from my dissertation demonstrated that plants moved beyond their current range limit grew just as well as within their current range, implying that dispersal limitation was key in forming species' range boundaries.

 

Pelini, S. L., J. D. K. Dzurisin, K. M. Prior, C. M. Williams, T. D. Marsico, B. J. Sinclair, and J. J. Hellmann. 2009. Translocation experiments with butterflies reveal limits to enhancement of poleward populations under climate change. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 106: 11160-11165.  PDF.  I collaborated on this research that used field and laboratory experiments to demonstrate that climate warming does not result in enhanced success for poleward populations consistently.

 

Marsico, T. D., J. J. Hellmann, and J. Romero-Severson. 2009. Patterns of seed dispersal and pollen flow in Quercus garryana (Fagaceae) following post-glacial climatic changes. Journal of Biogeography 36: 929-941.  PDF reprint available by request.

 

Marsico, T. D. 2006. Life history and environmental factors influence population density and stage structure in Hydrophyllum brownei. American Midland Naturalist 156(1): 178-188.  PDF.

 

Marsico, T. D. 2005. The vascular flora of Montgomery County, Arkansas. Sida 21(4): 2389-2423.  PDF.

 

MacRoberts, B. R., M. H. MacRoberts, and T. D. Marsico. 2005. Preliminary survey of the vascular flora of the Ouachita Mountains Biological Station, Polk County, Arkansas. Bulletin of the Museum of Life Sciences, No. 13, Louisiana State University in Shreveport. 19 pp.

 

Marsico, T. D. 2004. Vascular plant species inventory of Richardson Bottoms Wildlife Viewing Area. Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science 58: 121-130.  PDF.

 

Marsico, T. D. 2003. On the rare endemic Hydrophyllum brownei Kral & Bates (Browne’s waterleaf): New population information and a recommendation for change in status. Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science 57: 100-110.  PDF.