T'ai Roulston

T'ai Roulston is a researcher and curator at the State Arboretum of Virginia, part of the University of Virginia's Blandy Experimental Farm Station. He leads the Roulston Lab, focusing on plant-insect interactions, pollinator conservation, and parasitoid-host dynamics. His work integrates field studies, molecular biology, and ecological modeling to address threats to bee populations and ecosystem services.

• Roles: Researcher, Curator of the State Arboretum of Virginia, Faculty at Blandy Experimental Farm Station
• Key Research Areas: Bumble bee population dynamics, wild pollinator ecosystem services, conopid fly-parasitoid interactions, mason bee declines

Research Interests:

• Bumble bee declines: Investigates factors like parasitism, habitat loss, and pesticide exposure using RFID technology.
• Wild pollinators: Evaluates their role in agricultural pollination and the impacts of landscape management on their survival.
• Parasitoid-host arms race: Examines how conopid flies manipulate bumble bee behavior and immune responses.
• Mason bee dynamics: Studies the decline of native species versus proliferation of non-native species like Osmia cornifrons.

Publications Highlight: Recent work addresses global conservation challenges, including endangered bumble bees in Appalachia and invasive mason bee impacts. Over 50 peer-reviewed articles span ecology, parasitology, and conservation.

Advising & Grants: Mentor to over 30 graduate and undergraduate students. Supervised projects include parasitoid behavior, pollinator health, and plant-pollinator coevolution. Collaborates with institutions like NOAA and the Foundation of the State Arboretum.

Labs/Teams: Lead of the Roulston Lab, which combines fieldwork at Blandy with lab-based genetic and chemical analyses. Active in undergraduate research programs like NSF's REU and high school internships.