Aldrich, Ben

Ph.D. 2005 Phone: (785) 532-6331 Fax: (785) 532-6232 baldrich@ksu.eduDegree Being Pursued: Ph.D.

Bio Brief

Population genetics and colony structure of two Zootermopsis subspecies

Education

B.S. Biology, Buena Vista University, Storm Lake Iowa,

Research

My studies focus on the area of genetics and evolution with special emphasis on population genetics. Currently, I am working on a study of the population genetics of the damp-wood termite genus Zootermopsis. We will be using microsatellite markers to perform population genetic analysis. Once identified, polymorphic microsatellite loci will be used to determine the breeding structure, population subdivision, and levels of gene-flow for these insects. Furthermore, it is our hopes to determine the relatedness among colony members and relate our findings to sociality in termites.

Publications

Aldrich, B.T., E.B. Maghirang, F.E. Dowell, and S. Kambhampati. 2007. Identification of termite species and subspecies of the genus Zootermopsis using near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy. Journal of Insect Science 7: Art. No. 18

Aldrich, B.T. and S. Kambhampati. 2007. Population structure and colony composition of two Zootermopsis nevadensis subspecies. Heredity 99: 443-451

Kambhampati, S. and B.T. Aldrich. 2006. Inexpensive molecular weight markers. Journal of Entomological Science 41: 412-415

Aldrlich, B.T., S. Kambhampati, and E.S. Krafsur. 2005. Population genetics of wood-feeding cockroaches in the genus Cryptocercus. Journal of Heredity 96: 572-575.

Aldrich, B. T., G. Zolnerowich, and S. Kambhampati. 2004. Interspecific morphological variation in the wood-feeding cockroach, Cryptocercus (Dictyoptera: Cryptocercidae). Arthropod Structure & Development 33: 443-451.

Aldrich B.T., Krafsur E., and Kambhampati S.. 2004. Species-specific allozyme markers for Appalachian wood-feeding cockroaches (Dictyoptera: Cryptocercidae). Biochemical Genetics 2004 Jun;42(5-6):149-64

Aldrich, B.T. and S. Kambhampati. 2004. Microsatellite markers for three species of dampwood termites in the genus Zootermopsis (Isoptera: Termopsidae). Molecular Ecology Notes 4: 719-721.