[Obsoleted] Systematics and Evolutionary Biology Lab
Department of Life Science, Tunghai University.

Thomas K. Wood (1942-2002)

“ Research is a life style; Age is a state of mind. ”
— Tom Wood, 1998

For Love of Treehoppers

Thomas Kenneth Wood was born in Cleveland, Ohio of USA on 12 June 1942. He received his B.A. degree from Wilmington College of Ohio in 1964, with a major in biology and a minor in chemistry. He received his Ph.D. in entomology from Cornell University in 1968, and in the same year joined the faculty of Wilmington College as chair of Biology Department from 1970 to 1979. In 1979, he joined the faculty of the Department of Entomology and Applied Ecology at the University of Delaware. Tom spent most of his life working with the treehopper family, Membracidae with unwavering dedication and was devoted to the understanding of the treehoppers in all aspects. His research spanned an amazing range of biological disciplines, including anatomy and physiology (pronotal structure and histology), behavioral and social biology (parental care and defense, ant mutualisms, mating behavior, and the evolution of sociality), biogeography (latitudinal and altitudinal effects on species richness), life history patterns and evolution, genetics, and morphological and molecular systematics of treehoppers. Tom is best known for his work on sympatric speciation in Enchenopa treehoppers (Modified from Tom Wood's obituary by Kelley Tilmon appeared in the American Entomologist, winter 2002).

An aggregation of one of Tom's favorite treehoppers, Enchenopa binotata on Viburnum lentago (photo by CPL)

A Mentor & Friend For A Lifetime

In memory of Tom ... 'Darwin & Natural History Study' (in Chinese), an article appeared in Taiwan Environmental Information Center, 'Darwin 200' special column, 2009.04.21.

A Collection of Tom Wood's Publication

(Disclaimer: Copy rights of papers belong to publishers, please download copies of pdf for your personal use only)

Lin, C-P., M. S. Cast, T. K. Wood and M-Y. Chen. 2007. Phylogenetics and phylogeography of the oak treehopper Platycotis vittata indicate three distinct North American lineages and a neotropical origin. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 45:750–756

Lin, C-P., B. N. Danforth and T. K. Wood. 2004. Molecular phylogenetics and evolution of maternal care in membracine treehoppers. Systematic Biology. 53:400–421.

Lin, C-P., and T. K. Wood. 2002. Molecular phylogeny of the North American Enchenopa binotata species complex (Homoptera: Membracidae). Annals of Entomological Society of America. 95:162–171.

Wood, T. K., K. J. Tilmon, A. B. Shantz, C. K. Harris, and J. Pesek. 1999. The role of host-plant fidelity in initiating insect race formation. Evolutionary Ecology Research. 1: 317–332.

Tilmon, K. J., T. K. Wood, and J. D. Pesek. 1998. Genetic variation in performance traits and the potential for host shifts in Enchenopa treehoppers (Homoptera: Membracidae). Annals of The Entomological Society of America 91: 397–403.

Wood, T. K. 1993a. Diversity in the New World Membracidae. Annual Review of Entomology. 38:409–435.

Wood, T. K. 1993b. Speciation of the Enchenopa binotata complex (Insecta: Homoptera: Membracidae). In D. R. Lees and D. Edwards. Evolutionary Patterns and Processes. Linnean Society of London. Academic Press. pp. 299–317.

Pratt, G., and T. K. Wood 1993. Genitalic analysis of males and females in the Enchenopa binotata (Say) complex (Membracidae: Homoptera). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 95: 574–582.

Pratt, G., and T. K. Wood 1992. A phylogenetic analysis of the Enchenopa binotata species complex (Homoptera: Membracidae) using nymphal characters. Systematic Entomology. 17: 351–357.

Wood, T. K. and J. Pesek 1992. Pronotal shape: A source of confusion or panacea in systematic studies of treehoppers (Homoptera: Membracidae). In J. T. Sorensen and R. Foottit. Ordination In Morphology, Evolution and Systematics of Insects. Elesvier. pp. 349–384.

Keese, M. C., and T. K. Wood 1991. Host plant mediated geographic variation in the life history of Platycotis vittata (Homoptera: Membracidae). Ecological Entomology. 16: 63–72.

Wood, T. K. , and M. C. Keese. 1990. Host plant induced assortative mating in Enchenopa treehoppers. Evolution. 44: 619–628.

Wood, T. K. , K. L. Olmstead, and S. I. Guttman 1990. Insect phenology mediated by host-plant water relations. Evolution. 44: 629–636.

Olmstead, K. L., and T. K. Wood 1990a. The effect of clutch size and ant attendance on egg guarding by Entylia bactriana (Homoptera: Membracidae). Psyche. 97: 111–120.

Olmstead, K. L., and T. K. Wood 1990b. Altitudinal patterns of treehopper (Homoptera) species richness: The role of ants and treehopper life Histories. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 92:552–560.

Wood, T. K. 1988. Consequences of membracid life histories mediated by plant phenology. In C. Vidano and A. Arzone. 1988. Proceedings of 6th. Auchenorryncha Meeting. Turin, Italy. Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche, Italy. pp. 247–253.

Wood, T. K. 1987. Host plant shifts and speciation in the Enchenopa bionotata Say complex. In M. R. Wilson and L. R. Nault (eds.) Proceedings of 2nd International Workshop on Leafhoppers and Planthoppers of Economic Importance. C.A.B. International Institution of Entomology, London, U.K. pp. 361–368.

Tallamy, D.W., and T. K. Wood 1986. Convergence patterns in subsocial insects. Annual Review of Entomology. 31: 369–390.

Wood, T. K., S. I. Guttman and M. Taylor 1984. Mating behavior of Platycotis vittata (Homoptera: Membracidae). The American Midland Naturalist. 112(2): 305–313.

Wood, T. K., and S. I.,Guttman 1985. A new member of the Enchenopa binotata Say complex on tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 87: 171–175.

Wood, T. K., and K. L. Olmstead 1984. Latitudinal effects on treehopper species richness (Homoptera: Membracidae). Ecological Entomology. 9: 109–115.

Wood, T. K. 1982b. Selective factors associated with the evolution of membracid sociality. In Breed, M. D., C. D. Michener and H. E. Evans eds., The Biology of Social Insects, pp. 175–179. Westview Press, Boulder, CO.

Wood, T. K. 1979. Sociality in the Membracidae. Miscellaneous Publications of the Entomological Society of America. 11:15–22.

Wood, T. K. 1975. Studies on the function of the Membracid pronotum (Homoptera) II. Histology. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. :77(1) 78–82.

Wood, T. K., and G. K. Morris 1974a. Studies on the function of the membracid pronoum (Homoptera) I. Occurrence and distribution of articulated hairs. Canadian Entomologist. 106: 143–148.

(More to come ...)

 

© “Systematics and Evolutionary Biology Lab” & “Chen-Pan Liao”, 2006. All rights reserved.

Validated XHTML 1.0 Strict & CSS 2.1. If there were problems of web page layout, please update your browser.