Jared Ali

Associate Chair, Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Ecology; Director of the Center for Chemical Ecology; Acting Director, Ecology Institute; Associate Professor of Entomology

Jared Ali

Research Summary

Behavior and chemical ecology of multi-trophic interactions, including plant responses to below-ground herbivory and nematode. Insect community ecology, chemical ecology, and coevolution. Trophic cascades, above- and below-ground interactions, chemotaxis of soil nematodes, and evolution of plant defense strategies.

Huck Graduate Students

Huck Affiliations

Links

Most Recent Publications

Flipping indirect defense: chemical cues from natural enemies mediate multitrophic interactions

Jessica T. Kansman, Sara L. Hermann, Jared G. Ali, Anjel M. Helms, 2025, Current Opinion in Insect Science

Neonicotinoid Insecticides can Enhance Milkweed Vigor and Subsequently Impact Monarch Performance

Staci Cibotti, Nathaniel McCartney, Rudolf J. Schilder, Jared Gregory Ali, 2025, Journal of Chemical Ecology

Tomato Defenses Under Stress: The Impact of Salinity on Direct Defenses Against Insect Herbivores

Sahil V. Pawar, Sujay M. Paranjape, Grace K. Kalowsky, Michelle Peiffer, Nate McCartney, Jared G. Ali, Gary W. Felton, 2025, Plant, Cell and Environment on p. 3647-3659

Differential effects of clothianidin exposure on metabolic rates across life stages of Danaus plexippus

Jared Ali, Staci Cibotti, Jared Ali, R Schilder, 2025,

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi influence belowground interactions between a specialist root-feeder and its natural enemy

Elizabeth Davidson-Lowe, Nursyafiqi Zainuddin, Olivia Trase, Nathaniel McCarthy, Jared Gregory Ali, 2024, Journal of Invertebrate Pathology

Divergent impacts of the neonicotinoid insecticide, clothianidin, on flight performance metrics in two species of migratory butterflies

Staci Cibotti, Phineas J. Saum, Andrew James Myrick, Rudolf J. Schilder, Jared Gregory Ali, 2024, Conservation Physiology

Chemical ecology in conservation biocontrol: new perspectives for plant protection

Jessica T. Kansman, Jorge L. Jaramillo, Jared G. Ali, Sara L. Hermann, 2023, Trends in Plant Science on p. 1166-1177

Extreme acidity in a cynipid gall: a potential new defensive strategy against natural enemies

Antoine Guiguet, Nathaniel McCartney, Kadeem Gilbert, John Tooker, Andrew Deans, Jared Gregory Ali, Heather M. Hines, 2023, Biology Letters on p. 20220513–20220513

Impacts of larval host plant species on dispersal traits and free-flight energetics of adult butterflies

Victoria M. Pocius, Staci Cibotti, Swayamjit Ray, Obenewa Ankoma-Darko, Nathaniel B. McCartney, Rudolf J. Schilder, Jared G. Ali, 2022, Communications Biology

Nutrition vs association: plant defenses are altered by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi association not by nutritional provisioning alone

Chase A. Stratton, Swayamjit Ray, Brosi A. Bradley, Jason P. Kaye, Jared G. Ali, Ebony G. Murrell, 2022, BMC Plant Biology

Most-Cited Papers

Stomata-mediated interactions between plants, herbivores, and the environment

Po-An Lin, Yintong Chen, Gabriela Ponce, Flor Acevedo, Jonathan P. Lynch, Charles Anderson, Jared G. Ali, Gary W. Felton, 2021, Trends in Plant Science on p. 287-300

Generalising indirect defence and resistance of plants

Ian S. Pearse, Eric LoPresti, Robert N. Schaeffer, William C. Wetzel, Kailen A. Mooney, Jared G. Ali, Paul J. Ode, Micky D. Eubanks, Judith L. Bronstein, Marjorie G. Weber, 2020, Ecology Letters on p. 1137-1152

Induced Plant Defenses Against Herbivory in Cultivated and Wild Tomato

Sulav Paudel, Po An Lin, Majid R. Foolad, Jared G. Ali, Edwin G. Rajotte, Gary W. Felton, 2019, Journal of Chemical Ecology on p. 693-707

Chemical cues linked to risk: Cues from below-ground natural enemies enhance plant defences and influence herbivore behaviour and performance

Anjel Helms, Swayamjit Ray, Nina Matulis, Margaret Kuzemchak, William Grisales, John Tooker, Jared G. Ali, 2019, Functional Ecology on p. 798--808

Silencing the alarm: an insect salivary enzyme closes plant stomata and inhibits volatile release

Po-An Lin, Yintong Chen, Duverney Chaverra-Rodriguez, N Zainuddin, Chan Heu, Nursyafiqi Zainuddin, J Sidhu, M Peiffer, Jagdeep Sidhu, Michelle Peiffer, C Tan, Ching-Wen Tan, A Helms, Anjel Helms, D Kim, Donghun Kim, J Ali, Ali, Jared Ali, J Rasgon, Jason Rasgon, Jonathan Lynch, C Anderson, G Felton, Charles T. Anderson, Gary W. Felton, 2021, New Phytologist on p. 793--803

Airborne signals synchronize the defenses of neighboring plants in response to touch

Dimitrije Markovic, Ilaria Colzi, Cosimo Taiti, Swayamjit Ray, Romain Scalone, Jared Gregory Ali, Stefano Mancuso, Velemir Ninkovic, 2019, Journal of Experimental Botany on p. 691-700

Choosy mothers pick challenging plants: maternal preference and larval performance of a specialist herbivore are not linked

Monica Hufnagel, Anthony L. Schilmiller, Jared Ali, Zsofia Szendrei, 2017, Ecological Entomology on p. 33-41

Complex floral traits shape pollinator attraction to ornamental plants

E. Erickson, R. R. Junker, Jared Gregory Ali, N. McCartney, H. M. Patch, C. M. Grozinger, 2022, Annals of Botany on p. 561-577

Asymmetry in Herbivore Effector Responses: Caterpillar Frass Effectors Reduce Performance of a Subsequent Herbivore

Swayamjit Ray, Anjel M. Helms, Nina L. Matulis, Elizabeth Davidson-Lowe, William Grisales, Jared G. Ali, 2020, Journal of Chemical Ecology on p. 76-83

Mycorrhizal composition influences plant anatomical defense and impacts herbivore growth and survival in a life-stage dependent manner

Rondy J. Malik, Jared G. Ali, James D. Bever, 2018, Pedobiologia on p. 29-35

News Articles Featuring Jared Ali

Apr 15, 2025

Feeling salty? Increased salt stress reduces tomato pest activity

Increased soil salinity can reduce damage from prominent tomato pests such as the tomato fruitworm, according to researchers at Penn State. They published their findings in the Journal of Plant, Cell and Environment.

Full Article

Aug 28, 2023

Penn State receives $3M grant to address insect biodiversity crisis

Penn State researchers have received a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation to spearhead a new initiative to create novel monitoring systems for insect populations.

Full Article

Aug 21, 2023

Cover crops project provides fertile ground for USDA graduate fellows

Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences graduate students received more predoctoral fellowships from the U.S. Department of Agriculture than any other institution over the last five years.

Full Article

Feb 20, 2023

Grant will promote STEM graduate studies for students from diverse backgrounds

A consortium of institutions led by faculty in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences has received a $75,000 planning grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation aimed at expanding the recruitment of and opportunities for Black, Indigenous and Latino students to enroll in science, technology, engineering and mathematics graduate programs.

Full Article

Jul 29, 2022

Pennsylvania’s new lawn-fertilizing rules, trees in heat, and bugs on the milkweeds: This Weekend in the Garden

Pennsylvania has a new set of rules aimed at preventing unnecessary lawn fertilizers from polluting waterways.

Full Article

Jun 29, 2022

Jared Ali named director of the Penn State Center for Chemical Ecology

Jared Ali, Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Chair of Chemical Ecology and associate professor of entomology in the College of Agricultural Sciences, has been named director of the Penn State Center for Chemical Ecology (CCE).

Full Article

Jun 27, 2022

Jared Ali named Huck Chair of Chemical Ecology

Jared Ali, associate professor of entomology in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, has been named the Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Chair of Chemical Ecology by the University’s Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences.

Full Article

Feb 17, 2021

Silencing the alarm

An enzyme in the saliva of certain insects prevents their food plants from warning neighboring plants of an attack.

Full Article

Jan 28, 2021

Oh Good, Trillions of Cicadas Are Coming

They’ll make their arrival in the region sometime in May or June.

Full Article

Feb 26, 2019

Nematode odors offer possible advantage in the battle against insect pests

Gardeners commonly use nematodes to naturally get rid of harmful soil-dwelling insects. A new study published today in the journal Functional Ecology revealed that these insect-killing nematodes also produce distinctive chemical cues, which deter Colorado potato beetles and make potato leaves less palatable to them.

Full Article