UC Davis pollination ecologist Neal Williams has been inducted as a Fellow of the Entomological Society of America, recognizing a career connecting native bee diversity with crop pollination and conservation. UC Agriculture and Natural Resources reported the induction Nov. 9, following an August announcement of his election.
Williams was one of nine scientists inducted this year and the only one from California, according to UC ANR. The university account describes the fellowship as one of the society’s highest professional honors.
From bee diversity to habitat planning
His research examines how native bees respond to land use, agricultural management and environmental stress, and how diverse pollinator communities contribute to crop pollination. The society’s description of his work spans individual bee behavior through changes across landscapes.
That work also connects pollinator ecology with habitat planning. According to the society’s account, Williams and his collaborators combined network and optimization methods to identify a core group of native plants used in pollinator habitats across California and other West Coast areas, along with guidelines for evaluating those habitats.
Williams also co-authored a Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences paper examining how local management and the surrounding landscape affect native-bee pollination services. UC ANR reports that his publication record includes more than 130 peer-reviewed papers.
The society describes his research as increasingly interdisciplinary, involving agronomists, soil scientists, economists and computational modelers. His program is expanding its examination of how native pollinators and pollination respond to multiple stresses, including extreme temperatures, nutritional stress and pesticides.
Training researchers and strengthening advising
The recognition also reflects a substantial mentoring record. In the August UC ANR account, Joanna Chiu, chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, credited Williams with training 17 graduate students, more than 15 postdoctoral scholars and numerous undergraduate researchers.
Chiu said Williams served as a graduate adviser in ecology for more than a decade and helped revise graduate requirements and entomology program bylaws. Those changes emphasized more transparent advising, clearer expectations for advisers and accountability in mentoring relationships.
