本院昆蟲系二位新進教師曾書萍及林柏安助理教授同時獲選為教育部112年玉山青年學者
本院同賀!
近日教育部公佈了玉山學者計劃的審核結果，本屆臺灣大學生物資源暨農學院獲得相當亮眼的成果。
玉山學者計畫由教育部主理，目標為協助各大專院校延攬國際頂尖人才，藉由提供具國際競爭力的薪資待遇，吸引優秀人才來臺任教，提升我國高等教育的學術水準和國際影響力。計畫延攬的學者專業包含人文與藝術、工學、生命科學與農學、社會科學、理學、醫學六大領域。
其中玉山青年學者指取得最高學歷十年以內，或年齡四十五歲以下，並具有受認可的學術成就。本屆同時兩位老師獲聘創下臺大生農學院的紀錄，分別為任職於昆蟲學系的曾書萍以及林柏安助理教授。
圖一、獲獎教師，（左）曾書萍 助理教授，（右）林柏安 助理教授。
曾書萍助理教授以及林柏安助理教授（圖一）於111年8月1日起聘為臺大昆蟲系之新進助理教授。曾助理教授近五年SCI期刊總計16篇，包括第一作者6篇，發表於國際知名期刊如Molecular Ecology、Frontiers in Genetics 與Journal of Economic Entomology。林助理教授近四年SCI期刊總計13篇，包括第一作者9篇，發表於國際頂尖期刊如New Phytologist、Trends in Plant Science, Journal of Ecology, 與Natural Product Report等等。
曾助理教授專長為遺傳演化、入侵昆蟲以及都市昆蟲。根據估計，入侵物種每年於全球造成超過一千六百多億美元的經濟損失（圖二、三），同時也是造成原生物種滅絕的主因之一 。另一方面，氣候變遷對於經濟以及生物多樣性所帶來的威脅也不容小覷，同時可能為某些入侵物種的拓殖創造更佳的機會，增加入侵物種的管理難度，使得各國所面對的問題更加複雜化。曾助理教授將以分子遺傳為工具，結合行為生態實驗來探討入侵螞蟻和氣候變遷的交互影響，評估可能的管理風險，以期未來能藉由研究成果來制定有效的防治策略，降低環境衝擊以及減少未來可能的損失。
圖二、百大入侵種之一的入侵紅火蟻每年造成巨大的經濟以及生物多樣性損失。
圖三、近期入侵台灣的鋸針蟻，原生地為非洲。
林助理教授為化學生態學專家，以植物與昆蟲為題材研究其交互作用的生理、生態與演化議題，同時以非生物環境因子如何影響植物昆蟲之間的交互作用為主軸（圖四）。植食性昆蟲為陸域生態系中重要生物，透過攻擊植物影響生態系平衡，在農業系統中則成為攻擊作物的害蟲。氣候變遷導致植物與昆蟲的關係更加難以預測，研究環境、昆蟲與植物之間的互動除了讓我們更了解我們身邊的這些生物們，更有實質上的應用價值（圖五），所以這些研究在全球植物保護以及永續發展領域有相當重要性。
圖四、水分對於植物抗蟲機制之影響(擷取自DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erac481)。
圖五、植物芳香物質於生物及非生物交互作用中扮演的角色(擷取自DOI: 10.1039/d2np00061j)。
感謝教育部對生農學以及昆蟲學相關領域學者的肯定以及支持！追求穩定作物生產以及永續植物保護手段實為台大生農學院重要目標之一，曾老師與林老師的研究與這些目標的契合，相信能讓台灣大學在入侵生物學以及農業昆蟲學領域都有有相當好的發展以及國際影響力。再次恭喜曾書萍和林柏安助理教授！
Congratulations to the two newly appointed faculty members
Assistant Professors Dr. Shu-Ping Tseng and Po-An Lin (Department of Entomology), for being selected as the 112th-year Yushan Young Scholars by the Ministry of Education.
The College of Bioresources and Agriculture at National Taiwan University (NTU) has recently achieved remarkable success in the Yushan Scholar Program, which was announced by the Ministry of Education.
The Yushan Scholar Program, hosted by the Ministry of Education, aims to assist universities in Taiwan in attracting top international talents by providing internationally competitive salaries to attract outstanding scholars to teach in Taiwan. This helps elevate the academic standards and international influence of higher education in Taiwan. The program recruits scholars in six major fields: Humanities and Arts, Engineering, Life Sciences and Agriculture, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Medicine.
Among them, the Yushan Young Scholars are defined as those who have obtained the highest academic degree within the past ten years or are under the age of 45 and with recognized academic achievements. In this year's selection, two teachers have set a record for the College of Bioresources and Agriculture at NTU. They are Dr. Shu-PingTseng and Dr. Po-An Lin from the Department of Entomology (Fig. 1).
Fig.1 The award-winning teachers, (left) Dr. Shu-PingTseng and (right) Dr. Po-An Lin.
Dr. Tseng and Dr. Lin are new assistant professors in the Department of Entomology at National Taiwan University starting from August 1st, 2022. Dr. Tseng has published a total of 16 papers in SCI journals over the past five years, including 6 as the first author. These papers have been published in top international journals such as Molecular Ecology, Frontiers in Genetics, and Journal of Economic Entomology. Dr. Lin has published a total of 13 papers in SCI journals over the past four years, including 9 as the first author. These papers have been published in prestigious international journals such as New Phytologist, Trends in Plant Science, Journal of Ecology, and Natural Product Report, among others.
Dr. Tseng’s expertise lies in the fields of evolutionary genetics, invasive biology, and urban entomology. According to estimates, invasive species cause over 160 billion USD in economic losses globally each year and are one of the main contributors to the extinction of native species (Fig. 2 & 3). On the other hand, climate change poses significant threats to both the economy and biodiversity, while also potentially creating better opportunities for some invasive species' colonization. This increases the complexity of managing invasive species and presents more challenges for countries to address.
Dr. Tseng will utilize molecular genetics as a tool and combine it with behavioral ecology experiments to investigate the interactive effects of invasive ants and climate change. The aim is to assess potential management risks and develop effective prevention and control strategies in the future based on research findings. This approach aims to reduce environmental impacts and minimize potential losses that may occur in the future.
Fig.2 One of the top 100 invasive species, the red imported fire ants, causes significant economic and biodiversity losses every year.
Fig.3 The recently invaded trap-jaw ants in Taiwan are originally from Africa.
Dr. Lin is an expert in chemical ecology, conducting research on the physiological, ecological, and evolutionary aspects of plant-insect interactions. Additionally, the focus is on how abiotic factors influence the interactions between plants and insects (Fig. 4). Herbivorous insects play a crucial role in terrestrial ecosystems by affecting the ecosystem through their interactions with plants. In agricultural systems, they are pests that attack crops. Climate change has made the relationship between plants and insects even more challenging to predict, which increases the need to better understand these interactions to prevent unwanted outcomes.
Studying the interactions between the environment, insects, and plants not only deepens our understanding of these organisms around us but also has practical applications (Fig. 5). Therefore, such research holds significant importance in the fields of global plant protection and sustainable development.
Fig. 4 The influence of water on plant defense strategies against insect herbivores. (DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erac481)。
Fig.5 The role of plant volatile compounds in biotic and abiotic interactions. (DOI: 10.1039/d2np00061j)。
We sincerely thank the Ministry of Education for recognizing and supporting scholars in the fields of bioresources and agriculture, as well as entomology. Pursuing stable crop production and sustainable plant protection are important goals of the College of Bioresources and Agriculture at NTU. The research conducted by Dr. Tseng and Dr. Lin aligns well with these objectives, and we believe it will contribute to NTU's strong development and international influence in the fields of invasion biology and agricultural entomology. Once again, congratulations to Dr. Tseng and Dr. Lin!