Patrick Tobin

  • Professor
    • 206-685-7588
  • Visit Patrick's website

    • Patrick C. Tobin

    • Professor

    Research areas

    B.S., Environmental Health Sciences, University of Georgia
    M.S., Entomology, Pennsylvania State University
    Ph.D., Entomology, Minors in Statistics and Operations Research, Pennsylvania State University

    Patrick Tobin’s research focuses on the biology and ecology of biological invasions, the spatial and temporal dynamics of insect populations, and the role of climate change on insect population dynamics.

    Autumn 2026 Admissions: Dr. Tobin’s availability for new graduate student mentorship is currently uncertain and dependent on the outcome of submitted research grant proposals.

     

    Courses

    • ESRM 415 | Terrestrial Invasion Ecology (5) - Autumn
    • ESRM 435 | Insect Ecology (3) - Spring
    • Q SCI 481 | Introduction to Probability and Statistics (5) - Winter

    Current sponsored projects

    • Historical insect outbreak dynamics in the Pacific coastal temperate rainforest

    • Testing North American fir species for genetic tolerance and resistance to balsam woolly adelgid

    Selected publications

    Maust, A.R., M.B. Bradshaw, M. Braun, S-H. Kim, and P.C. Tobin. 2025. Citizen science data reveals winter warming delays cherry bloom in the Pacific Northwest, USA. Plants, People, Planet 3.70037.

    Schulz, A.N., N.P. Havill, T.D. Marsico, M.P. Ayres, K.J.K. Gandhi, D.A. Herms, A.M. Hoover, R.A. Hufbauer, A.M. Liebhold, K.F. Raffa, K.A. Thomas, P.C. Tobin, D.R. Uden, and A. Mech. 2025. What is a specialist? Quantifying host breadth enables impact prediction for invasive herbivores. Ecology Letters 28: e70083

    Harvey, B.J., S.J. Hart, P.C. Tobin, T.T. Veblen, D. C. Donato, M.S. Buonanduci, A.M. Pane, H.D. Stanke, and K.C. Rodman. 2023. Emergent hotspots of biotic disturbances and their consequences for forest resilience. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 21: 388-396

    Westreich, L.R., S.T. Westreich, and P.C. Tobin. 2023. Native solitary bee reproductive success depends on early season precipitation and host plant richness. Oecologia 201: 965-978.

    Uden, D.R., A.M. Mech, N.P. Havill, A.N. Schulz, M.P. Ayres, D.A. Herms, A.M Hoover, K.J.K. Gandhi, R.A. Hufbauer, A.M. Liebhold, T.D. Marsico, K.F. Raffa, K.A. Thomas, P.C. Tobin, and C.R. Allen. 2023. Phylogenetic risk assessment is robust for forecasting the impact of non-native insects on North American trees. Ecological Applications 33: e2761

    Tobin, P.C. and C. Robinet. 2022. Advances in understanding and predicting the spread of invading insect populations. Current Opinion in Insect Science 54: 100985