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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
The Effects Of Prescribed Fire On Ant Community Composition In A Temperate Deciduous Forest, Emma Jones
The Effects Of Prescribed Fire On Ant Community Composition In A Temperate Deciduous Forest, Emma Jones
2023 Midwest Ecology & Evolution Conference
Prescribed fire is a tool commonly used in land management to decrease wildfire frequency and promote plant diversity. However, the effects of prescribed fire on invertebrate communities, especially those within temperate deciduous forest, are poorly understood. We measured the response of epigeic ant communities in mixed mesophytic forest in Berea, Kentucky following prescribed burning. We used pitfall traps to repeatedly sample epigeic ants in replicate burned and unburned plots for up to 21 months postburn following two separate (2021 and 2022) prescribed fires. Ant species richness was similar between treatments (burn vs. control) and by burn year. Ant community composition …
Evolution Of A Genus Of Gall Wasp Kleptoparasites, Guerin E. Brown
Evolution Of A Genus Of Gall Wasp Kleptoparasites, Guerin E. Brown
2023 Midwest Ecology & Evolution Conference
Kleptoparasites do not directly parasitize their hosts but instead steal food and resources, reducing host fitness. Like direct parasites, kleptoparasites can be highly dependent on their hosts such that their evolutionary histories may be linked. Here, we study the evolution of a kleptoparasitic wasp genus, Synergus (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Synergini), in relation to their hosts, oak gall wasps (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Cynipini). Ovipositing oak gall wasps induce the formation of galls on oaks (Fagaceae) that provide food and shelter to one or more developing gall wasps. Galls induced by different gall wasp species are diverse in size, shape, color, and location …
Environmental Factors Shaping A Sawfly-Associated Community Of Parasitoids, Carson Kephart, Robin K. Bagely
Environmental Factors Shaping A Sawfly-Associated Community Of Parasitoids, Carson Kephart, Robin K. Bagely
2023 Midwest Ecology & Evolution Conference
A major goal of evolutionary biology is to understand the mechanisms that shape biodiversity, especially amongst highly speciose lineages such as parasitic wasps. However, most of these lineages are poorly described, with very little available natural history information. This lack of information limits our ability to uncover the environmental factors that contribute to their patterns of divergence, distribution, and abundance. To that end, here we take advantage of a community of hymenopteran parasites that has an unusually large amount of available information since they attack an economically important pine sawfly species, Neodiprion lecontei. We build upon a set of …
Efficacy Of Biocontrol Against Chrysomelid Pests In Lab Vs Field Studies: Potential Biases Of Setting And Phylogenetic Subgroups, Blake Hudson
2023 Midwest Ecology & Evolution Conference
The beetle family Chrysomelidae is a speciose group of voracious herbivores with a wide number of ecological implications. While some Chrysomelid species have been introduced or augmented as biological control agents of invasive plants, many other species have found success as economically important pests of field crops and stored grains, leading to severe yield losses in cucurbits, legumes, and other systems. Controlling such pests, especially in the field, is particularly difficult due to the timing of their complex life cycles, the fossorial nature of many species’ larvae, and ability to produce multiple generations in a single growing season. This study …