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Articles 1 - 9 of 9

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Biocontrol Of The Emerald Ash Borer: An Adapted Nicholson-Bailey Model, Michael Kerckhove, Shuheng Chen Nov 2021

Biocontrol Of The Emerald Ash Borer: An Adapted Nicholson-Bailey Model, Michael Kerckhove, Shuheng Chen

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.


Stable Hydrogen Isotopes Of Aquatic-Emergent Versus Terrestrial Insects In Southern Ontario, Celina Y. Tang Aug 2021

Stable Hydrogen Isotopes Of Aquatic-Emergent Versus Terrestrial Insects In Southern Ontario, Celina Y. Tang

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Aquatic-emergent insects are vectors of both contaminants and nutrients, linking the aquatic system to the terrestrial system. Aquatic-emergent insects are high in omega-3 fatty acids that benefit terrestrial aerial insectivores, such as bats and birds. With aerial insectivores on a decline, a contributing factor could be a decrease in the quality of insects. We collected insects from lakeshore and inland locations in Southern Ontario. Insects sampled included bees, wasps, ants, beetles, caddisflies, craneflies, dragonflies, marchflies, mayflies, midges, other flies, and true bugs. Insects’ wings and powdered bodies were then analyzed for stable hydrogen isotopes (d2H) in order …


Comparison Of Expiring Cp-25 And 3-Year Old Cp-42 Plantings For Monarch Habitat Quality, Schuyler Hop, Laura L. Jackson Ph.D. Jul 2021

Comparison Of Expiring Cp-25 And 3-Year Old Cp-42 Plantings For Monarch Habitat Quality, Schuyler Hop, Laura L. Jackson Ph.D.

Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Symposium

Monarch butterflies have experienced a population decline of more than 80% in the past two decades, driven by the emergence of Roundup Ready beans and corn varieties. This development resulted in landowners spraying herbicides and killing all other plants in their field, including milkweeds, which is the genus of plants (Asclepias) that monarch caterpillars can only feed upon. Along with this development, an initiative to reintroduce native prairie ecosystems as part of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). In Iowa, over 80% of the land once was home to this prairie, now less than 0.1% of this rare ecosystem …


Design, Simulation And Testing Of Biomimetic Directional Acoustic Sensors, Brendan Francis Apr 2021

Design, Simulation And Testing Of Biomimetic Directional Acoustic Sensors, Brendan Francis

Thinking Matters Symposium

The Ormia ochracea, a species of parasitic fly, has become the focal point in sound localization research because of its finely tuned hearing abilities. The female of this species uses its super highly directional hearing to pinpoint the call of a host cricket, with hypersensitivity of frequency and phase difference, to reach and dispose of its eggs on the host. The goal of this study was to further the research of a previous Project in Professor Guvench’s group which implemented MEMS (Micro Electro-Mechanical System) technology on a chip to replicate these abilities. In this iteration, however, some commercially available …


Mems Directional Acoustic Sensors, Colby Damren Apr 2021

Mems Directional Acoustic Sensors, Colby Damren

Thinking Matters Symposium

The purpose of my project is to test and verify two Micro-Electro-Mechanical-System (MEMS) microphones. The two MEMS devices are biomimetic microphones that imitate the eardrums of the Ormia Ochracea, a parasitic fly that listens for host crickets to lay their eggs. The MEMS microphones mimic the eardrum spacing of the Ormia Ochracea with a spacing of 1000um. This is roughly twice the opening of the Ormia Ochracea. The microphones will be tested for directionality inside a wooden box. This box will be lined with beveled foam to prevent any echo or outside noise from interfering with the results. These results …


208— Describing Genetic Diversity In A Non-Native Ant-Mimicking Spider, Cassidy Mills, Jennifer L. Apple Apr 2021

208— Describing Genetic Diversity In A Non-Native Ant-Mimicking Spider, Cassidy Mills, Jennifer L. Apple

GREAT Day Posters

The ant-mimicking spider Myrmarachne formicaria (Salticidae) is a species native to Eurasia and was first identified in North America in 2001. It has since been found in many locations in the Northeast including western New York, western Pennsylvania, northeastern Ohio, and southern Ontario. Little is known about its introduction to North America and how it has dispersed since. By characterizing the mitochondrial genetic diversity of this species, we can learn about its introduction history and dispersal patterns in North America. Sequencing of a 600-bp mitochondrial DNA gene region spanning the 16s rRNA, leucine tRNA, and part of the ND1 gene …


Surveys Of Bees At Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie With Special Focus On The Possible Presence Of A Rusty Patched Bumble Bee Populations, Nicole Dede Apr 2021

Surveys Of Bees At Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie With Special Focus On The Possible Presence Of A Rusty Patched Bumble Bee Populations, Nicole Dede

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Native bees are one of the most diverse and important groups of pollinators in many ecosystems. However, pollinators are declining around the world and bumble bees (Bombus sp.) have been significantly affected. Prairie grasslands like those at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie (Wilmington, IL) are likely prime locations for many species of bees due to rich and consistent floral resources. An important example is the rusty patched bumble bee, B. affinis, which was found at Midewin in 2018. B. affinis is federally listed as a critically endangered species that has experienced a 90% range reduction since 2000. This study is meant …


Correlation Between Abundance Of Fossils In Harvester Ant Nest And Proximity Of Fossil Sites, Hayeong Woo Apr 2021

Correlation Between Abundance Of Fossils In Harvester Ant Nest And Proximity Of Fossil Sites, Hayeong Woo

Campus Research Day

Harvester ants have an interesting behavior of bone collecting. Therefore, harvester ant nests that are positioned around the fossil sites contain various fossil fragments. If there is a statistically significant correlation between the abundance of fossil fragments and the distance of the ant nests from the main fossil sites, ant nests can potentially be used to predict the proximity of the main fossil sites.


Development Of A Rapid Drug Detection Method For Insects Using Paper Spray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (Psi-Ms), Alexandria Plyler Apr 2021

Development Of A Rapid Drug Detection Method For Insects Using Paper Spray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (Psi-Ms), Alexandria Plyler

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

Insects have the ability to reflect the chemical environment that they have developed in. Thus, necrogenous insects can reflect the chemical environment of cadavers they have fed on. Forensic scientists can potentially utilize insect larvae as an alternate biological matrix to detect drugs in cadavers that are skeletonized, burned, or otherwise badly damaged. Analysis of insects using paper spray ionization mass spectrometry (PSI-MS), an analytical method requiring little to no sample preparation, could prove a rapid, cost-effective, and non-destructive alternative form of toxicological analysis. Traditional tissue analysis via GC and LC-MS often require lengthy sample preparation, use expensive reagents, and …