Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Entomology Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 4 of 4

Full-Text Articles in Entomology

Regenerative Agriculture Effects On Invertebrate And Bird Communities And Insect-Provided Ecosystem Services, Alex Michels Jan 2022

Regenerative Agriculture Effects On Invertebrate And Bird Communities And Insect-Provided Ecosystem Services, Alex Michels

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Conventional agricultural practices can have unintended consequences on the environment and wildlife. Insects and birds are declining at rapid rates around the world, and the current conventional agricultural paradigm is a major driver through habitat loss and the intensification of production. Invertebrates in agroecosystems provide services to both farmers and the rest of society. Regenerative systems may promote the functioning of an agroecosystem by influencing invertebrate abundance, diversity, and ecosystem services and mitigate bird and insect declines through conservation practices that increase soil health, reduce disturbances, and increase biological diversity. Here I address knowledge gaps of the effects of regenerative …


An Inventory Of Cicadellidae, Aphrophoridae, And Delphacidae (Hemiptera) In The Alvar Grasslands Of The Maxton Plains, Michigan, Max W. Spencer, James P. Dunn, Evan M. Szymczak Aug 2018

An Inventory Of Cicadellidae, Aphrophoridae, And Delphacidae (Hemiptera) In The Alvar Grasslands Of The Maxton Plains, Michigan, Max W. Spencer, James P. Dunn, Evan M. Szymczak

The Great Lakes Entomologist

Alvars are rare grassland communities found in the North American Great Lakes Region consisting of thin mineral soil over limestone bedrock and act as refugia for many unique and threatened endemic species. Few studies have catalogued Hemiptera species present in the alvars of the Maxton Plains on Drummond Island, MI. We aimed to add to these species lists, compare species diversity between alvar sites with varying levels of exposed bedrock, and test if an unpaved limestone road running through our sample sites influenced Hemipteran populations. We collected several prairie endemic species of Cicadellidae (Hemiptera), including a new record for the …


The Influence Of Spatiotemporally Decoupled Land Use On Honey Bee Colony Health And Pollination Service Delivery, Matthew D. Smart, Clint R. V. Otto, Benjamin L. Carlson, Cali L. Roth Jan 2018

The Influence Of Spatiotemporally Decoupled Land Use On Honey Bee Colony Health And Pollination Service Delivery, Matthew D. Smart, Clint R. V. Otto, Benjamin L. Carlson, Cali L. Roth

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Societal dependence on insects for pollination of agricultural crops has risen amidst concerns over pollinator declines. Habitat loss and lack of forage have been implicated in the decline of both managed and native pollinators. Land use changes in the Northern Great Plains of the US, a region supporting over 1 million honey bee colonies annually, have shifted away from historical grassland ecosystems bees rely on for forage toward landscapes dominated by corn, soybeans, and other row crops. We investigated how land use impacts honey bee colony population size during the growing season and subsequent colony population size for almond pollination …


Using Colony Monitoring Devices To Evaluate The Impacts Of Land Use And Nutritional Value Of Forage On Honey Bee Health, Matthew D. Smart, Clint R.V. Otto, Robert Cornman, Deborah Iwanowicz Jan 2018

Using Colony Monitoring Devices To Evaluate The Impacts Of Land Use And Nutritional Value Of Forage On Honey Bee Health, Matthew D. Smart, Clint R.V. Otto, Robert Cornman, Deborah Iwanowicz

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Colony monitoring devices used to track and assess the health status of honey bees are becoming more widely available and used by both beekeepers and researchers. These devices monitor parameters relevant to colony health at frequent intervals, often approximating real time. The fine-scale record of hive condition can be further related to static or dynamic features of the landscape, such as weather, climate, colony density, land use, pesticide use, vegetation class, and forage quality. In this study, we fit commercial honey bee colonies in two apiaries with pollen traps and digital scales to monitor floral resource use, pollen quality, and …