Special Collection: Undergraduate Research Showcase
Environmental Entomology is pleased to share a special collection of articles focused on undergraduate research.
This dynamic collection will grow as new articles are published and will feature high-quality undergraduate papers. To have your research considered for inclusion in the collection, please contact the editorial office at [email protected] and include an abstract of your article for the editors to read. Articles may be smaller scale (e.g., one year of field data) but still must be scientifically sound and should be innovative.
All articles are freely available to read and download.
The All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) seeks to document every species of living thing in the park. The ATBI is decades in progress, yet some taxa remain virtually untouched by taxonomists. Such “high priority” taxa include the hyper-diverse parasitoid wasp family Ichneumonidae.
The effect of the 20th-century functional extinction of the American Chestnut (Fagaceae: Castanea dentata (Marshall) Borkh) on associated herbivorous insects is unknown. These insects include leafminers that spend at least part of their larval phase feeding between the epidermises of leaves.
Chitosan is a naturally derived polymer that has significant potential for use as a bioinsecticide. Despite this, there is a lack of research as to the efficacy of chitosan for many insect pest species. The apple maggot fly, Rhagoletis pomonella (Walsh) (Diptera: Tephritidae), is one such pest for which chitosan toxicity has not been explored. In this study, the toxicity of chitosan for R.
Aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) extract nutrients from host plant phloem via stylets that facilitate salivation and sap uptake. When navigating to the phloem, aphids periodically puncture nonvascular cells and sample cell contents, but rarely cause significant cell damage. As a result, aphids are considered “stealthy” feeders. In contrast, insects that do cause damage, such as chewing herbivores, will take up host cell contents—including DNA—into their guts.
Sky islands are often areas of endemism and high species diversity around the world. In central North America, the Ozark and Ouachita Highlands contain numerous modestly high elevational islands that are slightly cooler and wetter than surrounding lowlands, and these areas contain many unique species. We studied parasitic Hymenoptera biodiversity on three sky islands in Arkansas, both in canopy and understory strata of mature post oak forests.
Weed management requires enormous labor investments from vegetable farmers, yet crops vary in how much weed pressure they can tolerate without yield loss. Moreover, until weeds reach a point where they threaten yield or approach seed production, they can increase biodiversity and provision food and habitat to attract predatory insects. Our results suggest that highly competitive crops might benefit from stronger natural pest control when weeds are less-aggressively managed.
