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2020 Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Symposium
Presentation Type
Presentation (UNI Access Only)
Document Type
powerpoint slides
Keywords
Prairie animals--Iowa--Cedar Falls--Habitat; Biodiversity--Iowa--Cedar Falls;
Abstract
Many beneficial insect species are known pollinators, while other species serve as a natural pest control. Both of these functions are vital to agricultural success. Most agricultural fields contain a monoculture of crops with few areas of natural prairies for native insect species. We are exploring how prairie age and floral content impact the diversity of insects, in order to encourage the growth of habitat for insects around agricultural lands. In 2020, we surveyed three prairies of different ages: 16-years-old, 13-years-old, and the youngest one being 10-years-old. In each prairie habitat, we netted for bees and other insects in two plots. We hypothesized that the older, more established prairie with high floral diversity, would have a more diverse insect and bee community as well. Our initial results indicated that the youngest and oldest prairies had no significant differences in insect family richness. The results indicated that the youngest plot did have significantly higher family richness than the middle-aged plot. Our results suggest that the age of a prairie is not the biggest factor to determine insect diversity. Rather, the density of floral species in a prairie seems to play a bigger role in cultivating more diverse insect populations.
Start Date
31-7-2020 1:00 PM
End Date
31-7-2020 3:30 PM
Event Host
Summer Undergraduate Research Program, University of Northern Iowa
Faculty Advisor
Ai Wen
Department
Department of Biology
Department
Tallgrass Prairie Center
Copyright
©2020 Taylor Murray and Ai Wen
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Murray, Taylor and Wen, Ai, "Insect Community Diversity On Campus Prairies With Different Ages" (2020). Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Symposium. 6.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/surp/2020/all/6
Insect Community Diversity On Campus Prairies With Different Ages
Many beneficial insect species are known pollinators, while other species serve as a natural pest control. Both of these functions are vital to agricultural success. Most agricultural fields contain a monoculture of crops with few areas of natural prairies for native insect species. We are exploring how prairie age and floral content impact the diversity of insects, in order to encourage the growth of habitat for insects around agricultural lands. In 2020, we surveyed three prairies of different ages: 16-years-old, 13-years-old, and the youngest one being 10-years-old. In each prairie habitat, we netted for bees and other insects in two plots. We hypothesized that the older, more established prairie with high floral diversity, would have a more diverse insect and bee community as well. Our initial results indicated that the youngest and oldest prairies had no significant differences in insect family richness. The results indicated that the youngest plot did have significantly higher family richness than the middle-aged plot. Our results suggest that the age of a prairie is not the biggest factor to determine insect diversity. Rather, the density of floral species in a prairie seems to play a bigger role in cultivating more diverse insect populations.