Department
Biological Sciences
Major
Biological Sciences
Research Advisor
Verble, Robin M.
Advisor's Department
Biological Sciences
Funding Source
U. S. Department of Defense; MS&T Biological Sciences Department
Abstract
This project is part of a larger survey examining the terrestrial insect diversity at Fort Leonard Wood in summers 2021 and 2022. The data analyzed in this poster includes specimens collected during the 2022 collection period. This project attempts to elucidate the most effective method of insect collection at Fort Leonard Wood, as well as any hotspots of insect presence or diversity on the base. Specimens were collected using hand and net collection, Lindgren funnel trapping, leaf litter sampling, and three colors of pan trapping (blue, yellow, white). Specimens were processed in the lab, pinned, sorted, and identified. Preliminary analysis shows that hand trapping methods collected insects of more differing orders than all other methods in a manner that was statistically significant compared to all methods except white pan traps (Shannon Diversity t-test, p < 0.001). These results will better inform future insect collection methods at Fort Leonard Wood and beyond.
Biography
Sage Wood is a Biological Sciences major at Missouri S& T. They are interested in behavioral ecology in insects and the ways they interact with their environments. They have worked in the Verble Pyro ecology and Insect Ecology Laboratory for three years, doing a variety of entomology and fire ecology projects. Over the 2022 summer they were part of the fellowship tasked with surveying terrestrial insects on Fort Leonard Wood. Sage is from Jefferson City, Mo, where their parents and younger sister reside.
Research Category
Sciences
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Document Type
Poster
Location
Innovation Forum - 1st Floor Innovation Lab
Presentation Date
10 April 2024, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Insect Collection Methods at Fort Leonard Wood
Innovation Forum - 1st Floor Innovation Lab
This project is part of a larger survey examining the terrestrial insect diversity at Fort Leonard Wood in summers 2021 and 2022. The data analyzed in this poster includes specimens collected during the 2022 collection period. This project attempts to elucidate the most effective method of insect collection at Fort Leonard Wood, as well as any hotspots of insect presence or diversity on the base. Specimens were collected using hand and net collection, Lindgren funnel trapping, leaf litter sampling, and three colors of pan trapping (blue, yellow, white). Specimens were processed in the lab, pinned, sorted, and identified. Preliminary analysis shows that hand trapping methods collected insects of more differing orders than all other methods in a manner that was statistically significant compared to all methods except white pan traps (Shannon Diversity t-test, p < 0.001). These results will better inform future insect collection methods at Fort Leonard Wood and beyond.
