Cattle Fever Ticks: Outbreaks Driven by Unique Landscape, Exotic Antelope
In South Texas, the unique landscape of the coastal plain and the presence of nilgai, an antelope species native to India, combine to drive a recent cattle fever tick resurgence.
Impact of Invasive Japanese Barberry Cascades Through Local Food Webs
Dense thickets of invasive Japanese barberry significantly reduce the diversity and numbers of insects and arthropods in forests, according to new research. The ripple effects can extend upward throughout local ecosystems, even affecting human health via an increased presence of Lyme disease.
Mosquito Management is Key in Creating Popular Urban Wetlands
A study that shows mosquitoes might benefit from wetland-management tactics aimed at protecting frogs illustrates the complicated ecological dynamics present in urban wetlands. Understanding the habitat requirements and ecological interactions of local mosquito species is critical to balancing such wetlands' risks and benefits.
For Insect Ecologists, Some Rare Species Interactions Are a Sign of Things to Come
In an era of human-driven ecological change, crucial interactions between and among insect species and plants can disappear before their participating species do. A new special collection in Annals of the Entomological Society of America looks at how insect ecologists are studying these rare interactions and what they mean for our efforts to conserve even the rarest links in the rich web of interactions all around us.
From Garden Peonies to a Career Studying Ant-Plant Interactions
Kate Mathis, Ph.D., postdoctoral researcher at the University of Arizona and soon-to-be assistant professor at Clark University, got hooked on entomology at a young age, when she saw ants swarm peonies in her mother's garden every spring as they bloomed. Today, she carries that fascination into her research on complex species interactions.
How an “Insect Ecologist at Heart” Got Focused on Pest Management Research
Lauren Diepenbrock, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher at North Carolina State University and soon to be an assistant professor at the University of Florida, says she enjoys "figuring out how insects, particularly invasive species, make use of the available resources to be successful."
After a Flood, How Do Insects and Other Invertebrates Recover?
After a 100-year flood struck south central Oklahoma in 2015, a study of the insects, arthropods, and other invertebrates in the area revealed striking declines of most invertebrates in the local ecosystem, a result that researchers say illustrates the hidden impacts of natural disasters.
After Emerald Ash Borer, Invertebrates on the Ground Get to Work
What happens in the forest after Emerald Ash Borers kill a tree?
Predicting Shifts in the Range of Invasive Insect Species in the Face of Climate Change
By John P. Roche As average temperatures rise globally, the ranges of many species will be affected. Climate-induced shifts in the ranges of invasive species will be particularly important because […]
Ken Raffa Shares His Passion for Working with People to Understand Insects as Agents of Change
Editor’s note: This is the third installment in the “Behind the Science” series by Laurel Haavik that peeks into the lives of scientists. See other posts in the series. By […]