Michael Johnson, Laura Miller, Joshua Snay, Dillen Curnutte, and Madeline Haase
Sponsor: Benjamin Dolan
The temperate forest canopy remains a relatively understudied ecological niche, with limited available data on the insect communities inhabiting various heights within this complex environment. To close this knowledge gap, we aim to gather comprehensive data on flying insect diversity in the canopy of Quercus rubra. In particular, we seek to determine whether flying insects are distributed evenly throughout the canopy or if they are partitioned the space vertically. Aerial interception insect traps were strategically placed at 16 m, 20 m, and 25 m heights in a randomly selected Quercus rubra in northwest Ohio. Over four weeks during autumn, insects were sampled and preserved. Initial data indicate that insects are primarily in the Order Coleoptera, and further analysis will indicate how diversity changes through the vertical strata. Future work includes comparisons with Q. rubra canopies distributed throughout the eastern hardwood forest of North America.
