The Effect Of Plant Richness On The Insect Community

The basis of our experiment is to test if different types of insects are attracted to certain foliage. Different types of insects can be found in distinctive areas of an ecosystem, so trees and other planets can have an effect

The eastern flutters of monarch butterflies are thought to be in danger, thanks to natural disasters in Mexico and there not being enough milkweed in their summer nesting grounds(National Geographic). Global warming and loss of habitat also effect the migratory patterns and the rainfall(National Wildlife Federation).  “In 1996, the Mexican government created the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve to protect monarch’s wintering habitat(US Fish and Wildlife

The Gypsy Moth can impact over 500 types of trees as the moths eat the bark, and leaves killing trees one by one. When the moths eat the trees it can affect the many benefits trees provide to the biosphere. Also, forest defoliation can cause a loss of wildlife's habitats, can increase chances of wildfires, and water quality. The gypsy moth can kill millions of acres in one year.

9: The biome (or ecosystem) of organism: The adult Kamehameha butterflies biome is Koa forests. The caterpillar’s biome is the mamaki plant.

“A single species' disappearance can, in fact, make a huge difference on a global scale. Like pieces of yarn in a woven tapestry, the removal of one can start unraveling the whole system.”(Bove) Our ecosystem was to work together to function properly. “For example, declines in the populations of bees, butterflies, and other pollinators because of habitat destruction, pesticide use, and invasive species cost farmers millions of dollars each year in reduced crop yields.”(Suzuki)

Habitat fragmentation also causes the alteration of local ecosystem processes leading to biodiversity loss (Wilson et al., 2015). About 70% of remaining forests in the world are within 1 km of the forest’s edge (Haddad et al., 2015). Having more edge means the fragment is more susceptible to impacts from wind, heat, and light. These changes are known as edge effects. Edge effects change the community composition of trees, lianas, and tree seedlings. Bees, wasps, flies, beetles, ants, and understory birds also decrease in abundance near fragment edges (Laurance et al.,

Natural Bridges is known as a “hotspot” for monarch butterfly migrations as it is home to over 150,000 monarch butterflies between October and February. A eucalyptus grove provides habitat for these monarchs and they migrate up to 2,000 miles to the park in order to escape cold weather. The

They turned the castle corner to a giant lawn two kilometers long. Flowers of every color lined where the yard and forest met, a decorated border everyone seemed to fear. A wooden fence marked the beginning of the lawn’s plateau, and flattened stones created a biotic footpath into a green valley of nothingness.

The pasture component takes up roughly 50.8 acres and is located in the purple section of figure 1. This location was primarily determined by where the house was located. I wanted the pasture to be adjacent to the house and sheds for

The main purpose of this visit was to cut and burn the buckthorn trees which have dominated the grassland of this forest preserve. Similar tools like the other visits were used. The buckthorn trees in this area were mostly young with population of high density in certain areas and the range of their occupied area was from entrance of the forest up to one quarter of the area at the end of the savanna. The buckthorns were cut and by aligning them on the fire place against the direction of the wind then were burnt. During our visit we noticed that unlike the Bunker Hill Savanna forest preserve we were first greeted by the grassland then the forest. In the middle of the savanna we saw a buck or a male deer grazing on the grass found over there. In addition, we were able to observe a species of hawk that was rarely seen close up. It had a golden brownish color and was sitting in the nearby tree observing the activities that were done in the forest. After the required buckthorn trees were cut and burnt, herbicide was sprayed on their remaining parts on the ground. Next seeds of some of the native plants of that area were dispersed over the area where the buckthorn trees have previously occupied. The purpose of dispersing the seeds of the area was to increase the population of the native species which enable them to dominate the area and maintain the

In two weeks, there were not any noticeable changes to my area. The area was still largely covered and surrounded by leaves and the Birdsfoot Trefoil had officially died. The birds and insects that had populated the area in the summer were no longer present, which left me wondering how one would go about measuring the abundance and distribution of grasshoppers in the area. Grasshoppers would be extremely hard to measure as they migrate quickly and often and are extremely difficult to tag. However, it is important to monitor insect populations as they could spread diseases that could harm crops, livestock, and personal environments. Insects can be dangerous as they can go unnoticed for significant periods of time. The neighborhood surrounding my area is home to some livestock and small crops. As grasshoppers are r-strategists, it would be possible for an unusually large population to appear and cause havoc on the ecosystem. To control populations of grasshoppers, the surrounding human population may use harsh chemicals, which could have a

Non-aposematic insects could also be found on the same biologically active plants as aposematic insects due to competition. According to an experiment conducted to illustrate bio-prospecting through aposematic insects, non-aposematic insects were found on 80% of plants with active chemical compounds and 100% on inactive plants, whereas aposematic insects were found on 90% of the active plants and 40% on the other. From this data, one can conclude that non-aposematic and aposematic insects were competing because one of the populations dominated the other. Like the gerbils of the sand, non-aposematic insects may prefer a habitat where the amount of competition is minimized; in other words, they may be foragers.

All over the world the demand for food is increasing. The human population is anticipated to grow from six billion in 2000 to nine billion in 2050. Meat production is predicted to double within the same amount, as demand grows from rising wealth. Pastures and fodder already deplete seventy percent of all agricultural land, therefore increasing livestock production would need increasing agricultural land area at the expense of rain forests and different natural lands. Officers at the United Nations Food associated Agriculture Organization recently predicted that beef might become an extreme luxury item by 2050, like caviar, as a result of rising production prices. Edible insects have long been used by ethnic groups in Asia, Africa, Mexico and South America as cheap and sustainable sources of protein, and the major role of entomophagy in human food security is well-documented. Up to 2,086 species are consumed by 3,071 ethnic groups in 130 countries. While more attention is needed to fully assess the potential of edible insects, they provide a natural source of essential carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals and vitamins and offer an opportunity to bridge the gap in protein consumption between poor and wealthy nations but also to lessen the Ecological footprint. Some argue that the combination of increasing land use pressure, climate change, and food grain shortages due to the use of corn as a biofuel feedstock will cause serious challenges for attempts to meet future

A field trip to Rangitoto Island was conducted to investigate a relationship between species diversity and area of vegetation patch. The study site was chosen to study the Primary Succession of plant species as it has volcanic condition. Successional sequence for plant species on Rangitoto Island was constructed, and the results show a positive directly proportional/linear relationship between the two variables.

Nutrient availability, plants, and insect herbivores influence community structure and function both aboveground and belowground, but it is unclear whether these factors are independent or interdependent (Wright et al. 2014). Ehrlich and Raven (1964) used butterflies as a model organism to examine coevolution between closely interacting organisms, specifically between plants and insect herbivores. Ehrlich and Raven (1964) noted that structural and mechanical characteristics of plants have the potential to modify these relationships. Additionally, many plants produce secondary metabolic compounds, which may act as repellents to insects and correlate with the presence of nutrients. The chemical composition of plants may change with age, exposure to sunlight, or other environmental factors, and changes in chemical composition may influence the attraction or repulsion of insects to plants (Ehrlich and Raven 1964). According to the study, secondary plant substances played an integral role in determining patterns of plant utilization by various species of butterflies, as well for other phytophagous and parasitic insect groups. Through mutations and recombination, plants were able to produce chemical compounds not directly related to their metabolic pathways. Ehrlich and Raven (1964) noted that some of these compounds appeared to reduce the palatability of the plant. The abundance of phytophagous insects in the tropics may accentuate the rate at which these interactions between