Master of Science (MS), Wright State University, 2024, Biological Sciences

Emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis, is an invasive pest that significantly impacts olive trees (Olea europaea). This study aimed to assess the role of abiotic stress factors such as drought and salinity in influencing plant defenses and resistance to EAB, while also examining cultivar variation in resistance. The study specifically aimed to address: (1) What effects do varying degrees of abiotic stress (drought, salinity) have on olive trees' antioxidant and peroxidase activity in olive tree? (2) Do distinct olive cultivars exhibit varying levels of resistance to EAB under various stressors? We used a controlled experimental design with two stress treatments (drought and salinity) and 20 olive cultivars to conduct the bioassay. Growth metrics (height and stem diameter), peroxidase activity, and antioxidant activity were measured, while EAB survival and performance were assessed by monitoring larval feeding and growth. Results indicated no significant differences in antioxidant activity between treatments, although low salinity slightly enhanced antioxidant responses. Peroxidase activity was highest under high salinity, and growth responses varied by treatment and cultivar, with Leccino showing the highest antioxidant activity. EAB larvae performed best under drought conditions but exhibited poor survival on certain cultivars. These findings suggest that abiotic stress influences both plant defense mechanisms and pest resistance, with cultivar-specific responses to stress and pest pressure.

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2024, Biology

Climate change has caused shifts in species ranges, including oak and hickory. These species are in high demand commercially, and benefit from forest management for regeneration. Terrestrial invertebrates have shown major declines in biodiversity and biomass due to anthropogenic disturbances and climate change. Due to their sensitivity to disturbance, some terrestrial invertebrate taxa are proposed as bioindicators. The goals of this dissertation are to quantify the impact of different forest management practices on invertebrates along a mesic to xeric topographic gradient. Additionally, I evaluated two bioindicator taxa, ants and carabid beetles, to understand how well they can be used as indicators of environmental changes and the overall soil invertebrate community composition. This study took place in Morgan-Monroe and Yellowwood State Forests in central Indiana. The study design consisted of nested hierarchical design with management treatments along northeast and southwest facing aspects as well as paired transects at ridgetops and lowlands. Soil and litter invertebrates (mesofauna), ants, and beetles were sampled along each transect, in addition to environmental metrics of soil characteristics, tree composition, and forest floor composition. Transects were sampled over a total of three years to understand temporal changes and landscape variation. For each invertebrate group, abundance, diversity, and community composition were compared to the environmental and design variables. Soil mesofauna biomass was also measured, and associations with ants and beetles were also analyzed. All three communities investigated had a shift in species composition caused by management and topography. Invertebrate biomass and diversity were lower at xeric sites compared to mesic sites. At sites with forest management, this trend became stronger. Ants showed variable responses to management due to the habitat heterogeneity in successional forests; ant community composition w (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, Entomology

In order to survive, virtually all lifeforms on earth must be able to keep track of time, both throughout the day to predict light/dark cycles, and throughout the year to predict seasonal changes in temperature, rainfall and food availability. The former is accomplished through the circadian clock, which allows organisms to anticipate day and night, and thus synchronize an enormous variety of daily biological processes such as feeding, sleeping, mating, molting, and fending off pathogens. Predicting annual changes in environmental conditions is accomplished through the photoperiodic timekeeping system, which allows organisms to anticipate seasonal changes – such as the onset of winter or an approaching rainy season – that necessitate a long-term physiological response such as arrested development (e.g., overwintering diapause/hibernation or summer aestivation), migration, or gametogenesis. Early chronobiologists observed that many organisms tracked seasonal time by detecting the variations in daylength that occur because of the earth's axial tilt. Since this system inherently implies that seasonal timekeeping must be able to measure day/night cycles, it has long been hypothesized that the circadian clock integrates with and informs the seasonal clock. However, despite nearly a century of research, it remains unclear precisely how the circadian clock influences seasonal timekeeping in insects. A large body of the literature investigating circadian and photoperiodic timekeeping focuses on the rhythmic biological processes of insects. Insects represent a massively diverse group of organisms that inhabit virtually every terrestrial environment on earth. Consequently, they have also evolved an extremely diverse array of physiological and behavioral strategies that synchronize their biological processes to both the daily light:dark cycle and annual changes in temperature, humidity, and resource availability. Mosquitoes (Order Diptera, Family Culicidae) are highly dive (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, Entomology

Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) remain one of the most important arthropod threats to public health because adult females of many species bite humans and occasionally transmit lethal pathogens to them. One of the primary ways to minimize the risk posed by mosquitoes is by reducing aquatic habitats that are suitable for mosquito larval development and thus lowering the overall population of mosquitoes. While complete elimination of standing water in areas with high human population may not be practical, an alternative is to alter characteristics of these sites to make them unfavorable to mosquitoes. However, doing so requires an extensive understanding of how the characteristics or parameters of sites impact the use of these sites for mosquito oviposition and subsequent larval development. The research presented in this dissertation examines several parameters of aquatic larval development sites in two of the most common sources of standing water in urban environments in the United States: stormwater control measures and urban parks. In particular, this research investigates the microbial (bacterial and fungal) communities of these aquatic habitats as a potential factor impacting the suitability for mosquitoes. The microbial communities of these larval habitats were estimated using metabarcoding techniques that amplify the 16S (for bacteria) and ITS (for fungi) regions of DNA and assign taxonomy to the resulting amplicons using reference databases. Microbial communities were assessed from water samples collected from stormwater control measures, mosquito larvae in urban parks, and adult mosquitoes reared in a laboratory setting. The research presented in this dissertation focuses on elucidating the environmental and microbial factors of stormwater control measures that influence mosquito abundance. A chapter is also dedicated to comparing the microbial communities between mosquito species with different geographic range patterns (i.e., endemic vs. widespread Aedes). (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Science (M.S.), University of Dayton, 2024, Biology

Pollinators are essential to agriculture and with the increase in urban farming, there is great concern regarding insect pollinators and their pollination services in urban spaces. While there has been extensive literature looking at bee abundance and biodiversity in urban environments, there has been little research studying the efficacy of currently utilized pollinator recruitment practices in urban agricultural systems. In Dayton, Ohio, and the surrounding area, 18 urban and peri-urban agricultural sites were sampled for insect pollinator activity. Timed observations over three sampling seasons; spring, summer, and late summer, totaling over 54 hours of floral visits were conducted to assess insect pollinator activity with insects tallied by Order and easily identified bee genus. Pan traps (3 sets per site) for each of the sampling seasons were used to further assess pollinator activity at each of the 18 agricultural sites. Hand netting was utilized to assess bee species richness for bees unable to be identified during observations. In addition to traditional methods of looking at pollinator activity, an important component of this research was a sociological study that looks at the farmers and how their efforts may affect the pollinator activity observed on their agricultural plots. To examine this relationship, I conducted a 13-question electronic survey and one-on-one oral interviews with each farmer in addition to biological sampling. My results suggest that in urban and peri-urban environments the most effective pollinator recruitment practices involve implementing at least four different methods that provide stable resources such as food, water, and shelter; these activities increase pollinator activity and species richness, but only in the late summer months (Figure 21; Pollinator Recruitment Methods Utilized: df=39,4, F= 2.78, p=0.039). Providing diverse floral resources increases insect pollinator visits (Figure 19; Native Flowers: df=45, F=3.73, p=0. (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2024, Environmental Science

Blood-seeking mosquitoes primarily rely on thermal and chemical cues as they navigate towards hosts. Mosquitoes display specific preferences for target host temperature while avoiding harmful ambient temperature. This behavior known as thermotaxis is in part regulated by the nociceptor transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1), which is expressed in thermosensitive sensilla of mosquitoes. TRPA1 of female mosquitoes is known to detect both noxious temperatures and chemicals; when activated by these stimuli, TRPA1 triggers avoidance behaviors. Therefore, TRPA1 is considered a potential biochemical target for mosquito repellents and antifeedants. One aspect of TRPA1 channels from mosquitoes and other insects that has not been fully studied is the potential interactions between temperature and chemical agonists. In this study, I examined whether high ambient temperatures that activate Aedes aegypti TRPA1 (AaTRPA1) influence the sensitivity of the channel and behavior of mosquitoes to repellent TRPA1 chemical agonists. First, I expressed AaTRPA1 heterologously in Xenopus laevis oocytes and used whole-cell two-electrode voltage clamping to measure TRPA1 activity. I found that the electrophysiological response of AaTRPA1 to two chemical agonists (catnip oil, citronellal) was significantly reduced while the channel was activated by a thermal stimulus ( ~38°C). Moreover, in behavioral bioassays, I found that adult female Ae. aegypti were less repelled by catnip oil when exposed to a noxious temperature (~50°C). Collectively, my results suggest that TRPA1-agonizing repellents, such as catnip oil, may be less efficacious during extreme heat events, which are becoming more common as global climate change progresses.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2024, Biological Sciences

West Nile virus (WNV) is an arbo-Orthoflavivirus belonging to the Japanese Encephalitis Complex that was first discovered in a febrile woman of the Uganda district in Africa. Following its initial discovery WNV has been detected on every major continent, except Antarctica, officially being detected in the Western hemisphere in the fall of 1999 in the Queens District of New York City. Since entering the western hemisphere 25 years ago, WNV has been reported in over 300 different avian species. In addition to avian cases, WNV has been detected in humans within all 50 states totaling 58,981 cases (both neuroinvasive and non-neuroinvasive) and 2,776 deaths. An RT-PCR protocol was developed and optimized to reproducibly generate cDNA for sequence analysis. Forty cDNA sequences were assembled from RT-PCR products of WNV origin, and the corresponding amino acid sequences predicted. Sequence variations at the nucleotide level were evident as 173 polymorphic sites; when translated these polymorphisms resulted in 18 polymorphic amino acid residues relative to the original New York reference strain. There were 42 total (36 different sites) instances where nucleotides present were ambiguous, suggesting that some of the samples analyzed contained material from more than one virion. Predicted polypeptide sequences indicated high conservation of specific envelop protein regions. These conserved regions were concentrated in envelope domain II, a region recognized to be essential for productive infection of host cells. My results suggest the number of WNV genomes recovered for analysis varied relative to local weather conditions during the 2018 collection season. Together these observations support the contention that environmental conditions have the potential to select variant genotypes of WNV.

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2024, Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology

A major goal of evolutionary biologists is to understand how biodiversity is generated. Hyper-diverse taxa can serve as informative systems to study this question. Some of the most diverse groups of organisms are phytophagous and parasitoid insects. Phytophagous and parasitoids insects are characterized by a close association with their hosts. To that end, recent work has suggested that this close host association and the shifting from one host to another is the mechanism for generating such great diversity. This idea has been tested in many systems, but how host association impacts organism at different trophic levels is less understood. One candidate to study this question is the parasitoid community of the pine sawfly sister species Neodiprion lecontei and N. pinetum. Due to their status as pest insects, there is a large amount of information available for these sawflies. However, their parasitoid communities remain relatively unknown. To begin to rectify the understudy of this parasitoid community, I conducted a morphological and genetic species delimitation of available parasitoids reared from N. lecontei and N. pinetum larvae. Morphological species delimitation resulted in nine Hymenopteran parasitoid species, mostly belonging to the family Ichneumonidae and one species in Perilampidae. The molecular genetic species delimitation used the mitochondrial gene COI to delineate species. This was not successful at species-level resolution but was generally successful at the genus level. The second goal of this thesis is to understand how the environment influences the distribution of parasitoid species. I conducted a multivariate analysis of parasitoid community composition and several environmental variables pertaining to host use, temperature, and precipitation. A distance-based redundancy analysis (dbRDA) was conducted on the parasitoid communities of N. lecontei and N. pinetum. The pine host used by the host sawfly was found to significantly explain 8.6% N. le (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, Entomology

Urban environments can significantly impact the seasonal biology of organisms living within them. Artificial light at night (ALAN) from human-made structures such as streetlights, vehicles, and buildings can cause light pollution leading to brighter night skies in cities. Additionally, cities are generally hotter than surrounding areas due to the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect. Both ALAN and the UHI effect may disrupt daylength and temperature signals that plants and animals use to detect changing seasons. The Northern house mosquito, Culex pipiens, is commonly found in cities and can transmit several pathogens including West Nile virus (WNV). Adult females of this species enter an overwintering dormancy known as diapause in response to short daylengths and lower temperatures. While in diapause, female mosquitoes halt their reproductive development, cease host-seeking and blood-feeding, and instead accumulate energy reserves to survive food scarcity and seek sheltered hibernacula for the winter. Additionally, the insect circadian clock has been implicated as a mechanisms by which insects may be able to measure daylength and thus regulate diapause induction. I examined how urban environmental change from ALAN and the UHI effect could inhibit diapause initiation of Cx. pipiens in cities. In Chapter 1, I found that exposure to ALAN at diapause-inducing daylength and temperature in a controlled laboratory study inhibited diapause. In Chapter 2, I found that rearing mosquitoes with constant exposure to small increases in temperature in a laboratory setting also inhibited diapause, despite the short daylength. In Chapter 3, I investigated whether ALAN altered the mRNA abundance of circadian clock genes in Cx. pipiens reared in short daylengths, as well as in the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus. I found that ALAN exposure altered circadian clock gene expression in both mosquito species. In Chapter 4, I reared mosquitoes across microclimates influenced by the UHI eff (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2024, Entomology

Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus spp.), along with many specialty and gourmet mushrooms, are esteemed for their nutritional value and are particularly favored among foragers and chefs for both fresh market and fine dining establishments. Rich in essential nutrients, vegan and vegetarian individuals especially value them due to their abundance of B vitamins, amino acids, and status as one of the few natural and non-animal sources of vitamin D. The ability of oyster mushrooms to colonize many types of substrates make their cultivation exceptionally sustainable, often utilizing agricultural byproducts like mulch and straw. Second only to China, the United States is the largest producer of oyster mushrooms in the eastern hemisphere. On a global scale, oyster mushrooms rank second in production only to the button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus). Controlling insect pests is vital in the cultivation of mushrooms as dipteran pests are abundant in nature and reproduce quickly. However, little information is available regarding pest management tactics for oyster mushrooms. The dark-winged fungus gnat Lycoriella ingenua is one of the most detrimental pests of oyster mushrooms both in and outside the U.S. Fungus gnat larvae feed directly on the mycelium and the adult flies vector parasitic green mold (Trichoderma aggressivum) with the potential to infect an entire grow room and cause 30%-100% crop loss. To better understand the behavior of fungus gnats infesting oyster mushroom farms and begin the development of alternative control strategies, we performed L. ingenua host attraction and repellency behavioral bioassays. Static-flow two-choice olfactometer bioassays contained oyster mushroom substrates at various stages in the cultivation process to determine preferences of gravid female L. ingenua. Additional choice tests utilizing the same olfactometer design aided in determining if female L. ingenua adults can be repelled by any of the organic insecticides commonly used on mushroom fa (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2024, Anthropology

The popularization of the phrase “save the bees” both within and beyond conservation research has significantly shaped our understanding of the challenges faced by bees. It is a proposed solution that negatively impacts our conceptualization of the problem itself. We approach it with the expectation that it can and should be solved. This solution-based perspective limits our ability to imagine alternative management practices that are adaptive and ongoing. In chapter one of this thesis, I argue that humans and bees are faced by a wicked problem, and that framing it as such is essential for addressing its structural complexity, uncertainty, and stakeholder diversity. In chapter two, I build on my argument for the complexity of pollinator protection by reflecting on my own experience taking on different stakeholder roles. Examining the problem in this way highlights key details about stakeholder relationships that are often overlooked. Bringing them to the forefront exemplifies the appropriateness of a wicked approach to pollinator protection.

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2024, Horticulture and Crop Science

Farmers often choose to combine a foliar fungicide with a low-cost insecticide to reduce application costs, sometimes without assessing the level of insect pressure in the field. Therefore, research to evaluate if these applications of foliar insecticides have yield benefits for farmers is necessary. The objectives of this research were to evaluate the impact of foliar insecticide on soybean yield, pod and seed damage, and insect defoliation and population. The research was conducted in 2022 and 2023 at six on-farm locations in Ohio. At each location, the experimental design was a randomized complete block with four replications of each treatment. The treatments involved a non-treated control and two insecticide application timings at R3 growth stage (beginning pod), and R5 growth stage (beginning seed). The insecticide applied was Fastac®, which contains alpha-cypermethrin as its active ingredient. The insecticide was applied at the label rate of 3.8 fl oz acre-1. Insect defoliation and insect population measurements were collected the day of application and two weeks after application. At the R8 soybean growth stage (full maturity), plants were collected and evaluated for insect pod and seed damage. Our results showed that insecticide application did not result in a significant change in soybean yield due to low insect pressure at the time of insecticide application. No significant differences were found on pod damage, seed damage, and seed weight. These findings suggest that there is no reason to use foliar insecticide treatments when insect pest are not at the economic threshold in Ohio. When insecticide is not needed, decision-makers should consider the negatives effects that it can cause. Insecticide can negatively affect beneficial non-target insects like pollinators and natural predators. Prior to insecticide application, it is essential to conduct field scouting and base application decisions on integrated pest management strategies, considering threshold l (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 2024, Biological Sciences

Pollinators are globally important for maintaining the health of our agricultural systems and facilitating plant reproduction, and understanding how they respond to the dual threats of climate change and habitat destruction is essential for our ability to conserve their populations. We have a basic understanding of how pollinators respond to habitat loss and increasing temperatures, but we know less about how habitat management can be used to mitigate their response to the detrimental effects of climate change. Managing a natural community for biodiversity can provide thermal resources in the form of patches of sun and shade or potential thermal refugia for ectothermic pollinators to utilize as they experience thermal stress from climate change. Here, I aim to understand how bees and other floral visitors utilize thermal and foraging resources over a range of varying canopy cover. I measured floral visitation rates to black-eyed Susan plants placed in sunlit and shaded patches at 15 different sites at Kitty Todd Nature Preserve in Swanton, OH. I recorded both different environmental and surface temperatures to investigate drivers of bee body temperature, which I also measured. We found significantly more bees visited plants placed in sunlit than in shaded patches (X2 = 12.361, df = 1, pboot = 0.005). With higher floral surface temperatures and higher light intensities, we recorded higher levels of bee visitation. Bee body temperature was best related to abaxial (underside) leaf surface temperature among all the thermal metrics that we measured, with higher body temperatures at higher abaxial temperatures. My results show the importance of maintaining open areas within a matrix of wooded habitat for bees and other pollinators, although shady patches may become more important in other contexts. Light intensity may be one of the more important factors driving both surface temperature variation and preference by bees for sunny areas over shaded ones. These results, (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2024, Biological Sciences

Each chapter of this dissertation is intended to address a piece of the central hypothesis that complex, interacting biotic and abiotic filters drive community dynamics, including temporal synchrony between communities arising from distant propagule sources. In Chapter I, I examine the influence of three different synchrony metrics on measures of similarity between real and simulated time series, comparing methods for identifying clusters of more synchronous populations or communities, and revealing environmental drivers of those clusters. My results for this study indicate that wavelet analysis works best if the data have high frequency effects or high levels of noise. Empirical orthogonal functions work well if there are large differences in between-site magnitudes. If there are phase-lagged effects of interest, cross-correlation or empirical orthogonal function work well. For all other cases, each of these three metrics performed similarly. Therefore, these metrics may provide complimentary information if each are used to analyze the same dataset. Chapter II quantifies the filtering effects of temperature, egg bank composition, and disturbance on wetland invertebrate community dynamics and Chapter III quantifies the filtering effects of temperature, egg bank composition, and predation on wetland invertebrate community dynamics. Both chapters employ in-field mesocosm experiments in 100-gallon cattle tanks that were seeded with invertebrate propagules from either local ecosystems or from 5 different states. My results for these studies indicate that prairie pothole wetland communities are largely resistant to fluctuations in water levels though a few taxa (cladocerans, clam shrimp, fairy shrimp, damselfly larvae) saw decreased abundances in certain cases. Small changes in temperature (+1.1 °C) had little effect on the community except for intensifying the impact of the drawdown on clam shrimp and fairy shrimp. A greater change in temperature (+2.0 °C) led to more a (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, Entomology

Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus spp.) are a highly nutritious mushroom genus favored for use in the fresh market and at fine dining restaurants. Furthermore, their nutrition is especially important for those who have food restrictions and for anyone eating a vegan diet as it provides most B vitamins, is high in protein by dry weight, and is one of the only non-animal sources of vitamin D when consumed. The oyster mushroom cultivation system is highly sustainable, utilizing agricultural byproducts such as mulch and straw, though many growers import inoculated substrate from China since the cost of sterilization equipment can be prohibitively expensive. The oyster mushroom is the second most produced mushroom in the world, with the United States production ranking second only to China. Pest management is important to produce a high-quality mushroom, but little information exists regarding the pest management of this mushroom species. Fungus gnats in the genus Lycoriella are one of the major pests for oyster mushroom production. The larvae cause direct damage of up to 30% crop loss through feeding on the mycelium. The adults cause indirect damage through vectoring green mold, Trichoderma spp., spores which can cause up to 100% crop loss. With such high potential for crop loss, the action threshold for this pest is 1 adult female per grow room and 1 larva per 125 g. To improve pest management on oyster mushrooms and to identify effective control strategies, four key questions were explored. Are there differences in infestation rates for fungus gnats in different species of oyster mushrooms? How effective are the current organic pesticide options for management of fungus gnats across different oyster mushroom species? What species of fungus gnat is present on oyster mushroom farms in the U.S. and what is the phenology of these infestations? To address the first question, two sets of bioassays were performed. The first (Chapter 2) was done with inoculated straw to deter (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2023, Plant Pathology

Insects are the most diverse animal class worldwide, inhabiting many ecosystems. Insects have developed different mechanisms to protect themselves from the environment and against diverse pathogens. Fungi have developed strategies to overcome insect defense mechanisms and extract nutrients from them. The Cordycipitaceae family has captured scientific interest due to its wide-ranging species diversity, important medicinal value, its potential for biocontrol applications, and its role in discovering bioactive compounds. Many of this family are entomopathogenic fungi, displaying diverse host ranges and infection strategies. For example, Cordyceps militaris is a specialized pathogen of lepidopteran species, while Beauveria bassiana can kill over 700 species across different hosts. Various infection strategies, such as cuticular and oral infection, have been proposed within this family to induce disease. Moreover, certain members of this group not only infect insects through multiple pathways but also can grow endophytically within different plant species. Work described throughout this dissertation explored several research questions related to generalist and specialist insect pathogens within the Cordycipitaceae family. Specifically, this work aimed to (i) identify genomic trait differences, (ii) determine the evolution of a biosynthesis cluster, and (iii) visualize unique patterns in cuticular and oral infections, as well as endophytic abilities. To explore distinct characteristics within generalist and specialist insect pathogens, a 36-genome dataset was created for a comprehensive genomic analysis, which included three newly sequenced C. militaris isolates. Overall, generalist insect pathogens possess significantly more biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs), degradative gene clusters (DGCs), and bacterial-like toxins than specialists. Additionally, generalist insect pathogens displayed a higher abundance of adhesins. Although the count of chitinases was similar in gener (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2023, Environmental Science

Urban landscapes are actively exerting new and unique pressures on insect and plant communities which affect the way ecosystems function. Features of human landscapes include impervious surfaces, built environments, vacant land, and socioeconomic variation in landscaping. In the first chapter, we investigated what urban variables are impacting web-building spider (Linyphiidae & Tetragnathidae) community richness and abundance in shrinking cities. We sought to determine if vegetative biomass, land management through mowing of vacant lots, urban fragmentation, or dietary niche partitioning were driving abundance and richness of small web-building spiders in vacant lots in Cleveland, OH. To measure the abundance and richness of spiders we set pitfall traps at our seven sites (3 mown biannually and 4 mown monthly). We also hand collected three specific web-building spiders: Glenognatha foxi, Erigone autmnalis & Tenuiphantes tenuis and utilized gut content analysis techniques to identify the breadth of their prey availability and the overlap between species. We also calculated biomass on site and fragmentation using Arcmap. We found that fragmentation and biomass both positively influenced dietary breadth and dietary overlap, and that breadth and overlap positively drove abundance and richness of spiders. Niche partitioning is an important aspect of spider community assemblage, and our findings suggest that it is influenced by the urban environment. We found that fragmented lots with high biomass hosted the highest abundance of spiders, but not the richest communities. We suggest that biomass is an important aspect of conserving for spiders, but that more connected groups of lots may conserve greater richness of spiders across shrinking cities. In our second chapter, we tested the Luxury Effect Hypothesis, which posits that as median household income of an area increases, so will the plant richness and abundance of that area. As plants are a basis of insect ecosystems, (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2023, Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology

Bumble bees must forage continuously during their long flight periods. Floral resources change spatially and temporally, leading bumble bees to forage from different flower species. As the growing season progresses, flower availability shifts between habitats. These habitats may offer distinct floral resources for bumble bees to collect pollen and nectar. To properly conserve bumble bee habitat, we must determine where bumble bees find their food. Late summer is an especially important time in the bumble bee life cycle, as the colony shifts from producing non-reproducing workers to producing reproductives (i.e., gynes and males). Determining the habitats and plants bumble bees forage from in late summer is important for effective habitat management to support these essential pollinators. I investigated the floral availability and wild bumble bee use of flowers in two habitats, forest and open habitat (fields and meadows). These habitats complement one another in the resources they offer to bumble bees. Through documenting flower visitation by bumble bees as well as floral abundance and richness, I determined the use and preference of flowers in these two habitats during late summer. Although bumble bees did not prefer one habitat over another, my data established that specific flower species were favored by bumble bees in both forest and open habitats. Bumble bee forage can influence colony success. My research unveils insights into bumble bee foraging patterns and their impact on reproductive success. Through collecting the foraged pollen from sentinel bumble bee colonies, I determined where bumble bees collect pollen in late summer. Pollen is essential and a limiting resource to bumble bees, contributing to colony size and adult bee size. I found that both forest and open habitats contribute significantly to colony reproductive success in their own respective ways. Collecting open habitat pollen enhanced the number of gynes produced within a colony. Meanwhile, c (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2023, Entomology

Biting is an essential component of the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases. By studying the molecular regulation of blood-feeding and characterizing when mosquitoes feed on vertebrate hosts and which hosts they use, we can better understand how diseases spread and find ways to reduce the spread of diseases. Interestingly, some species of mosquitoes have evolved the ability to produce viable eggs whtihout biting a vertebrate host, a process called “autogeny.” Chapter 1 reviews the topic of autogeny in mosquitoes, summarizing the key studies from the past 100 years and highlighting future research directions to develop a better understand of how to promote this trait in biting mosquitoes. Chapter 2 provides experimental evidence of genes and biochemical pathways that are differentially expressed in biting, anautogenous Cx. pipiens pipiens and the nonbiting, autogenous Cx. pipiens molestus. Chapter 3 summarizes a three-year field study that uncovered when populations of Culex are reproductively active and potentially biting in central Ohio. This chapter focus on the species Cx. pipiens, Cx. restuans, and Cx. erraticus that can all vector West Nile virus. My work revealed that Culex are reproductively active late into the fall and early into the spring, demonstrating a wider range in reproductive activity than was previously predicted. Chapter 4 characterizes host use and host preferences in Culex and if these mosquitoes exhibit a shift in host use from spring to summer in central Ohio. Cx. pipiens and Cx. restuans predominantly bit avian species that have been implicated as important amplifying hosts for West Nile virus. Cx. pipiens and Cx. restuans did not exhibit a strong preference for any single bird species among the ones they fed upon, nor did they shift preference to or from any avian species from the spring to the summer. Although these chapters have disparate topics, they all serve to find ways to better understand and mitigate the risk of biting from mos (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 2023, Biological Sciences

Annually, rivers and channels need dredging to clear shipping avenues and port systems. This dredge sediment (DS) is removed and stored for dewatering or disposal into the system. Several states across the U.S. recently banned open water disposal and are looking for alternatives. Experiments have shown that landfill, environmental, and agricultural landscape restoration with reclaimed DS applied yields beneficial results. Cities, including Toledo, Ohio, aim to manage their DS accumulation with beneficial utilization. DS amendment is a new practice when applied to agricultural environments in Western Lake Erie. This pilot experiment is one of many in the Midwest looking at supplementing agricultural soils with DS. Examining the potential for bioaccumulation in soils amended with DS is imperative. We utilized mesocosm experiments mimicking agricultural fields in a greenhouse to examine this potential impact of DS amendment, and measured soil, and millipede (Narceus spp.), tissue composition from five treatments of varying farm soil to dredge soil. We derived final concentration values from a partial aqua digestion assay where inductive coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) was determined and expressed in mg/kg of a wide variety of elements and metals. Results showed concentrations for Ca, Mg, and Zn in millipede tissue increased with higher concentrations of dredge sediment. With an increased level of DS, concentrations of Al, Fe, Cu, Mn, and Cr in millipede tissue decreased. Concentrations for Co and Cd were undetectable with increasing levels of DS. As, Pb and Na were found in trace amounts but not in a consistent pattern as DS increased. As for soil samples collected at harvest, we found that Ca, Cd, Cr, Mg, K, and Mn concentrations increased with higher DS. Al, Co, and Cu in soils decreased with increasing DS. Several elements showed differences between varying levels of DS used from soil samples. Zn, Pb, Mg, and Mn, Ca in ratios of 0% DS to 100% (open full item for complete abstract)