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https://padlet.com/bwgrant999/mkbx62m5fxyuza5d

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https://padlet.com/bwgrant999/ch3rfur5lu04

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To increase the level of sampling for a better representation of the biodiversity of the habitats studied, we would collect samples at various time points of the day, as well as collect from different environments. To obtain a greater diversity of taxa, we would also utilize different types of collection methods. This also relies on the weather, as this strictly limited our ability to collect. We would then combine the samples gathered upon returning to Widener University and include the taxa in Dr. Grant's collection.

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https://padlet.com/bwgrant999/xfd9zc2gamvu

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Most of this collection occurred between the late morning and midday time frames. From the taxa collected, most were hard-bodied non-flying macroinvertebrates. These insects were found in the mulch layers below shrubbery and trees. Despite the differences in habitat types and short time frames of collection, there is a large amount of similarity in the taxa collected from all participants, as shown in the pie graphs.

Hand capturing taxa proved to be more effective in gathering specimen than traps were. Due to the cold and rainy weather experienced by the participants in this study the Berlaise and pitfall traps proved to yield less taxa than going out and gathering insects by hand. This is why the main groups of insects found were isopods and beetles as opposed to flying insects such as Diptera and Hymenoptera. There were a high amount of Diptera and Hymenoptera found by Dr. Grant due to his access to aspiration tools and appropriate traps for flying insects. However, this was not indicative of the other people gathering insects due to the lack of those resources. Had the weather been warmer, these results would have been seen across the board due to warmer weather allowing easier access to flying insect capture.

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Location of Quarantine Home Ecology Collection Sites

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Location of Quarantine Home Ecology Collection Sites

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https://padlet.com/bwgrant999/w56hmnnz6e7t

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https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Nq0FlNCslIY50uCVGTaX5Qh3i9kREiWWw9hoJTji4KQ/edit?usp=sharing

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https://padlet.com/bwgrant999/q86rp0rqdvpl

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-plastic bottles

-cans

-dish soap

-rotten food items

-cell phone cameras/micro lenses

-screening
-hammer
-staples (pinning)
-foam board
-card-stock

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Berlese and Pitfall traps were made using household materials and recyclables and placed outside to collect insects. Some were baited with rotting food as an attractant.

Proactive measures were taken as well such as overturning rocks, logs, and digging in the dirt to search for bugs. Furthermore, students also removed insects from their pool skimmer/filter and maintained a certain vigilance in capturing bugs that they encountered throughout their day to day life

After capture, the insects were humanely euthanized by freezing, pinned to 3x5 notecard, and photographed with a microlens, students would record the date, location, and method of capture for each specimen.

Students would upload their photographs to a shared document, where collectively, students would work to identify the organism. Counts and occurrences of differing insects were recorded to be used for graphical analysis.

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Click on the links below to check out individual students' bug collection

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https://padlet.com/bwgrant999/73wcoxek0vqd

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https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1bTthXRDjxrWONCjvVxlfjfsAQC9S0FCLYDeZ5OLvn2g/edit?usp=sharing

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A majority of the bugs were collected by the following students in their specific environment:

Meghan Bell: Middlesex county, NJ- Secondary woods

Kailea: Northeast Philadelphia, PA- Lawn/woody area

Adam: Camden County, NJ- Suburban lawn

Zan: New Castle, DE- Subrural lawn

Jake: Gloucester County, NJ- Subrural woods and lawn
Mark: Monmouth, NJ-  Suburban grass landscape
BW Grant: Delaware County, PA, suburban yard, mixed habitat types

Unfortunately, other students were not as successful in their bug hunt. They lived in areas from Middlesex County, NJ; Montco, PA; Chester, PA. Factors such as weather and temperature yielded traditional capture methods as ineffective and time constraints limited the amount of data collected

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The world we are living in today is going through a time of unprecedented ecological change. Without truly realizing it, we are experiencing extinction rates in the present that are exponentially higher than rates of previous mass extinctions. Unfortunately, as a society we have fallen into 'conservation pathology', which is the precise documentation of the unraveling of the natural world. Instead, it is our role as students to understand the the drivers of biodiversity loss and recognize the important roles that all of us serve in finding a solution to extinguish or reverse these declines. Our generation has the responsibility to engage in global ecological leadership in order to educate others about the reality of the world we are living in.

As students from Dr. Grant’s Biodiversity class (BIOL-345) we were challenged to explore our quarantine environment and uncover the biodiversity in our own backyard. Using an assortment of collection methods, students were able to gather a variety of arthropods found in their personal environments. Our results show the biodiversity within the tristate area which contains an array of different landscapes.

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https://padlet.com/bwgrant999/ambak2h72pow

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Thank you Dr. Grant for the supplying of materials, instructions on methods, helping students navigate their environments for sampling taxa, and guidance with identifications.

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Quarantine Home Ecology: Arthropod Backyard Biodiversity Along an Urban Rural Gradient in our Tristate Region 

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Quarantine Home Ecology: Arthropod Backyard Biodiversity Along an Urban Rural Gradient in our Tristate Region 

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Mark Abrams, Meghan Bell, John Chrostek, Stephen Doney, Adam Goodwin, Samantha Lucas, Jake Metheny, Tommy Reilly, Emily Rinehart, Tyler Romano, Adenike Salako, Kailea Schwartz, Beth Tadesse, Zan Usmani