Taylor Lynch | 2024 I.S. Symposium

Name: Taylor Lynch
Title: Grasshoppers on the College of Wooster Campus: Abundance & Environmental Conditions
Major: Biology
Minors: German Studies; Art History
Pathway: Museum & Archival Studies
Advisor:Nicholas Brandley

Urbanization is an anthropogenic phenomenon driving global environmental change and is one of the most significant causes of land-use change worldwide. Orthoptera may be more sensitive to large-scale urbanization effects, like the Urban Heat Island effect (UHI effect), since they are mobile, dispersive, and ectothermic species. This study aims to determine the environmental factors that affect grasshopper presence in urban Wooster, Ohio. Surveys were conducted at multiple plots with different substrates from September to November 2023. Grasshopper presence and environmental conditions were measured, including surface temperature, ambient temperature, humidity, and shade coverage. The results show that low shade cover, high surface temperatures, and time of day are most likely to predict grasshopper presence; there was no evidence to confirm a specific substrate preference for grasshoppers. These variables all contribute to optimal behavioral thermoregulation in ectotherms. For some grasshopper species, urban areas could experience an increase in grasshopper individuals compared to rural areas since they usually have higher surface temperatures (UHI effect) and are compatible with Orthoptera generalists. Future conservation efforts that address insect biodiversity rehabilitation in urban environments should consider the varying mobility capabilities of Orthoptera species to avoid biotic homogenization.

Posted in Symposium 2024 on April 22, 2024.