Project:

How do lantern flies affect native species through food competition?

Students:

Gianna Giglio, Veronica Familio, Leia Gallegos

School:

Wantagh High School, Nassau

Mentors:

Casey Clark

Abstract:

Lantern flies, an invasive species from Asia, have been increasingly spotted on Long Island and especially in Wantagh, NY. These flies eat a wide variety of plants and may impact the food sources available to native invertebrate species. We propose to collect invertebrates found in leaf litter in a 2 m radius surrounding a tree with visible lantern fly egg masses and compare the species found there to an area surrounding a tree with no visible egg masses. We will barcode the most phenotypically diverse species in each area and create a profile of these two areas.

Poster:

Team samples: