Project:

Evaluating Biodiversity of Coleoptera Captured in Malaise Traps Using CO1 Markers From Farmingdale Teaching Gardens

Students:

Viktor Zolley, William Duffy

School:

Long Beach High School, Nassau

Mentors:

Kristen Conklin

Abstract:

Coleoptera play a critical role in maintaining ecosystem function through pollination, habitat formation, nutrient cycling, and pest control. Understanding insect biodiversity in human-managed landscapes, such as the Farmingdale State University Teaching Gardens, provides insight into how urban and semi-urban environments support insect communities. (Kalita & Das, 2023) Malaise traps are an effective method for sampling flying insects, capturing a wide diversity of taxa over time without the need for active observation, making them particularly suitable for passive biodiversity monitoring in garden habitats. The captured specimens will undergo DNA barcoding using the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene, a mitochondrial marker widely recognized for species identification across various taxa, including Diptera (Ren, 2018). This methodology encompasses several key steps, first is insect collection which was carried out by Dr. Carly Tribull who deployed malaise traps at strategic loc

Team samples:

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