Jump to main content.

Research Project Search
 Enter Search Term:
   
 NCER Advanced Search

Assemblage Structure and Species Richness of 'O'hia (Metrosideros polymorpha) Canopy Arthropods: Preliminary Results and Future Directions

EPA Grant Number: U915007
Title: Assemblage Structure and Species Richness of 'O'hia (Metrosideros polymorpha) Canopy Arthropods: Preliminary Results and Future Directions
Investigators: Gruner, Daniel S.
Institution: University of Hawaii at Manoa
EPA Project Officer: McClure, Karen
Project Period: January 1, 1996 through January 1, 1999
Project Amount: $102,000
RFA: STAR Graduate Fellowships (1996)
Research Category: Academic Fellowships , Fellowship - Ecology and Ecosystems , Ecological Indicators/Assessment/Restoration

Description:

Objective:

The objective of this research project is to determine the relative influence of evolutionary and local processes to the structure of arthropod assemblages in Hawaii.

Approach:

The Hawaiian Islands are an excellent model for community and ecosystem studies. The islands represent a well-defined time series; from the northernmost and oldest island of Kauai to the southernmost and most volcanically active island of Hawaii. The fauna and flora of these islands are depauperate (i.e., they fall short of natural size) compared to their continental tropical counterparts; thus, it is possible to study communities in their entirety without arbitrarily ignoring taxa. This investigation focuses on the arboreal arthropod community of the tree Metrosideros polymorpha, which exists on all of the major islands in monodominant stands. Comparisons will be conducted of community structure across historical (among-island) and ecological (within-island) gradients. To examine the regional component of diversity, quantified, standardized canopy fogging will be conducted to obtain arthropod samples. Guild structure and species diversity will be compared among sites and islands. A combination of sampling and experimentation will be employed to examine the relative importance of predation and resource forces in shaping local herbivorous insect communities. Quantitative branch-clipping samples will be collected, and insect abundance and diversity will be correlated to leaf attributes that may vary among treatments. Simultaneous exclosure experiments will be conducted to determine the effects of predators on the insect assemblage.

The results of this research project will be used to assist the Hawaii Biological Survey in recording and describing the complete fauna of Hawaii.

Supplemental Keywords:

fellowship, Hawaiian Islands, Kauai, Metrosideros polymorpha, assemblage structure, evolutionary processes, arthropod assemblages, Hawaii, HI.

Top of page

The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.

Local Navigation

Jump to main content.