Faculty Sponsor
Sara E. Miller
Final Abstract for URS Program
As the climate becomes more variable, extreme weather events become more common. Last May, St. Louis was hit by an EF-3 tornado. Many areas of the city suffered 90-150 mph winds and severe property damage. We knew there were established paper wasp populations in the affected areas, and so we took this opportunity to monitor emerging nests throughout the summer and fall in both tornado-affected and non-affected areas to observe any possible effect on their nest growth rate and overall size. There is currently very little literature investigating the response of insects to natural disturbances, like tornadoes. Additionally, most studies are done the year or many years after the disturbance, whereas ours takes place immediately after the disturbance. We found that populations of P. dominula, P. exclamans, and P. metricus had survived the tornado, and that across these three species in tornado-affected areas, nests grew at a significantly faster rate than in non-affected areas. It is important for us to understand the effects of these events on insect populations, especially paper wasps, being both pollinators and predators of agricultural pests.
Presentation Type
Visual Presentation
Document Type
Article