Location: Invasive Species and Pollinator Health
Project Number: 2030-22300-032-030-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Aug 1, 2022
End Date: Oct 30, 2025
Objective:
To develop collaborative research efforts to determine the role of urbanization in natural enemy pressure on non-native plants. We will test for effects of a variety of urban drivers on herbivory of non-native plants. These variables may include, but are not limited to, urban warming, light pollution and vehicle pollution. This research will guide future experiments to disentangle key urban mechanisms driving the control of invasive plants by insects.
Approach:
The USDA Invasive Species and Pollinator Health Research Unit will conduct research with collaborators at the University of California Davis, Department of Entomology and Nematology, on a project to determine the role of urbanization in natural enemy pressure on non-native plants. We will use previously established methods to measure herbivory across gradients of urban stressors (Meineke, E.K., 2018) . These observations will take place on live plants and plants in herbaria.
