Trophic interactions in contrasting production systems: MiSeq versus multiplex PCR

Authors: SCHMIDT, JASON - University Of Georgia; Olson, Dawn; BOYER, STEPHANE - Universite De Tours; KREHENWINKEL, HENRIK - University Of California; Coffin, Alisa

Submitted to: Insects
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/24/2014
Publication Date: 11/5/2017
Citation: Schmidt, J., Olson, D.M., Boyer, S., Krehenwinkel, H., Coffin, A.W. 2017. Trophic interactions in contrasting production systems: MiSeq versus multiplex PCR. Insects. [abstract]. Entomological Society of America.

Interpretive Summary: Maintaining biodiversity is an important aspect of long-term agricultural sustainability. Generalist predators such as spiders and insect predators oftern prey upon common species, making them a beneficial component of agroecosystems. Much research has been devoted to understanding the roles of generalist predators in agricultural landscapes, but until recently the cost to understand the full spectrum of their diets has been hindered by costs. To unravel the trophic diversity of predators and correlation with prey abundance from contrating agroecosystems, we used MiSeq Illumina sequencing and published multiplex PCR designs. We evaluate what this new information will provide for expanding our understanding of these communities and the complications/benefits of these two approaches. Our systems are set within a large multidisciplinary projects where we have high resolution data of geospatial attributes of the commercial systems-elevation, soil structure, NDVI, and distance to edge habitat. Analysis of trophic structure will be linked to these geospatial data to form the foundation of our understanding of trophic interactions in relation to environmental variability. Ultimately, these results will provide new understanding on the roles of generalist predators in agricultural landscapes and results should help growers identify predator hotspots within their farms, which could then be preserved to suppport healthy predator communities.

Technical Abstract: Maintaining biodiversity is an important aspect of long-term agricultural sustainability. Generalist predators such as spiders and insect predators oftern prey upon common species, making them a beneficial component of agroecosystems. Much research has been devoted to understanding the roles of generalist predators in agricultural landscapes, but until recently the cost to understand the full spectrum of their diets has been hindered by costs. To unravel the trophic diversity of predators and correlation with prey abundance from contrating agroecosystems, we used MiSeq Illumina sequencing and published multiplex PCR designs. We evaluate what this new information will provide for expanding our understanding of these communities and the complications/benefits of these two approaches. Our systems are set within a large multidisciplinary projects where we have high resolution data of geospatial attributes of the commercial systems-elevation, soil structure, NDVI, and distance to edge habitat. Analysis of trophic structure will be linked to these geospatial data to form the foundation of our understanding of trophic interactions in relation to environmental variability. Ultimately, these results will provide new understanding on the roles of generalist predators in agricultural landscapes and results should help growers identify predator hotspots within their farms, which could then be preserved to suppport healthy predator communities.