Submission Type
Poster
Start Date
April 2021
Abstract
Recent assessments of insect populations suggest significant declines in abundance and diversity across the globe. These assessments have not included western New York, so it is important to gain an understanding of the insect diversity and abundance in our local habitats, particularly grasslands. One noninvasive way to sample insect populations is to record the acoustic signals used by these animals. Male insects of several taxa advertise for mates in the late summer by producing species-specific vocalizations at potential breeding sites. We are using acoustic recordings to examine three local sites for their use by singing insects. Acoustic recordings collected during September 2019 will be analyzed to determine species present, their abundance, temporal patterns of activity, and how soundscapes, a wholistic metric of the habitats, differ between sites. We will utilize Raven Lite to visualize insect calls from ten-minute recordings for every hour between 2 pm and 6 pm. Because there is no standard measure of the size of singing insect populations, we will apply a measure to determine an index of chorus size based on criteria in the Wisconsin Frog and Toad Survey. This research will expand our knowledge about how New York State species use local grassland habitats.
Recommended Citation
Metz, Sarah; Bancroft, Mackenzie; and Moukaled, Dana, "281— Insect Soundscapes in Western New York" (2021). GREAT Day Posters. 66.
https://knightscholar.geneseo.edu/great-day-symposium/great-day-2021/posters-2021/66
Included in
281— Insect Soundscapes in Western New York
Recent assessments of insect populations suggest significant declines in abundance and diversity across the globe. These assessments have not included western New York, so it is important to gain an understanding of the insect diversity and abundance in our local habitats, particularly grasslands. One noninvasive way to sample insect populations is to record the acoustic signals used by these animals. Male insects of several taxa advertise for mates in the late summer by producing species-specific vocalizations at potential breeding sites. We are using acoustic recordings to examine three local sites for their use by singing insects. Acoustic recordings collected during September 2019 will be analyzed to determine species present, their abundance, temporal patterns of activity, and how soundscapes, a wholistic metric of the habitats, differ between sites. We will utilize Raven Lite to visualize insect calls from ten-minute recordings for every hour between 2 pm and 6 pm. Because there is no standard measure of the size of singing insect populations, we will apply a measure to determine an index of chorus size based on criteria in the Wisconsin Frog and Toad Survey. This research will expand our knowledge about how New York State species use local grassland habitats.
Comments
Sponsored by Kristi Hannam