Characterization of the Arthropod Communities and Aphid Feeding Behavior Associated with Perennial Warm-Season Grasses
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University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Dissertations and Student Research in Entomology Entomology, Department of 8-2016 Characterization of the Arthropod Communities and Aphid Feeding Behavior Associated with Perennial Warm-Season Grasses (Poaceae) Composition in Nebraska and Wisconsin Kathryn M. Keller University of Nebraska-Lincoln Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/entomologydiss Part of the Entomology Commons Keller, Kathryn M., "Characterization of the Arthropod Communities and Aphid Feeding Behavior Associated with Perennial Warm- Season Grasses (Poaceae) Composition in Nebraska and Wisconsin" (2016). Dissertations and Student Research in Entomology. 45. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/entomologydiss/45 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Entomology, Department of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations and Student Research in Entomology by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Characterization of the Arthropod Communities and Aphid Feeding Behavior Associated with Perennial Warm-Season Grasses (Poaceae) Composition in Nebraska and Wisconsin by Kathryn M. Keller A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Master of Science Major: Entomology Under the Supervision of Professors Tiffany Heng-Moss and Tom Weissling Lincoln, Nebraska August 2016 Characterization of the Arthropod Communities and Aphid Feeding Behavior Associated with Perennial Warm-Season Grasses (Poaceae) Composition in Nebraska and Wisconsin Kathryn Marie Keller, M.S. University of Nebraska, 2016 Advisers: Tiffany Heng-Moss and Thomas J. Weissling Switchgrass, Panicum virgatum L., along with two other perennial warm-season grasses, big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii Vitman) and indiangrass, (Sorghastrum nutans L), compose a majority of the grasses found in North American tall grass prairies and have recently received attention as potential bioenergy feedstock. Limited research has been carried out on the relationship of arthropods on these three warm-season grasses in North America. Due to this limited research, the first objective of this research was to document the arthropods associated with switchgrass, big bluestem and indiangrass in Nebraska and Wisconsin over three sampling seasons. More than 10 arthropod orders and over 67 families were collected between the two locations with some of the most abundant families collected including: Carabidae, Chloropidae, Cicadellidae, Figitidae, and Thripidae. Previous research has documented greenbugs (Schizaphis graminum Rondani) and yellow sugarcane aphids (Sipha flava Forbes) as potential pests of switchgrass, but limited information is available on the host suitability of big bluestem and indiangrass to these two aphid species. Therefore, the second objective of this research was to document aphid feeding preference among these three grass species through a series of choice studies and to characterize greenbug feeding behaviors using the electric penetration graph (EPG) technique. Choice studies identified differences in the preference of two aphid species in response to the three grasses with switchgrass being most preferred by Schizaphis graminum at 1, 2 and 4 h; whereas switchgrass was the least preferred by S. flava starting at 24 h after aphid introduction. Feeding behavior studies of S. graminum on switchgrass, big bluestem and indiangrass indicated that greenbugs took significantly more time before achieving the first sieve-element phase (salivation and ingestion of sieve element phloem sap) when feeding on indiangrass compared to both switchgrass and big bluestem, suggesting resistance factors in indiangrass are associated with phloem tissue. These studies are the first to examine the feeding preference of S. graminum and S. flava on big bluestem and indiangrass. This research provides important baseline information about the arthropod communities associated with the three warm-season grasses, and advances our understanding of the plant-insect interactions within this system. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to take a moment to thank those who have assisted me with my masters program as well as my undergraduate career. I would first like to thank my graduate advisors Dr. Tiffany Heng-Moss and Dr. Thomas Weissling for the help and support with my graduate career. I would also like to thank my supervisory committee member Dr. Jeff Bradshaw for his assistance and input. I would especially like to thank the Heng-Moss lab for all of their help, support and encouragement over the years. These include the past and current lab members. I would like to specifically thank in no particular order: Mitchell Stamm, Travis Prochaska, Lia Marchi-Werle, Kyle Koch, Jenny Enchayan, Kait Champan, Courtney Spilker, Hillary Fischer, Natalie Matz, Michael Craig and Robert Rosell. Thanks again for all of those early mornings and the numerous walks through the grass fields. I would also like to thank the entomology department as a whole and all of the graduate students of the department. They have all provided support along this journey and a great learning environment. I’d also like to thank Rob Mitchell at the USDA-ARS for his advice and knowledge on the grass plots. I would also especially like to thank Robert Rosell for all of his time and dedication to this project over the years. Thank you Bob for spending numerous hours counting and sorting through pitfall and sticky trap samples. Finally I would like to thank my family: my father, John O’Brien for getting me interested in agriculture and entomology through our time spent together on the family farm and for initially encouraging me to take an insect display to the 4-H county fair; my iv mother, Doris O’Brien, for her constant love and support; and my siblings Tom O’Brien, Ann Wagner, Joan O’Brien and John O’Brien, you all have helped me grow into a better person over the years. Last but not least, I would like to thank my husband Matt Keller for his constant encouragement and for always being there for me. Praise God for all! Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe! Plans to give you a future full of hope.” GRANT INFORMATION This project was supported by Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant no. 2011-68005-30411 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture and by CenUSA bioenergy. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................ iii LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................... vii LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION, SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES, AND LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 2 Specific Objectives .............................................................................................................. 2 Literature Review ............................................................................................................... 3 CHAPTER 2. IDENTIFICATION, SEASONAL ABUNDANCE, AND THE INFLUENCE OF STAND COMPOSITION ON ARTHROPODS INHABITING WARM-SEASON GRASSES IN NEBRASKA AND WISCONSIN ...................................................................... 25 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 26 Materials and Methods .................................................................................................... 28 Results .................................................................................................................................. 33 Discussion ............................................................................................................................ 43 CHAPTER 3. CHARACTERIZATION OF GREENBUG FEEDING BEHAVIOR AND APHID (HEMIPTERA: APHIDIDAE) HOST PERFERENCE IN RELATIONSHIP TO WARM-SEASON GRASSES ................................................................................................. 109 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 110 Materials and Methods ................................................................................................. 113 Results ............................................................................................................................... 120 vi Discussion ......................................................................................................................... 124 REFERENCES CITED ........................................................................................................... 135 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Selected arthropod families present in North American tallgrass prairie ........... 24 Table 2.2 – Collection dates for pitfall and stick traps in 2013, 2014 and 2015 near Madison, WI.