Mentor name: Yves Basset
Link to lab page: https://striresearch.si.edu/yves-basset-lab/
Co-mentor(s): Greg P.A. Lamarre
Location of internship: Tupper / BCI
Project abstract
Concerns about worldwide insect decline are growing, with possible catastrophic consequences for a variety of ecosystem services. Time-series for tropical insects are scarce and limited in temporal range. Since 2009, we have been continuously monitoring with traditional protocols 23 insect taxa at Barro Colorado Island (BCI) in Panama, which is buffered against all insect stressors (habitat loss, pollution, insecticides), but climate change. Given the considerable data available, we will first ask “Are insect dynamics driven primarily by bottom-up resource availability, top-down predation, or climate variation?” with 17 years of monitoring data (2009- 2025). We will analyze insect data with five competing models. Second, our research group is experimenting with new technologies (DNA metabarcoding, non-lethal automated monitoring of insects with AI, and bioacoustics), which are revolutionizing insect monitoring. This provides the ideal framework to ask “How can we integrate new technologies into long-term traditional insect monitoring to achieve next generation insect monitoring?”. We will model 17 years of population dynamics for 23 insect taxa from a tropical forest, with covariates accounting for resource availability, predation, and climatic variables. We will evaluate the relative gain and loss of information when comparing traditional monitoring with new technologies. The student will be involved in the development of “Insect Monitoring Systems” (IMS) based on new technologies, will participate to the analyses related to monitoring data, and, in particular, will compare the data generated by traditional monitoring to that generated by the IMS at BCI, for selected insect groups.
Skills required
- Statistical skills and proficiency with the R language preferred.
- Strong interest in new technologies.
- Entomological knowledge preferred but not a requisite; however at least a strong interest/passion for natural history would be useful.
- Ability to work in the field.
