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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Tifton, Georgia » Southeast Watershed Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #342173
Research Project: Ecology and Biologically-based Management Systems for Insect Pests in Agricultural Landscapes in the Southeastern Region

Location: Southeast Watershed Research

Title: Trophic interactions in contrating production systems: MiSeq versus multiplex PCR

Author
item SCHMIDT, JASON - University Of Georgia
item Olson, Dawn
item KREHENWINKEL, HENRIK - University Of California
item Coffin, Alisa

Submitted to: Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/15/2017
Publication Date: 11/6/2017
Citation: Schmidt, J., Olson, D.M., Krehenwinkel, H., Coffin, A.W. 2017. Trophic interactions in contrating production systems: MiSeq versus multiplex PCR. Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting. November 5-8, 2017, Denver, Colorado.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Maintaining biodiversity is an important aspect of long-term agricultural sustainability. Generalist predators such as spiders and insect predators often prey upon common pest 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 hampered research. To unravel the trophic diversity of predators and correlation with prey abundance from three contrasting agroecosystems: bioenergy, cotton, and blueberry, 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 project 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 potential predator hotspots within their farmscapes, which could then be preserved to support healthy predator communities.