Expecting the Unexpected: Examining the Distribution of Specialist Herbivore the Unexpected Cycnia Moth (Cycnia collaris)

Maya Schaefer-Fiello Author

07/27/2021 Added

17 Plays

Description

This research is on understanding the geographical distribution of the unexpected cycnia moth (cycnia collaris) in Nebraska through state-wide milkweed survey data.

Searchable Transcript

Search:

[00:00:01.230]Hello. My name is Maya Schaefer Fiello.
[00:00:04.170]And my research this summer is on examining the distribution of specialist
[00:00:08.610]herbivore, the Unexpected Cycnia moth, Cycnia collaris.
[00:00:13.380]So the unexpected Cycnia moth, as a caterpillar,
[00:00:16.860]exclusively feeds on milkweed.
[00:00:19.140]It also forms what are called local populations,
[00:00:22.380]meaning you're going to expect to find them in the same area year after year.
[00:00:27.600]And their distribution is not well understood.
[00:00:30.060]But previous studies have found that factors such as annual precipitation could
[00:00:34.500]be a factor in their range.
[00:00:37.290]And the main objectives of this research are to
[00:00:42.210]document sightings of Cycnia collaris in Nebraska,
[00:00:45.810]as well as use data collected,
[00:00:48.840]to predict the distribution and host plant preference of this species of
[00:00:53.670]moth. For over five years,
[00:00:57.000]we have randomly surveyed thousands of milkweed plants and stems across
[00:01:01.560]Nebraska. And when we're doing a survey,
[00:01:05.400]we want to know the when, what, where, who and why.
[00:01:10.140]So that means we need to know the location,
[00:01:12.600]we need to know how many stems, we need to know the species,
[00:01:16.110]and we need to know the insect communities on each plant.
[00:01:20.460]And for this particular research,
[00:01:23.460]what we're looking for is host plant, so the milkweed species,
[00:01:28.620]as well as where these Cycnia moths are found.
[00:01:33.600]One of the first things that we had to consider was where have these
[00:01:38.520]moths been found before. So we took
[00:01:41.310]iNaturalist data and compared that with our own data.
[00:01:46.110]And from that, you can see from figure four,
[00:01:49.710]that there is somewhat of an Eastern distribution. However,
[00:01:53.430]there's not really a clear predictive pattern.
[00:01:57.440]And of the counties, we saw the most in Jefferson county.
[00:02:03.480]And that could give some credence to the idea of local
[00:02:07.620]populations,
[00:02:08.790]because we would expect to see them in the same kind of area
[00:02:13.260]year after year
[00:02:16.080]Cycnia moths are highly dependent on their milkweed host plants
[00:02:21.540]and the species of milkweed host plant matters.
[00:02:24.810]Because for example, in Nebraska,
[00:02:28.140]some milkweed species are only found in the east and some are only found in the
[00:02:32.790]west. So if we could predict their preference,
[00:02:36.210]we can more easily predict the distribution of
[00:02:41.040]these moths. And according to figure six,
[00:02:45.570]you'd think that common milkweed is the most popular for Cycnia
[00:02:50.610]because you find the most Cycnia larvae on common.
[00:02:55.710]However, when you look at the percentage of utilization,
[00:03:00.370]you see that green comet looks like it's the most appealing
[00:03:05.350]to Cycnia larvae. However,
[00:03:07.750]both of these are skewed because of the number of milkweed
[00:03:12.200]stems and plants looked at. For common,
[00:03:16.210]we've looked at over 13,000 and we've only looked at 25 green
[00:03:21.010]comets. So when we take abundance into
[00:03:25.990]consideration,
[00:03:28.090]we find that spider milkweed also known as Asclepias
[00:03:32.920]viridis is the most pref- most preferred
[00:03:37.840]milkweed for Cycnia moths.
[00:03:42.010]So we have years of survey data,
[00:03:44.650]but we've only found 37 counts of Cycnia collaris.
[00:03:49.240]And the bottom line of that is that we need more data! And a really great
[00:03:54.160]way to get more data is through citizen science.
[00:03:57.220]And iNaturalist is a really simple way to help us understand the distribution
[00:04:02.020]of species such as Cycnia collaris.
[00:04:04.990]And another future experiment could be looking at an area
[00:04:09.940]where Cycnia had been found and studying that for multiple seasons.
[00:04:14.560]So in areas such as Rock Creek Station in Jefferson county,
[00:04:18.430]where the most Cycnia had been found, we could look at that area,
[00:04:23.560]especially during June and August and see how populations
[00:04:28.030]change. Are Cycnia moving? Are they staying in the same area?
[00:04:32.710]It could really help us understand their distribution. Additionally,
[00:04:36.820]we could also look at spider milkweed or Asclepias viridis
[00:04:41.980]and look more closely at preference because if we could look
[00:04:46.840]at-- if we could better understand preference,
[00:04:49.690]then we can better understand the distribution of the species.
[00:04:53.140]And other factors such as climate, soil,
[00:04:56.860]and land-use patterns could also help us understand
[00:05:01.540]where Cycnia moths are most likely to be found and
[00:05:07.060]understanding the distribution of Cycnia moths can also help us
[00:05:11.770]conserve the milkweed communities that we see in Nebraska
[00:05:16.750]and beyond.
[00:05:20.310]This work was supported by
[00:05:21.826]the USDA National Institute of
[00:05:23.970]Food and Agriculture.
[00:05:25.680]Thanks for listening.

The screen size you are trying to search captions on is too small!

You can always jump over to MediaHub and check it out there.

Comments

0 Comments

Expecting the Unexpected: Examining the Distribution of Specialist Herbivore the Unexpected Cycnia Moth (Cycnia collaris)​

Description

Searchable Transcript

Comments icon comment

Related Channels

Expecting the Unexpected: Examining the Distribution of Specialist Herbivore the Unexpected Cycnia Moth (Cycnia collaris)

Comments