Ashes to Ashes, Bugs to Bugs: The Effects of Emerald Ash Borer Infestation on Insect Biodiversity Across the US

Mathurin Kajornkiatpanich ‘22

mkajornkiatpanich@agnesscott.edu

Invasive species are foreign organisms that can negatively impact the environment they are brought into. The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is one of the most ecologically harmful invasive species in North America, having killed tens of millions of ash trees since its first recorded sighting in 2002.

This presentation addresses how insect biodiversity changes over time, in response to EAB infestation within the local county area. Using EAB data from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and insect observation data from iNaturalist, calculations were conducted on EAB sightings and insect biodiversity across ten different US state’s counties – five EAB-infested, and five uninfested “control” – via the program Python.

This presentation compares insect biodiversity in EAB-infested states to the “control” states – before 2016 (averaged initial infestation year), and after 2019 (plus the three years EAB takes to kill a tree). It also compares insect biodiversity between the infested states before and after infestation, taking into account the amount of EAB sighted.

Results show insect biodiversity across all states’ counties decreased between the before and after years, in both EAB-infested and control states. This shows lower biodiversity in subsequent years is a trend happening regardless of EAB infestation. If we look between infested states, however, more extreme decreases in biodiversity correlate with higher EAB sightings; this shows the ecological impact an invasive species can have on local-level biodiversity.

These results can be used to further understanding ecological resilience and the effect of invasive species on local biodiversity over time.