Protocols

Controlled experiment manipulating predator presence by establishing artificial aphid colonies, protecting them from natural predators, then adding lygus bugs to treatment plants. Includes ant bridge ...

Standardized 2-hour baiting experiments using 5 different resource types arranged in pentagonal plots to sample ant communities and assess dominance patterns. Records ant abundance and identity at reg...

Experimental manipulation using physical barriers to exclude ants from aphid colonies while maintaining control colonies with ant access. Uses paired treatment design on same plants to test effects of...

Standardized wet sieving method using Yoder device to determine soil aggregate size distributions. Measures water-stable aggregates across multiple size classes to assess soil structure.

Flowers are bagged to prevent natural parasitism, then exposed to controlled introductions of parasitoid wasps or ambient parasitoid activity, followed by assessment of parasitism effects on seed pred...

A two-phase field protocol using training baits scented with plant chemicals followed by two-choice tests to assess whether ants form associative memories linking plant odors to carbohydrate rewards. ...

Standardized method using funnel, filter paper and drainage to measure maximum water holding capacity of soil samples. Involves saturating soil, draining for set time, then oven-drying to calculate wa...

Standardized measurement of PAR using quantum light sensors during midday cloudless conditions to quantify light environment across study sites.

Experimental advancement of snow melt timing using shade cloth application to test effects on host plant phenology and aphid-plant interactions. Combined with temperature manipulation using open-top w...

PERMANOVA testing of volatile composition differences across species and years, with NMDS visualization of chemical dissimilarity patterns.

Multiple candidate models incorporating different combinations of climate predictors were fitted and ranked using Akaike Information Criterion to select optimal models for demographic functions.

Field-based study of ant interactions with pollinators on Helianthella quinquenervis, involving ant identification and behavioral observations. Protocol development included ant keying skills and hone...

Wild ant colonies were collected and split into paired fragments, then maintained on controlled diets (carbohydrate vs protein-rich) to test effects of macronutrient balance on behavior. Colony fragme...

A systematic approach to creating identification keys by compiling species lists from authoritative sources, gathering morphological descriptions, and structuring binary choices that eliminate possibi...

Collection of aphid honeydew on aluminum foil substrates followed by LC-MS/MS analysis to quantify sugar and amino acid composition as indicators of plant quality and ant-aphid mutualism benefits.

Exhaustive visual surveys of arthropod abundance on randomly selected male and female plants conducted across multiple years to quantify sex-biased community structure.

Calculation and statistical analysis of plant biomass allocation between vegetative and reproductive tissues using arcsin transformations and three-way ANOVA.

Systematic field observation of trophic interactions between organisms, primarily plants and insects, with rotating temporal sampling across multiple sites to record feeding relationships and interact...

Calculation of site-specific wetness indices using mean annual precipitation and temperature data to characterize local climate conditions for experimental sites.

Systematic weekly monitoring of plant phenology, insect abundance, and herbivore impacts on Osha plants along established transects. Includes detailed counts of aphids, ants, and other insects on flow...

Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis of ant tissues to determine trophic position and dietary composition. Involves specimen preparation, drying, grinding, and mass spectrometry analysis.

Three dominance scores calculated for each species at each site where it occurred to assess competitive hierarchies.

Integration process combining datasets from natural history collections, community science observations, and literature to compile bee interaction data.