{"id":12403,"date":"2025-11-20T10:10:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T10:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dug.org\/?post_type=latest_news&#038;p=12403"},"modified":"2025-11-20T18:26:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T18:26:10","slug":"arthropod-diversity","status":"publish","type":"latest_news","link":"https:\/\/dug.org\/latest-news\/arthropod-diversity\/","title":{"rendered":"Arthropod Diversity and Ecosystem Services in Denver Urban Gardens"},"content":{"rendered":"[vc_row type=&#8221;in_container&#8221; full_screen_row_position=&#8221;middle&#8221; column_margin=&#8221;default&#8221; column_direction=&#8221;default&#8221; column_direction_tablet=&#8221;default&#8221; column_direction_phone=&#8221;default&#8221; scene_position=&#8221;center&#8221; text_color=&#8221;dark&#8221; text_align=&#8221;left&#8221; row_border_radius=&#8221;none&#8221; row_border_radius_applies=&#8221;bg&#8221; overflow=&#8221;visible&#8221; overlay_strength=&#8221;0.3&#8243; gradient_direction=&#8221;left_to_right&#8221; shape_divider_position=&#8221;bottom&#8221; bg_image_animation=&#8221;none&#8221;][vc_column column_padding=&#8221;no-extra-padding&#8221; column_padding_tablet=&#8221;inherit&#8221; column_padding_phone=&#8221;inherit&#8221; column_padding_position=&#8221;all&#8221; column_element_direction_desktop=&#8221;default&#8221; column_element_spacing=&#8221;default&#8221; desktop_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; tablet_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; phone_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; background_color_opacity=&#8221;1&#8243; background_hover_color_opacity=&#8221;1&#8243; column_backdrop_filter=&#8221;none&#8221; column_shadow=&#8221;none&#8221; column_border_radius=&#8221;none&#8221; column_link_target=&#8221;_self&#8221; column_position=&#8221;default&#8221; gradient_direction=&#8221;left_to_right&#8221; overlay_strength=&#8221;0.3&#8243; width=&#8221;1\/1&#8243; tablet_width_inherit=&#8221;default&#8221; animation_type=&#8221;default&#8221; bg_image_animation=&#8221;none&#8221; border_type=&#8221;simple&#8221; column_border_width=&#8221;none&#8221; column_border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221; text_direction=&#8221;default&#8221;]<em>Written by Asia Kaiser<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Project Team<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Asia Kaiser, Project Director and USDA Fellow <\/span>Ph.D. Candidate in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado Boulder<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Julian Resasco, Project Mentor <\/span>Assistant Professor (on sabbatical) Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado Boulder<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Research Assistants from the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado Boulder<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Noah Mayer, Undergraduate Honors Thesis Student<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ren\u00e9 Aronson, Undergraduate Honors Thesis Student<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rhiannon Danborn, Undergraduate Student<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This past summer, our research team partnered with <\/span><b>Denver Urban Gardens (DUG)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to study how insects support food production in community gardens across the city. Community gardens play an essential role in providing fresh produce, especially in neighborhoods with limited access to fruits and vegetables. But it is still not fully understood how the surrounding neighborhood characteristics influence the insects that help gardens thrive. Do more urban areas have less bee diversity and therefore reduced pollination services? Does neighborhood income level impact the diversity of insect communities?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For our project, we focused on two questions:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Do different gardens receive different levels of pollination and natural pest control based on their insect communities?<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>How do neighborhood characteristics (such as land use and socioeconomic factors) shape these insect communities?<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Understanding these patterns can help identify which gardens may be at higher risk of reduced crop yield or insufficient ecosystem services.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][divider line_type=&#8221;No Line&#8221;][vc_row_inner column_margin=&#8221;default&#8221; column_direction=&#8221;default&#8221; column_direction_tablet=&#8221;default&#8221; column_direction_phone=&#8221;default&#8221; text_align=&#8221;left&#8221; row_position=&#8221;default&#8221; row_position_tablet=&#8221;inherit&#8221; row_position_phone=&#8221;inherit&#8221; overflow=&#8221;visible&#8221; pointer_events=&#8221;all&#8221;][vc_column_inner column_padding=&#8221;no-extra-padding&#8221; column_padding_tablet=&#8221;inherit&#8221; column_padding_phone=&#8221;inherit&#8221; column_padding_position=&#8221;all&#8221; column_element_direction_desktop=&#8221;default&#8221; column_element_spacing=&#8221;default&#8221; desktop_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; tablet_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; phone_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; background_color_opacity=&#8221;1&#8243; background_hover_color_opacity=&#8221;1&#8243; column_backdrop_filter=&#8221;none&#8221; column_shadow=&#8221;none&#8221; column_border_radius=&#8221;none&#8221; column_link_target=&#8221;_self&#8221; overflow=&#8221;visible&#8221; gradient_direction=&#8221;left_to_right&#8221; overlay_strength=&#8221;0.3&#8243; width=&#8221;1\/1&#8243; tablet_width_inherit=&#8221;default&#8221; animation_type=&#8221;default&#8221; bg_image_animation=&#8221;none&#8221; border_type=&#8221;simple&#8221; column_border_width=&#8221;none&#8221; column_border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221; text_direction=&#8221;default&#8221;]<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Over the summer, we surveyed insect biodiversity at 21 DUG sites across Denver, and we used several tools to monitor insect populations:<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Vane traps<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to collect flying insects like bees and butterflies<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Pitfall traps<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for ground-dwelling insects such as beetles and ants<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Bee hotels<\/b> to monitor solitary bee species without harming them<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In addition, we set out six cucumber plants at each site to measure pollination services, herbivory, and natural enemy pest control services. We selected cucumbers since they require pollination to produce fruit. To establish a basis for comparison of pollinator activity and efficiency, we manually pollinated the flowers of half the plants and left the remaining plants to be pollinated by the site&#8217;s insects. Fruit size, quantity, and quality will serve as a gauge of pollination services.[\/vc_column_text][divider line_type=&#8221;No Line&#8221;][vc_gallery css=&#8221;&#8221; type=&#8221;image_grid&#8221; images=&#8221;12416,12408,12410&#8243; image_grid_loading=&#8221;default&#8221; layout=&#8221;3&#8243; item_spacing=&#8221;default&#8221; gallery_style=&#8221;7&#8243; load_in_animation=&#8221;none&#8221;][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner column_margin=&#8221;default&#8221; column_direction=&#8221;default&#8221; column_direction_tablet=&#8221;default&#8221; column_direction_phone=&#8221;default&#8221; text_align=&#8221;left&#8221; row_position=&#8221;default&#8221; row_position_tablet=&#8221;inherit&#8221; row_position_phone=&#8221;inherit&#8221; overflow=&#8221;visible&#8221; pointer_events=&#8221;all&#8221;][vc_column_inner column_padding=&#8221;no-extra-padding&#8221; column_padding_tablet=&#8221;inherit&#8221; column_padding_phone=&#8221;inherit&#8221; column_padding_position=&#8221;all&#8221; column_element_direction_desktop=&#8221;default&#8221; column_element_spacing=&#8221;default&#8221; desktop_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; tablet_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; phone_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; background_color_opacity=&#8221;1&#8243; background_hover_color_opacity=&#8221;1&#8243; column_backdrop_filter=&#8221;none&#8221; column_shadow=&#8221;none&#8221; column_border_radius=&#8221;none&#8221; column_link_target=&#8221;_self&#8221; overflow=&#8221;visible&#8221; gradient_direction=&#8221;left_to_right&#8221; overlay_strength=&#8221;0.3&#8243; width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243; tablet_width_inherit=&#8221;default&#8221; animation_type=&#8221;default&#8221; bg_image_animation=&#8221;none&#8221; border_type=&#8221;simple&#8221; column_border_width=&#8221;none&#8221; column_border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221; text_direction=&#8221;default&#8221;]<em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A bee box with two cavities filled with bees and capped off with pebbles.<\/span><\/em>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner column_padding=&#8221;no-extra-padding&#8221; column_padding_tablet=&#8221;inherit&#8221; column_padding_phone=&#8221;inherit&#8221; column_padding_position=&#8221;all&#8221; column_element_direction_desktop=&#8221;default&#8221; column_element_spacing=&#8221;default&#8221; desktop_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; tablet_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; phone_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; background_color_opacity=&#8221;1&#8243; background_hover_color_opacity=&#8221;1&#8243; column_backdrop_filter=&#8221;none&#8221; column_shadow=&#8221;none&#8221; column_border_radius=&#8221;none&#8221; column_link_target=&#8221;_self&#8221; overflow=&#8221;visible&#8221; gradient_direction=&#8221;left_to_right&#8221; overlay_strength=&#8221;0.3&#8243; width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243; tablet_width_inherit=&#8221;default&#8221; animation_type=&#8221;default&#8221; bg_image_animation=&#8221;none&#8221; border_type=&#8221;simple&#8221; column_border_width=&#8221;none&#8221; column_border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221; text_direction=&#8221;default&#8221;]<em>A honeybee pollinating a cucumber flower!<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner column_padding=&#8221;no-extra-padding&#8221; column_padding_tablet=&#8221;inherit&#8221; column_padding_phone=&#8221;inherit&#8221; column_padding_position=&#8221;all&#8221; column_element_direction_desktop=&#8221;default&#8221; column_element_spacing=&#8221;default&#8221; desktop_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; tablet_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; phone_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; background_color_opacity=&#8221;1&#8243; background_hover_color_opacity=&#8221;1&#8243; column_backdrop_filter=&#8221;none&#8221; column_shadow=&#8221;none&#8221; column_border_radius=&#8221;none&#8221; column_link_target=&#8221;_self&#8221; overflow=&#8221;visible&#8221; gradient_direction=&#8221;left_to_right&#8221; overlay_strength=&#8221;0.3&#8243; width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243; tablet_width_inherit=&#8221;default&#8221; animation_type=&#8221;default&#8221; bg_image_animation=&#8221;none&#8221; border_type=&#8221;simple&#8221; column_border_width=&#8221;none&#8221; column_border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221; text_direction=&#8221;default&#8221;]<em>Undergraduate research assistants who worked on the project over the summer. Pictured from left to right are Noah Mayer, Rhiannon Danborn, and Rene Aronson from the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado Boulder.<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=&#8221;in_container&#8221; full_screen_row_position=&#8221;middle&#8221; column_margin=&#8221;default&#8221; column_direction=&#8221;default&#8221; column_direction_tablet=&#8221;default&#8221; column_direction_phone=&#8221;default&#8221; scene_position=&#8221;center&#8221; text_color=&#8221;dark&#8221; text_align=&#8221;left&#8221; row_border_radius=&#8221;none&#8221; row_border_radius_applies=&#8221;bg&#8221; overflow=&#8221;visible&#8221; overlay_strength=&#8221;0.3&#8243; gradient_direction=&#8221;left_to_right&#8221; shape_divider_position=&#8221;bottom&#8221; bg_image_animation=&#8221;none&#8221;][vc_column column_padding=&#8221;no-extra-padding&#8221; column_padding_tablet=&#8221;inherit&#8221; column_padding_phone=&#8221;inherit&#8221; column_padding_position=&#8221;all&#8221; column_element_direction_desktop=&#8221;default&#8221; column_element_spacing=&#8221;default&#8221; desktop_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; tablet_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; phone_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; background_color_opacity=&#8221;1&#8243; background_hover_color_opacity=&#8221;1&#8243; column_backdrop_filter=&#8221;none&#8221; column_shadow=&#8221;none&#8221; column_border_radius=&#8221;none&#8221; column_link_target=&#8221;_self&#8221; column_position=&#8221;default&#8221; gradient_direction=&#8221;left_to_right&#8221; overlay_strength=&#8221;0.3&#8243; width=&#8221;1\/1&#8243; tablet_width_inherit=&#8221;default&#8221; animation_type=&#8221;default&#8221; bg_image_animation=&#8221;none&#8221; border_type=&#8221;simple&#8221; column_border_width=&#8221;none&#8221; column_border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221;][image_with_animation image_url=&#8221;12418&#8243; image_size=&#8221;full&#8221; max_width=&#8221;100%&#8221; max_width_mobile=&#8221;default&#8221; animation_type=&#8221;entrance&#8221; animation=&#8221;None&#8221; animation_movement_type=&#8221;transform_y&#8221; hover_animation=&#8221;none&#8221; alignment=&#8221;&#8221; border_radius=&#8221;none&#8221; box_shadow=&#8221;none&#8221; image_loading=&#8221;default&#8221;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221; text_direction=&#8221;default&#8221;]\n<h3>Preliminary Results and Next Steps<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By understanding how insect communities vary across gardens, we can better support urban agriculture and food access in Denver. We are currently processing the field-collected data, identifying all insects, and analyzing the data. Here are some preliminary results for June, showing the most commonly collected insects and arthropods across the sites.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][divider line_type=&#8221;No Line&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=&#8221;in_container&#8221; full_screen_row_position=&#8221;middle&#8221; column_margin=&#8221;default&#8221; column_direction=&#8221;default&#8221; column_direction_tablet=&#8221;default&#8221; column_direction_phone=&#8221;default&#8221; scene_position=&#8221;center&#8221; text_color=&#8221;dark&#8221; text_align=&#8221;left&#8221; row_border_radius=&#8221;none&#8221; row_border_radius_applies=&#8221;bg&#8221; overflow=&#8221;visible&#8221; overlay_strength=&#8221;0.3&#8243; gradient_direction=&#8221;left_to_right&#8221; shape_divider_position=&#8221;bottom&#8221; bg_image_animation=&#8221;none&#8221;][vc_column column_padding=&#8221;no-extra-padding&#8221; column_padding_tablet=&#8221;inherit&#8221; column_padding_phone=&#8221;inherit&#8221; column_padding_position=&#8221;all&#8221; column_element_direction_desktop=&#8221;default&#8221; column_element_spacing=&#8221;default&#8221; desktop_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; tablet_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; phone_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; background_color_opacity=&#8221;1&#8243; background_hover_color_opacity=&#8221;1&#8243; column_backdrop_filter=&#8221;none&#8221; column_shadow=&#8221;none&#8221; column_border_radius=&#8221;none&#8221; column_link_target=&#8221;_self&#8221; column_position=&#8221;default&#8221; gradient_direction=&#8221;left_to_right&#8221; overlay_strength=&#8221;0.3&#8243; width=&#8221;1\/1&#8243; tablet_width_inherit=&#8221;default&#8221; animation_type=&#8221;default&#8221; bg_image_animation=&#8221;none&#8221; border_type=&#8221;simple&#8221; column_border_width=&#8221;none&#8221; column_border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221; text_direction=&#8221;default&#8221;]The data collected this summer will be shared through:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A public-friendly report on common garden insects<\/li>\n<li>A short video highlighting the research and key findings<\/li>\n<li>Presentations at a national conference and a peer-reviewed publication<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>All preserved insect specimens will be donated to the CU Natural History Museum for future research and education.[\/vc_column_text][divider line_type=&#8221;No Line&#8221;][vc_gallery css=&#8221;&#8221; type=&#8221;image_grid&#8221; images=&#8221;12414,12412&#8243; image_grid_loading=&#8221;default&#8221; layout=&#8221;2&#8243; item_spacing=&#8221;default&#8221; gallery_style=&#8221;7&#8243; load_in_animation=&#8221;none&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n","protected":false},"featured_media":12404,"template":"","class_list":{"0":"post-12403","1":"latest_news","2":"type-latest_news","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"news_type-community"},"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dug.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/latest_news\/12403","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dug.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/latest_news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dug.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/latest_news"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/dug.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/latest_news\/12403\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12430,"href":"https:\/\/dug.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/latest_news\/12403\/revisions\/12430"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dug.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dug.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}