Leonardo Reynel Cerriteno
Research Mentor(s): Jennifer Flores
Mentor Department: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Authors: Leonardo Reynel-Cerriteno, Jennifer Flores
Session: Session 2 (10:00am – 10:50am)
Presentation Type: Poster 98
Abstract
Coffee has historically been a key component of agriculture in Hawaii and Puerto Rico. The common coqui (Eleutherodactylus coqui) plays the role of invasive and native species in Hawaii and Puerto Rico, respectively. In both systems, it may play the role of top-down (predatory) control. This study investigates the Coqui diet in Puerto Rican coffee agroecosystems in order to determine it’s impact on arthropod communities and compare it to that of Hawai’i.. Regurgitation samples were collected from several farms in Hawaii and Puerto Rico, of which the Puerto Rican samples will then be photographed and analyzed under a stereoscope to help identify the lowest taxonomic rank possible of each insect present in the sample. What we hope to find is the presence of coffee pests and their arthropod predators to provide insight into the role it has in pest management. The full data set has not yet been analyzed, therefore no final conclusions can be drawn. However, preliminary results from Puerto Rico show previews as to what the data could look like. In Puerto Rico, the preliminary results show a diet consisting of (in order): Formicidae (ants), Blattodia (cockroaches and termites), and Hemiptera (true bugs, hoppers, cicadas, aphids, and allies). These findings provide a glimpse into the coqui’s trophic interactions, when farmers otherwise be unable to observe easily.. The final results will provide valuable data for conservation, resource management, and agricultural decision-making, helping to better understand whether the Coqui acts as either a biological control or inhibitor within coffee agroecosystems.
