Diverse microbial communities live in the gut regions of animals. The precise ecological and evolutionary circumstances that govern relationships between hosts and their gut communities is unclear. In this study, we hypothesize that host feeding strategy shapes the microbial communities within the gut systems of insects. We collected five insect species from the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge that exhibited herbivorous, detritovorous and carnivorous diets.

The KBS LTER site is in a diverse, rural-to-semirural landscape typical of the U.S. Great Lakes and upper Midwest regions. Research at KBS asks how diverse plants, animals, and microbes in agricultural landscapes can contribute to farm productivity, environmental performance, and profitability. We study annual and perennial crops including corn, soybean, and wheat rotations, forage crops such as alfalfa, and biofuel crops such as poplars, switchgrass, and native successional communities.

 The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) is a national-scale research platform for analyzing and understanding the impacts of climate change, land-use change, and invasive species on ecology. NEON features sensor networks and experiments, linked by advanced cyberinfrastructure to record and archive ecological data for at least 30 years. Using standardized protocols and an open data policy, NEON will gather essential data for developing the scientific understanding and theory required to manage ecological challenges.

Ground-dwelling arthropods, primarily predators and detritivores, form a large part of the energy flow through ecosystems, but there are few long-term studies looking at many taxa. These animals have been monitored at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in central New Mexico, a Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) site since 1990. We report on patterns in relative abundance from 2 study sites: desert grassland and creosotebush shrubland. Arthropods were collected in pitfall traps, operated year-round and collected every 2 months.

Landscapes provide ecosystem services to agricultural systems by supporting pollinators and predators of crop pests, services valued at $US 3 and $US 4.5 billion/yr respectively. Habitat management is the practice of providing nectar, pollen and shelter to beneficial insects in cropping systems, often in the form of flowering strips. However, the potential for flowering strips to increase biocontrol and pollination depends on the existing abundances of beneficial insects in the landscape, and highly simplified landscapes may support fewer beneficial insects than more diverse landscapes.