Undergraduate Research: An Archive - 2021 Program
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Hana Jiang ’21<br />
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY<br />
Senior Thesis <strong>Research</strong> Funding Awardee<br />
THESIS TITLE<br />
Backyard Biodiversity:<br />
<strong>An</strong> <strong>An</strong>alysis of Butterfly<br />
Richness and<br />
Abundance Within<br />
Suburban Habitat Types<br />
in Southeast Michigan<br />
ADVISER<br />
David Wilcove,<br />
Professor of Ecology<br />
and Evolutionary<br />
Biology and Public<br />
Affairs and the High<br />
Meadows Environmental<br />
Institute<br />
Urbanization, urban sprawl and the resulting<br />
rural-urban gradient have had major impacts on<br />
biodiversity. Yet, few studies have investigated<br />
their effects on butterfly species in suburban<br />
habitats. The goal of this thesis was to investigate<br />
the variables characterizing different types of<br />
habitats within a suburban landscape and their<br />
resulting impact on butterfly species richness<br />
and abundance, using butterfly sightings as<br />
a metric. The proportion of flowering species<br />
and distance to the nearest road had significant<br />
effects on species richness and abundance.<br />
The highest species richness per survey point<br />
occurred in the garden habitat, while the highest<br />
individual abundance per survey point occurred<br />
in the meadow habitat; however, butterfly<br />
communities were generally very similar across<br />
all habitat types. My thesis adds to the limited<br />
knowledge of butterfly communities in suburbs<br />
in general and in southeast Michigan, an area<br />
that has historically been understudied.<br />
BIODIVERSITY AND<br />
CONSERVATION<br />
12
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