ChiroSurveillance: The Use of Native Bats to Detect the Invasive Brown Marmorated Stink Bug

Brooke Maslo1,2*, Rafael Valentin1, Karen Leu1, Kathleen Kerwin1, Amanda Bevan1, George C. Hamilton2,3, Nina H. Fefferman1, and Dina M.

Fonseca1,2,3

1Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

2Rutgers Cooperative Extension, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

3Department of Entomology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Impacts of Invasive Insect Pests to Agriculture

annual economic value of U.S. crop losses by invasive insect pests: $13 billion

annual costs for associated control measures: $500 million

invasive species management strategies evolve with time since introduction

management efficiency decreases over time

Simberloff et al. 2013

Challenges of Monitoring & Surveillance of BMSB

Current BMSB Monitoring Tools

black light trapsaggregation pheromones (MDT)natural pheromones (SSRS, RSRS)

Neilsen et al. 2013

Bats as Agents of Invasive Species Surveillance?

temperate insectivorous bats consume a diverse array of insects

expansive foraging range is ~5km

central place foragers, returning to same roost nightly

easy to sample

bats may be important sentinels if:

1. they identify non-native species as prey2. we can reliably detect non-native species in bat guano (even when pest is rare)

Study Sites

apple/peach orchards withresident maternity colonies of big brown bats, Eptesicus fuscus

Longmeadow Farms (Brad Burke): ~30 bats

2 hectares

Strawberry Hill Farm (Ross Kiesling): ~100 bats

23 hectares

WM Schober Sons (John Schober):~100 bats

121 hectares

Weekly Density of BMSB through Black Light Trap Monitoring

quantified weekly trap counts of BMSB

used inverse distance weighted algorithm to extrapolate statewide BMSB densities

generated weekly maps corresponding to the 7 nights preceding guano collection dates

Dietary Analysis of BatGuano for BMSB

Bat Guano Collection: weekly collection of 100 intact fecal pellets from resident colony of big brown bats; randomly subsampled 16-20 pellets for pooling

Sample Preparationpulverization, DNA extraction

Molecular Analysisquantitative polymerase chain reaction using a BMSB-specific assay targeting the ITS region in the rDNA

Bats Identify & Regularly Consume BMSB

>50% of the pooled guano samples (34/60) tested positive for BMSB

Ct values ranged from 23.7-34.3

positive detections occurred even at low BMSB densities

big brown bats detected BMSB 3-4 weeks earlier than black light traps

Bat Predation of BMSBis Density-Dependent

BUT… bat predation and black light traps occur at different scales

Early Spring: BMSB stage in woodlandsMid-Summer: BMSB adults active in

fieldsLate Summer: BMSB respond to

aggregation pheromones

Significance of Correlation ImprovesWith Data Transformation

Conclusions/Next Steps

Next Steps:

1.Comparison of bat predation with newer pheromones needed to verify the patterns identified here2.Robust economic analyses to determine cost-effectiveness of chirosurveillance3.Can bats be effective agents of control?

Bats as Agents of Invasive Species Surveillance:

1.Big brown bats recognize BMSB as a common prey item across the season2.Density-dependent predatory response3.Bats detected BMSB 3-4 weeks earlier than black light traps4.currently testing chiroSurveillance on tufted apple budmoth, codling moth, and Oriental fruit moth

Acknowledgements

Larry KatzAnne NeilsenGeorge HamiltonDave SchmittDean PolkJohn SchoberBrad BurkeRoss KieslingMike RussoDoug RaceJoe NicholsN.H. FeffermanM. ValentJ.F. GumbsM. Hall

Danielle PodmayerskyBrittany ChransChloe LewisRachael Sacatelli