Contribution of Outbreak Insect Herbivore Ecological Subsidies to Stream Food Webs

Spruce budworms are an endemic herbivore in the montane forests of the western United States.  During feeding, these herbivores contribute to partial or complete defoliation of tree crowns, altering water and solute fluxes to the forest floor.  As part of a larger study on the contribution of herbivore subsidies to stream food webs, we are measuring carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus fluxes under canopies affected by spruce budworm infestations in central Washington. 

Our objectives are to: 1) quantify throughfall carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) fluxes under spruce budworm-impacted canopies; 2) examine the influence of herbivore intensity on the magnitude of these fluxes; and 3) determine the effects of altered solute fluxes on soil nutrient concentrations.

Collaborators: Clay Arango and Jennifer Lipton (Central Washington University), Sally Entrekin (Central Arkansas University), and Mike Bosko (Mattawa School District).