Generating baseline data on arthropod communities of three species of ash (Fraxinus spp.) ahead of the emerald ash borer invasion in southeastern Louisiana

Biodiversity is vital to ecosystem health. Having a healthy biodiversity promotes stability and resistance to change in the environment. Each organism in an ecosystem can play many roles, so losing an entire genus of trees and associated arthropods can have cascading effects. With the loss of these trees and the arthropod communities that inhabit them, the ecosystem will lose the services they provide. These services include decomposition/nutrient recycling, pollination, and food sources for predators. The accidental introduction of the emerald ash borer (EAB) into North America in the 1990s has killed millions of ash trees  and caused ecological and economic damage . These ecosystems affected by EAB have lost all the services that trees and arthropods give to the ecosystem. This disturbance leads to a less stable and resistant ecosystem. To assess how EAB impacts ecosystem function, baseline data on interactions between ash and other forest inhabitants are essential. Our understanding of how the loss of ash, as well as its associated arthropod communities, may impact ecosystem function remains limited.  In anticipation of EAB's arrival in Southeastern Louisiana, we sampled tree conditions, nearby woody vegetation, and arthropod communities associated with Carolina, green, and pumpkin ash. We hypothesized that ash species, tree condition, and associated vegetation would influence the diversity and abundance of arthropods. Arthropods were sampled at two field sites using combined flight intercept/malaise traps. This project will furnish vital baseline data for assessing and managing EAB's impacts within the bottomland hardwood ecosystems of the Southeastern United States.