Project overview
The South American Locust (Schistocerca cancellata) is experiencing the greatest population upsurge in 60 years.
In 2017, large swarms left their small permanent breeding zone in NW Argentina and invaded Bolivia and Paraguay, and expanded throughout Argentina. The RAPID grant allowed researchers to collect time-sensitive data on locust macronutrient balancing in the field, which has emerged as a key factor in regulating insect behavior, physiology and performance. We tested the hypothesis that S. cancellata in their expansion zones are unable to obtain food of sufficiently high carbohydrate:protein ratio to maximize their fitness.
Funding
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