Kelly Zalocusky
Project: “Armadillo effects on the forest floor community”
Category: “Undergraduate Research”
Sponsor: Dr. Matt Moran
The armadillo family contains 22 species, all native to South America. Of these, only the Nine-banded armadillo has expanded into the United States, migrating into Arkansas only as recently as 1940. This armadillo is a burrower and a forager, and its behavior affects the forest floor community through its predation on arthropods and through physical disturbance of leaf litter. Kelly Zalocusky will conduct her research in a mature oak-hickory forest in Conway County that is a known habitat for the armadillos. She hopes to discover the impact of armadillos on the mechanisms controlling insect populations on the forest floor, which can affect the function of the forest ecosystem.