Daniel Acosta’s summer break included plenty of hikes and water views. But instead of relaxing, he collected bugs from the riverbank, adding crucial data to a decade-long UM-Dearborn project that tracks changes in insect populations.
Acosta, a junior majoring in behavioral and biological sciences, gathered insects like beetles and cicadas from tent-shaped mesh SLAM traps — which can be hung from trees to capture flying insects — at a UM-Dearborn field site along the lower branch of the Rouge River in Canton.
“Insects may seem like pests, but they are really important. They are like the foundation of our ecosystem. They perform pollination so plants can grow, give natural pest control, and keep birds and frogs from going hungry,” Acosta says. “Studying them can provide critical data on environmental health, habitat loss and climate impacts like drought or weather extremes.”
Acosta’s research is part of the university’s Summer Research Undergraduate Experience. He worked with Associate Professor of Biological Sciences Anne Danielson-Francois, who began compiling an insect database in 2016 when she set out to study fluctuations in orb-weaving spider diets. Danielson-Francois has studied spiders for decades and been quoted as an expert in news outlets like The New York Times, Reuters and USA Today. “What I'm really interested in is studying evolution, ecology and behavior. I’m using spiders to do that,” she says, noting that arthropods — which include spiders, insects, and crustaceans — evolved approximately 500 million years ago and are thought to be one of the first animals to live on land.
But, following global reports of widespread insect declines, Danielson-Francois’ data from her insect collection — which is housed in her Natural Sciences Building lab — quickly evolved into a critical long-term tracking initiative.
“I realized that I had created a historical archive that could help scientists trace specific insect population dynamics over time. It could help us better see if we were really in an ‘Insect Armageddon,’" she says. “Because ecological data fluctuates naturally with annual weather patterns, hitting the 10-year mark provides researchers with the essential baseline needed to distinguish routine climate variations from broader environmental trends. This has been a big project and I’m grateful for the student help — like Daniel’s — that I’ve had with it.”
In addition to collecting bugs from the traps, Acosta spent several hours each week in Danielson-Francois’ lab sorting, identifying and weighing insect specimens, which ranged from iridescent Hymenoptera to hairy caddisflies.
Based on Acosta’s work, and the work done in the years prior, Danielson-Francois says they’ve noticed changes in the yearly collection of biomass, which is the tallied weight of all the insects. There have been waves of highs and lows over the past 10 years, but it does appear to be trending down. However, the team needs to finish their analysis before making official statements.
Acosta notes that habitat loss — driven by commercial and residential development, along with severe weather extremes tied to global climate cycles — is directly impacting insect populations.
Danielson-Francois says that she’s noticed lower insect biomass numbers during El Niño events, which can cause drier than usual conditions in southeast Michigan, although severe summer thunderstorms can still happen. "The insect numbers crash during an El Niño year. And now, we’re finding that the down waves, the crashes, are getting larger," she notes.
For example, total summer biomass dropped from around 15 grams in good rainfall years like 2021 down to just three grams during drought years like 2023, which was the last El Niño. She adds that a new El Niño event recently began and she expects it to impact insect populations in 2027. “We're on track for a super El Niño, the strongest since the 1800s,” she says. “It will be interesting to learn what our data shows for next year.”
Even after their SURE project is complete, Acosta, who learned about Danielson-Francois’ insect biodiversity research in a class he took with her in 2025, plans to continue helping Danielson-Francois with this tracking work. He says he’s passionate about nature and preserving its biodiversity — even down to the smallest of creatures.
“My nana loved nature herself and made a conscious effort to instill that passion in me. We’d go outside on hikes and we spent a lot of time outdoors. She really encouraged me to be curious about the world around me. Insects are an important part of our world — I think they are so cool,” he says before pausing to show off a photo of a luna moth found in his girlfriend’s backyard garden. “We don’t want to lose them.”
Acosta, who plans to go to graduate school, says this field research solidified his career ambitions in ecological research and sustainable agriculture. He plans to take the lessons learned from this research project into the future, advocating for native habitat preservation and eco-friendly farming practices.
Acosta’s research will be featured at SURE Showcase. The showcase, which exhibits nearly 50 projects across the university's four colleges, will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. today in Renick University Center’s Kochoff Hall. You can read about additional SURE projects from the College of Business, the College of Education and Health and Human Services, as well as the College of Engineering and Computer Science.
Story by Sarah Tuxbury
