Research
I am currently a PhD Candidate in the Poveda Lab at Cornell University, in the Department of Entomology. My research covers both local projects in the Finger Lakes region of New York State, and an exciting meta-analysis project involving collaborators all across the globe! I am broadly interested in how insect functional traits vary across a gradient of simple to complex landscapes, and subsequently affect crop damage and yields. My global works seeks to answer the question of whether insects are more resilient to land-use change in tropical versus temperate regions. My local work is quite a bit more targeted! In New York, I look at the effects of tarnished plant bug damage in conjunction with bumble bee pollination on strawberry plantings at small farms. I also study the potential trap cropping has to control flea beetles in cabbage, and the effects of landscape complexity on the seedcorn maggot. I’m passionate about connecting growers and researchers to produce useful science, and hope that my work contributes to creating more sustainable agricultural systems!
You can find links to all my publications below (just click on the associated image). Can't access an article behind a paywall? Just email me and I will be delighted to provide you with a pdf!
(Accepted, in revision) Founding and maintaining a seedcorn maggot (Delia platura) colony. Rooney, O. & Shade, J., Salzberg, A., Yi-Luo Cho, C., Poveda, K.
Salzberg, A., Grab, H., Hale, C., Poveda, K. Herbivore and pollinator body size effects on strawberry fruit quality. PLoS ONE 19(6): e0305370.
Schroeder, H., Salzberg, A., Grab, H. et al. Agricultural landscape simplification affects wild plant reproduction indirectly through herbivore-mediated changes in floral display. Sci Rep 14, 14293 (2024).
Salzberg, A., Luttermoser, T., Kessler, A., Midega, C. A., Khan, Z., & Poveda, K. The effects of landscape complexity and local management on a generalist predator in Kenyan maize push‐pull systems. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, 171(7), 546-554.
Salzberg, A. A method for sexing the Sulphurous Lady Beetle Cheilomenes sulphurea (Olivier) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). The Coleopterists Bulletin, 74(3): 1–4. 2020.
Lucas, J.M., Gora, E., Salzberg, A., Kaspari, M. Antibiotics as chemical warfare across multiple taxonomic domains and trophic levels in brown food webs. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: 286: 20191536.
Talamas EJ, Thompson J, Cutler A, Fitzsimmons Schoenberger S, [...], Salzberg A, Luo P, Meislin D, Buffington ML. An online photographic catalog of primary types of Platygastroidea (Hymenoptera) in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 56: 187–224.
Imaging work at the NMNH
In 2015 and 2017, I spent several months as an intern at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History digitizing their collections of Platygastroidea and Miridae. To the left you can see some of the photographs and plates I produced!
R for the Intimidated
In 2015, I wrote and produced a short online course for beginners to teach the very basics of R programming! You can take the class for free on Youtube here. As of 2022, it's been taken by over 5,600 learners!
From 2017-2019, I worked with a team of student curators at the Cornell University Insect Collection (CUIC) to curate the Lepidoptera collection - above are links to the results of that work!