• Sean Menke
• Lake Forest College
• Biology

• Students
• Elise Grossman
• Olivia Parrott
• Benjamin Wyatt
• Elisabeth Bacon
• Cortney Oates
• Schuyler Kogan
• Michael Penn
• Amanda Gibbs
• Alexis Rosanova
• Jeremy Boeing
• Gabriel Trujillo
• Nicole Vachter
• Jenifer Yost
• Kaya Cuper
• Emilee Gaulke
• Allison Hamel
• Natalia Wilkins
• Joshua Davendonis

Kaya K. Cuper

Lake Forest Biology Senior Thesis w/ Distinction 2011-2014

Title: Ant Diversity on Urban Green Rooftops

Abstract: Green rooftops serve as potential habitats for organisms in urban environments. We studied patterns in ant species richness across eight green rooftops in Chicago and surrounding suburbs. We compared ant-sampling methods, ant species composition between rooftops and bases, and ant species richness between certain rooftop characteristics. On average pitfall traps captured significantly more ant species, and ant species on rooftops were a subset of the species around their bases. This study shows a green rooftop's potential as a habitat for ants in urban "concrete jungles," providing us further reasoning to study rooftop communities as we continue to make cities green.