Booth Id:
EAEV039
Category:
Earth and Environmental Sciences
Year:
2024
Finalist Names:
Tang, Simon (School: Saipan Southern High School)
Abstract:
The invasive spread of Coccinia grandis poses a significant threat to native vegetation in tropical regions, including Saipan and Guam, where it has been documented to cause serious damage. This project aims to assess the efficacy of the Acythopeus cocciniae weevils in getting rid of the spread of Coccinia grandis in the island of Saipan. It has been documented that Coccinia grandis has spread to over 100 hectares in Guam and 14,000 hectares in Saipan (Reddy et al. 2009). My way of solving this problem was to measure the surface area of leaves, before the weevil has done any damage, after 1 day of damage, and 2 days after damage. This helped me to form the conclusion that these weevils have a constant destruction rate since my data showed that the weevils percent consumed increased as the days passed or increased.