Airborne eDNA plant and arthropod communities in west Michigan eastern hemlock forests

Hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae) is an invasive insect causing the widespread decline and death of eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis). We sampled airborne eDNA in 15 eastern hemlock forests in west Michigan during the summer of 2023. Sites included eastern hemlock stands that had no known infestation and varying levels of infestation. We targeted plant and arthropod communities and sequenced the ITS2 and CO1 regions to compare the taxa detected in uninfested forests with those in infested forests. The goal was to determine if we could use airborne eDNA to characterize these communities and evaluate whether hemlock woolly adelgid has impacted the communities.