Mary Daley

Student at Appalachian State University skilled in managing cash registers, processing payments, and balancing cash drawers at the end of shifts. Detail-oriented worker with over 3 years of experience in high-volume retail environments. Adept at resolving customer inquiries and complaints, while ensuring a positive service experience. A positive worker with great time management skills and an excellent work ethic

This past summer, concluded a 5-week international field research program through the University of the Aegean, located in Mytilene, Lesvos, Greece. Here, we researched the impact of olive grove management and biodiversity on the abundance of olive flies.

Our interdisciplinary team examined how varying olive grove management strategies, ranging from conventional spraying to low-input cultivation and full abandonment, influence pest populations and local biodiversity. We deployed multiple types of insect traps across diverse sites and analyzed the ecological relationships between arthropod diversity and olive fly abundance. I conducted hands-on fieldwork, specimen identification, biodiversity assessments, and statistical data analysis using Excel.

Key findings highlighted the complex relationship between biodiversity and pest control, emphasizing that not all biodiversity leads to effective pest suppression—functional diversity, especially predator abundance (e.g., beetles), played a more critical role.