scholarly journals Effects of Carrion Relocation on the Succession of Newly Arriving Adult Necrophilous Insects

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 164-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Cruise ◽  
Madhavi L Kakumanu ◽  
David W Watson ◽  
Coby Schal
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Olfactory Cues ◽  
Sensory Cues ◽  
Insect Community ◽  
Blow Fly ◽  
Insect Communities ◽  
Chrysomya Rufifacies ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Similar Location ◽  
Differential Attraction

Abstract Ecological succession of necrophilous insects follows a predictable sequence, related to their differential attraction to changing odor profiles associated with carrion and colonizing insects. However, the dependency of insect arrival on the duration of the carrion’s residency at a location has not been investigated. To assess the fidelity of necrophilous insects to carrion of specific decomposition ages, independent of its location, we monitored the decomposition of neonate pigs in one field and then simultaneously relocated carcasses of different decomposition ages to an ecologically similar but remote field. We examined the effects of decomposition age and relocation on the assembly of the necrophilous insect community, using a novel vented-chamber trap, which excluded all sensory cues except odors. Community composition differed over a 4-d decomposition period, showing that insects were differentially attracted to pigs of different decomposition ages. There was overall concordance between respective decomposition ages in the two fields, with similar relative abundances of taxa before and after transfer. Although different decomposition ages continued to attract different insects, differentiation of the necrophilous insect communities relative to the age of decomposition was less pronounced after transfer. The results of this study demonstrate that translocating a decomposing body to a new, but geographically and ecologically similar location continues the predicted insect succession, albeit with greater variance, based on olfactory cues alone. Several rare taxa were sampled only prior to relocation, including the first documentation of the invasive hairy maggot blow fly, Chrysomya rufifacies (Macquart) (Diptera: Calliphoridae), in central North Carolina.

scholarly journals Impact of an Exotic Invasive Pest, Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), on Resident Communities of Pest and Natural Enemies in Maize Fields in Kenya

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1074
Author(s):  
Bonoukpoè Mawuko Sokame ◽  
Boaz Musyoka ◽  
Julius Obonyo ◽  
François Rebaudo ◽  
Elfatih M. Abdel-Rahman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Enemies ◽  
Spodoptera Frugiperda ◽  
Fall Armyworm ◽  
Invasive Pest ◽  
Growth Stages ◽  
Insect Communities ◽  
Exotic Invasive Species ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Exotic Invasive ◽  
Lepidoptera Noctuidae

The interactions among insect communities influence the composition of pest complexes that attack crops and, in parallel, their natural enemies, which regulate their abundance. The lepidopteran stemborers have been the major maize pests in Kenya. Their population has been regulated by natural enemies, mostly parasitoids, some of which have been used for biological control. It is not known how a new exotic invasive species, such as the fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae), may affect the abundance and parasitism of the resident stemborers. For this reason, pest and parasitism surveys have been conducted, before and after the FAW invaded Kenya, in maize fields in 40 localities across 6 agroecological zones (AEZs) during the maize-growing season, as well as at 3 different plant growth stages (pre-tasseling, reproductive, and senescence stages) in 2 elevations at mid-altitude, where all maize stemborer species used to occur together. Results indicated that the introduction of the FAW significantly correlated with the reduction of the abundance of the resident communities of maize stemborers and parasitoids in maize fields; moreover, the decrease of stemborer density after the arrival of FAW occurred mostly at both reproductive and senescent maize stages. It also suggests a possible displacement of stemborers by FAW elsewhere; for example, to other cereals. However, since this study was conducted only three years after the introduction of the FAW, further studies will need to be conducted to confirm such displacements.

Spatial and seasonal variability of emergent aquatic insects and nearshore spiders in a subtropical estuary

2019 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martha J. Zapata ◽  
S. Mažeika P. Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
Aquatic Insects ◽  
High Salinity ◽  
Aquatic Insect ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystems ◽  
Dispersal Ability ◽  
Insect Community ◽  
Insect Communities ◽  
Low Salinity ◽  
Subtropical Estuary ◽  
Adult Aquatic Insects

Variability in the density and distribution of adult aquatic insects is an important factor mediating aquatic-to-terrestrial nutritional subsidies in freshwater ecosystems, yet less is understood about insect-facilitated subsidy dynamics in estuaries. We surveyed emergent (i.e. adult) aquatic insects and nearshore orb-weaving spiders of the families Tetragnathidae and Araneidae in a subtropical estuary of Florida (USA). Emergent insect community composition varied seasonally and spatially; densities were lower at high- than low-salinity sites. At high-salinity sites, emergent insects exhibited lower dispersal ability and a higher prevalence of univoltinism than low- and mid-salinity assemblages. Orb-weaving spider density most strongly tracked emergent insect density rates at low- and mid-salinity sites. Tetragnatha body condition was 96% higher at high-salinity sites than at low-salinity sites. Our findings contribute to our understanding of aquatic insect communities in estuarine ecosystems and indicate that aquatic insects may provide important nutritional subsidies to riparian consumers despite their depressed abundance and diversity compared with freshwater ecosystems.

scholarly journals Functional relationship between woody plants and insect communities in response to Bursaphelenchus xylophilus infestation in the Three Gorges Reservoir region

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhuang Wang ◽  
Lijuan Zhao ◽  
Jiaqi Liu ◽  
Yajie Yang ◽  
Juan Shi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Communities ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Woody Plants ◽  
Functional Relationship ◽  
Woody Plant ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Bursaphelenchus Xylophilus ◽  
Insect Community ◽  
Insect Communities ◽  
Masson Pine

To study the effect of the invasion of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus on the functional relationship between woody plants and insect communities, the populations of tree species and insect communities were investigative in the Masson pine forests with different infestation durations of B. xylophilus. In this study, the number of Pinus massoniana began to decrease sharply, whereas the total number of other tree species in the arboreal layer increased gradually with the infestation duration of B. xylophilus. The principal component analysis ordination biplot shows that there was a significant change in the spatial distribution of woody plant species in different Masson pine forest stands. Additionally, a total of 7,188 insect specimens was obtained. The insect population showed an upward trend in stand types with the increase of pine wilt disease infection periods, which demonstrated that the insect community had been significantly affected by the invasion of B. xylophilus. The structure of insect functional groups changed from herbivorous (He) > omnivorous (Om) > predatory (Pr) > parasitic (Pa) > detritivorous (De) in the control stand to He > Pa > Om, De > Pr after B. xylophilus infestation in the forests. The results showed that the populations of He, Pa, and De increased after the invasion of B. xylophilus, but the populations of Pr decreased. Moreover, the redundancy analysis ordination bi-plots reflected the complicated functional relationship between woody plant communities and insects after the invasion of B. xylophilus. The present study provides insights into the changes in the community structure of woody plants and insects, as well as the functional relationship between woody plant communities and insect communities after invasion of B. xylophilus.

scholarly journals The genomes of a monogenic fly: views of primitive sex chromosomes

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne A. Andere ◽  
Meaghan L. Pimsler ◽  
Aaron M. Tarone ◽  
Christine J. Picard
Keyword(s):  
Sex Chromosomes ◽  
Genomic Analysis ◽  
Female Offspring ◽  
Dominant Factor ◽  
Blow Fly ◽  
Chrysomya Rufifacies ◽  
Specific Expression ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Single Sex ◽  
The Individual

Abstract The production of male and female offspring is often determined by the presence of specific sex chromosomes which control sex-specific expression, and sex chromosomes evolve through reduced recombination and specialized gene content. Here we present the genomes of Chrysomya rufifacies, a monogenic blow fly (females produce female or male offspring, exclusively) by separately sequencing and assembling each type of female and the male. The genomes (> 25X coverage) do not appear to have any sex-linked Muller F elements (typical for many Diptera) and exhibit little differentiation between groups supporting the morphological assessments of C. rufifacies homomorphic chromosomes. Males in this species are associated with a unimodal coverage distribution while females exhibit bimodal coverage distributions, suggesting a potential difference in genomic architecture. The presence of the individual-sex draft genomes herein provides new clues regarding the origination and evolution of the diverse sex-determining mechanisms observed within Diptera. Additional genomic analysis of sex chromosomes and sex-determining genes of other blow flies will allow a refined evolutionary understanding of how flies with a typical X/Y heterogametic amphogeny (male and female offspring in similar ratios) sex determination systems evolved into one with a dominant factor that results in single sex progeny in a chromosomally monomorphic system.

Insect Community Structure as an Index of Heavy-Metal Pollution in Lotic Ecosystems

1980 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 647-655 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. W. Winner ◽  
M. W. Boesel ◽  
M. P. Farrell
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metal ◽  
Community Structure ◽  
Metal Pollution ◽  
Heavy Metal Pollution ◽  
Insect Community ◽  
Insect Communities ◽  
Stream Pollution ◽  
Number Of Species ◽  
Graded Response ◽  
The Family

Data from two streams suggest that macroinvertebrate community structure exhibits a predictable, graded response to heavy-metal pollution. In the more heavily stressed sections of both streams, macroinvertebrates, other than tubificid worms and chironomids, were virtually eliminated from rock-rubble, riffle habitats. Midge larvae comprised 75 to 86% of all insects collected from the most grossly polluted stations and less than 10% of the insect communities at the least polluted stations. The correlation coefficient for percentage of chironomids in relation to copper concentration was +0.93 (P ≤ 0.01). Changes in the coefficient of variation (CV) of percentage of chironomids per sample exhibited a consistent pattern. The lowest CV was at the most polluted stations and the CV increased along a gradient of decreasing metal concentrations, reaching maximum values at the least polluted stations. The number of species of chironomids was inversely related to the proportional density of the family in samples. In Elam's Run, the number of species of chironomids identified in samples increased from 15 at the most polluted station to 39 at the least polluted stations. Fifty-seven species of midges were collected along the 3-km stretch of this grossly polluted stream. Caddisflies were numerically important at the intermediately polluted stations in both streams. Mayflies occurred only at the least polluted stations. We hypothesize that heavily polluted habitats are dominated by midges, moderately polluted habitats by midges and caddisflies, and minimally polluted or unpolluted habitats by caddisflies and mayflies. Since there appears to be a direct relationship between the fraction of a community composed of chironomids and the degree of pollution, we suggest that the percentage of chironomids in samples may be a useful index of heavy-metal pollution.Key words: heavy metals, stream pollution, chironomids, aquatic insects

scholarly journals Upper Cretaceous amber arthropods and their implications on changes in insect community structure

1992 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 234-234
Author(s):  
E. M. Pike
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Upper Cretaceous ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Taxonomic Structure ◽  
Insect Community ◽  
Insect Communities ◽  
Insect Fauna ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Baltic

Assessment of changes in terrestrial ecosystems since Cretaceous time, until recently, has had to rely on paleobotany (including paleopalynology) and vertebrate paleontology to provide data for analysis. Insects contribute a major portion of the terrestrial diversity in any ecosystem, but their fossil record and state of preservation had discouraged paleoecological study beyond the Pleistocene. With the discovery of prolific Upper Cretaceous amber deposits in Russia and Canada, and the investigation of Tertiary amber deposits from the Baltic, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and the USA, the prospect of clarifying changes in insect diversity and ecology over time becomes real. Methods are reported which allow the description of species richness and relative abundance of arthropod taxa from an Upper Cretaceous (Campanian: 75 MYA) amber deposit in Alberta, Canada. Diversity and abundance are described at the Order level for hexapods, and for the Acarina and Araneae. Taxa present, in order of abundance, are Homoptera (66 specimens/kg of amber), Diptera (28/kg), Acarina (21/kg), Hymenoptera (13/kg), Araneae (12/kg), Psocoptera (4/kg), Coleoptera (2/kg), Blattodea (1/kg), Thysanoptera (1/kg), Trichoptera (0.6/kg). Other orders present are Lepidoptera, Collembola, Dermaptera, Mantodea, and Ephemeroptera. In total, of 35 identified families, 8 are extinct. There are about 20 genera identified, of which only 1 is extant. All identified species are extinct. Estimated species richness is about 100 species of arthropods. In comparison, virtually all Families reported from Baltic amber (Oligocene) are still extant, as are the majority of genera. Morphology and feeding structures are well within the variation seen in modern insects. This suggests that throughout the Tertiary, Entomologists would feel quite at home with the insect fauna, and during the Upper Cretaceous, they would have little difficulty identifying insects at least to the family level. It is hypothesized that the taxonomic structure of modern insect communities was well established before the end of the Cretaceous, and that the structure and interrelationships of insect guilds were also very similar to those of today.

scholarly journals Distribution characteristics of insect diversity in long-term fixed monitoring plots in Northeast China

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. e0250689
Author(s):  
Jinwen Liu ◽  
Xiujuan Yan ◽  
Xinyuan Song ◽  
Jiamei Zhang ◽  
Donghui Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Northeast China ◽  
Black Soil ◽  
Insect Community ◽  
Insect Communities ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Structure Changes ◽  
Biodiversity Maintenance ◽  
Observation Method ◽  
Direct Observation Method

The spatial patterns of field arthropod communities are an essential part of ecology and can provide fundamental data regarding field ecological processes and reveal the mechanism of ecosystem biodiversity maintenance. This study investigated the spatial distribution pattern of field insect communities to detect the spatial relationships between insect communities in farmland. The study site was located at the Dehui Agro-ecological Experimental Station of Black Soil, Jilin, China. Insect communities and environmental factors were sampled at 121 uniformly distributed points in a 400 × 400 m plot in August, September, and October 2015. The analysis revealed that insect communities from June to October demonstrated significant spatial correlation, and 6085 samples of 47 species and 47 families in 11 orders were collected from the insect community in the farmland. The farmland insect community structure changes and dynamic changes of nutritional function groups occur with time. According to the 400 x 400 m plot, the diversity of farmland insect communities and functional groups is maintained at a relatively high and stable level. In this study, a total of 6085 samples of corn farmland insects were obtained using the fluke method and direct observation method, including 11 orders, 26 families and 47 species, 4 absolute dominant populations, 6 main dominant populations, and 37 other populations. These studies can provide help for pest control in the spring corn area of Northeast China.

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