Insect-plant interactions on a planet of weeds

Two conflicting views confront ecologists and evolutionary biologists on the degree of symmetry in interactions between plants and phytophagous insects. The symmetrical view holds that insects and plants have strong effects on one another's evolutionary and ecological dynamics. Thus, herbivores are regarded as a major influence on plant distribution and abundance in contemporary ecosystems, and coevolution is commonly invoked to explain adaptive radiation in plants and insects, host specialization in insects, as well as much of the morphological and chemical variety observed in plants. The asymmetrical view acknowledges that plants have major effects on insects, but claims that insects seldom impose significant effects on plants. Proponents of the asymmetric view tend to ignore or discount insect-plant interactions in communities and ecosystems altered by human impacts. If we recognize the scope and scale of human impacts, and ways in which these impacts change insect-plant interactions, then our views about symmetry or asymmetry in insect-plant interactions will change. To understand, predict, and manage insect herbivory we need to study it in all its manifestations. In particular, the study of interactions involving alien species is both an urgent priority for environmental management and potentially a source of ecological insights on the role of herbivores in plant population and community dynamics. A complete theory of insect/host plant interactions must explain and predict interactions both within and beyond the native range. Such a theory might guide efforts to deal with environmental problems stemming from rapid rates of extinction and homogenization of the world's biota.     

Scale, Experimental Design and the Detection of Ineterspecific Competition within Plant Communities

Abstract We report preliminary results of a series of experiments designed to explore the importance of interspecific competition within arable weed communities at different scales. Competition hierarchies were apparent from a pot experiment with different levels of nutrients and water. Two field experiments looked at Bromus sterilis, Galium aparine and Papaver rhoeas in winter wheat in the field, in a range of combinations and management treatments, and a fourth field experiment included a wider variety of species. There was little effect of fertilizer on population behaviour in the the field. Bromus increased around ten fold per year on minimum-tilled plots, regardless of other treatments. Galium increased on organically-fertilized and minimum-tilled plots, but only in the absence of Bromus. Papaver densities remained low, but again were depressed in the presence of high densities of Bromus . Taken together, the experiments demonstrate the existence of competition between weed species. However, as the design of the experiment increased to include greater levels of environmental variation, so competition became more difficult to detect, and less useful for interpreting the results than knowledge of the biology of the individual species. At the scale of interest to the farmer, the level of competition is not a good predictor for weed population dynamics.     

A model for the impact of herbicide tolerance on the performance of oilseed rape as a volunteer weed

The introduction of genetically modified, herbicide-tolerant, oilseed rape into the agricultural environment will have ramifications beyond weed control of the crop. Herbicide-tolerant rape will undoubtedly become part of established volunteer weed populations that occur in many cereal rotations, but its longevity in these populations and its impact as a weed and contaminant of future oilseed rape crops is uncertain. A life cycle model of volunteer oilseed rape was therefore constructed, incorporating existing information on physiological processes such as emergence pattern, longevity of buried seed, death rates of various structures and flowering and seeding as functions of density. The model was designed to allow interaction with control factors such as harvesting efficiency, herbicide treatment, ploughing and the sequence of crops in the rotation. Many of the physiological parameters (including seed decay rates, fecundity at high density) are uncertain, simply through lack of information in the appropriate context. Other parameters such as harvesting efficiency and herbicide kill rates, are inherently variable in farming. Accordingly, a Monte-Carlo approach, in which the model was run many times with different random realisations of parameter sets, was used to expose factors to which the seedbank was sensitive. Sets of 1250 realisations were compared for each of two extreme conditions: where herbicide could be used according to current intensive farming practice and where it was not an option (representing total herbicide tolerance). Modelled seedbank numbers after 5 yr ranged from 10^-3to 10⁴m^-2, realistic values found in arable soils. The use of herbicide, together with efficient harvesting of seed, clearly has an important suppressive effect on the oilseed rape seedbank, keeping it lower than 10²m^-2(a typical sowing rate) after 5 yr in more than 80% of realisations. In the absence of herbicide, seedbanks were invariably greater, but their absolute value depended strongly on harvesting efficiency and the extent to which high density of plants suppressed fecundity. Analysis of the time series from the simulations showed that the seedbank levels fluctuated by orders in magnitude from year to year in the absence of herbicide use. The sensitivity analysis of the life-cycle model led to the development of a simplified model for the seedbank dynamics. The model shows that the essential features of the dynamics result from an interaction between density-dependent fecundity and the perturbations due to management. Therefore predictions of the effect of herbicide tolerance on seedbank dynamics are highly uncertain without knowledge of the density dependence of fecundity. Furthermore, the sensitivity to management practices suggests that seedbank levels will be substantially more difficult to control if the efficacy of herbicide is compromised. It is concluded that the model and Monte-Carlo approach have many potential uses in exploring the effects of management, cultivar physiology and the nature of the transgenes.     

Modeling the Influence of Resource Availability on Population Densities of Oxyops vitiosa (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), a Biological Control Agent of the Invasive Tree Melaleuca quinquenervia

The Australian snout beetle, Oxyops vitiosa, was introduced to south Florida, USA, as a biological control agent of the invasive tree Melaleuca quinquenervia during the spring of 1997. As part of ongoing post-release evaluations of this weevil, we sought to quantify the population density that can be maintained by O. vitiosa larvae when fully exploiting the available melaleuca foliage. Seasonal population densities were modeled as a function of tree size distribution and density, plant phenology, quantity of acceptable foliage (suitable for larval development) and larval consumption values. Larval densities varied dramatically due to fluctuating resource availability and ranged from 830 946 larvae/ha in July–August to >4.5 million larvae/ha in January–February. The expected population density for a generalized (mixed sized) tree distribution was estimated to be 13.9 million larvae/ha. Larval densities increased to 18.8 million larvae/ha per year when large trees (>20 cm diameter at breast height) represented the dominant size class, whereas habitats dominated by medium (10–19 cm) and small (1.3–9 cm) trees were predicted to have larval densities of 11.3 and 6.3 million/year, respectively. Validation data obtained from smaller, more accessible plants suggested that the model overestimated realized yearly larval densities by 9% or 15 416 larvae/ha per year.     

Biology, herbivory, and host specificity of Antiblemma leucocyma (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) on Miconia calvescens DC. (Melastomataceae) in Brazil

Miconia calvescens DC. (Melastomataceae) is an invasive tree considered one of the greatest threats to natural ecosystems of Hawaii and other Pacific islands. The potential for using the defoliator Antiblemma leucocyma (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) as a biological control agent of M. calvescens was evaluated in the native habitat of the insect in Brazil. Impact assessment in the field showed that 37.2% of leaves presented damage by A. leucocyma, and among damaged leaves, 1.5-51.9% of the leaf area (16.3% on average) was affected. Damage was found in young to fully expanded leaves (28-915 cm² in area). Individual A. leucocyma developing as third through sixth instars in the laboratory consumed an average of 1348 cm² of M. calvescens leaf material in about 11 days. Populations of A. leucocyma in the field were heavily impacted (up to 83% parasitism) by a braconid parasitoid. Observations in the field and single- and two-host choice tests in the laboratory indicated that A. leucocyma has a narrow host range restricted to M. calvescens. Usefulness of this herbivore for biological control in Hawaii appears low, however, because of its probable susceptibility to generalist parasitoids.     

Bt棉田边缘杂草带对棉田内叶螨发生的影响

2003～2004年,在冀南棉区系统研究了棉田边缘杂草带对棉田内叶螨发生的影响。试验设3个处理：转Bt基因棉化防田(使用杀螨剂控制棉叶螨且保留棉田边缘杂草)、转Bt基因棉对照田(保留棉田边缘杂草)和转Bt基因棉除草田(去除棉田边缘杂草)。结果表明,2003年6月28日～8月7日,处理间的叶螨发生量和有螨株率差异明显。2003年叶螨发生高峰期(7月28日),对照田的百株平均螨量达834头,分别是化防田、除草田的9.4倍和11.5倍;对照田的有螨株率的峰值为34.7%,分别高于化防田和除草田6.4%和12%;棉叶螨的总计值,对照田分别是化防田和除草田的5.8倍和5.5倍。2004年7月10日～8月29日,对照田的百株螨量和有螨株率明显高于除草田和化防田。2004年叶螨发生高峰期（8月10日）,对照田的百株平均螨量达1 222头,分别是化防田、除草田的4.3倍和23.4倍;对照田的有螨株率的峰值达100%,分别比除草田和化防田多75%和87%;棉叶螨的总计值,对照田分别是化防田和除草田的4.9和9.7倍。两年中,除草田和化防田的百株螨量和有螨株率峰值出现日期有所不同。对照田内,棉田边缘杂草至所调查的棉株距离同螨害指数呈显著(P＜0.05)或极显著(P＜0.01)的负相关。本研究表明,去除棉田边缘杂草的棉田,叶螨发生始期较晚且发生量较少;棉田边缘杂草到取样点的距离与棉叶螨的为害程度呈直线负相关,距离越近,叶螨的发生为害越重。     

Heat sensitivity of eggs attributes to the reduction in Agasicles hygrophila population

Agasicles hygrophila has been introduced worldwide as a control agent for the invasive weed Alternanthera philoxeroides.However,global warming has potential impact on its controlling efficacy.The aim of this research was to explore the primary factors responsible for the greatly reduced A.hygrophila population in hot summers.To imitate the temperature conditions in summers,different developmental stages of hygrophila were treated with high temperatures from 32.5℃ to 45℃ for 1-5 h.Based on the survival rate,the heat tolerance of each developmental stage was ranked from lowest to highest as follows:egg,1st,2nd,3rd instar larva,adult and pupa.Eggs showed the lowest heat tolerance with 37.5℃ as the critical temperature affecting larval hatching.Heat treatment of the A.hygrophila eggs at 37.5℃ for 1 h decreased the hatch rate to 24%.Our results indicated that when compared with the control at 25℃,1 h treatment at 37.5℃ prolonged the duration of the egg stage,shortened the duration of oviposition and total longevity,and changed the reproductive pattern of A.hygrophila.The net reproductive rate,intrinsic rate and finite rate were all significantly reduced.The results suggest that low heat tolerance of the eggs was the major factor responsible for the reduction of A.hygrophila populations,and the key temperature was 37.5°C.Therefore,appropriate measures should be taken to protect eggs in order to maintain the efficacy of A.hygrophila in the biological control of A.philoxeroides in hot summers.     

GPS collars have an apparent positive effect on the survival of a large carnivore

Are instrumented animals representative of the population, given the potential bias caused by selective sampling and the influence of capture, handling and wearing bio-loggers? The answer is elusive owing to the challenges of obtaining comparable data from individuals with and without bio-loggers. Using non-invasive genetic data of a large carnivore, the wolverine (Gulo gulo) in Scandinavia, and an open-population spatial capture–recapture model, we found a 16 (credible interval: 4–30) percentage points lower mortality probability for GPS-collared individuals compared with individuals without GPS collars. While the risk of dying from legal culling was comparable for collared and non-collared wolverines, the former experienced lower probability of mortality due to causes other than legal culling. The aforementioned effect was pronounced despite a potentially lower age—and therefore likely higher natural mortality—of collared individuals. Reports of positive effects of bio-loggers on the survival of individuals are uncommon and we argue that GPS collars could shield animals from poaching. Our results highlight the challenges of drawing population-level inferences for populations subjected to poaching when using data from instrumented individuals.     

The dispersion of age differences between partners and the asymptotic dynamics of the HIV epidemic

In this paper, the effect of a change in the distribution of age differences between sexual partners on the dynamics of the HIV epidemic is studied. In a gender- and age-structured compartmental model, it is shown that if the variance of the distribution is small enough, an increase in this variance strongly increases the basic reproduction number. Moreover, if the variance is large enough, the mean age difference barely affects the basic reproduction number. We, therefore, conclude that the local stability of the disease-free equilibrium relies more on the variance than on the mean.     

Population dynamics: Limits of predictability

Problems related to the complex pattern of ecosystem dynamics are discussed. Examples of studies on the complex population dynamics are considered, including those of plankton populations in a spatially heterogeneous environment and of an agroecosystem invaded by pests resistant to Bt toxins produced by genetically modified insecticidal crops.     

玉米连作、迎茬和轮作对田间杂草群落的影响

采用定位试验方法研究了北方旱作玉米长期 (1 0～ 1 2年 )连作、米豆米迎茬和豆麦米轮作条件下玉米田杂草群落变化。结果表明 ,3种茬口杂草密度以米豆米迎茬最小 ,杂草密度在不同年际间存在着差异 ,随着连作年限的增加 ,使连作区一些杂草种类增加 ,同时也有些杂草种类减少 ,但这种差别主要是在双子叶杂草之间 ,单子叶杂草种类没有变化 ,如连作 1 2年较连作 1 0年杂草增加了牛繁缕 ,减少了鸡眼草。 2年调查结果可知 ,连作、迎茬和轮作 3个茬口相比 ,米豆米迎茬较连作和轮作杂草种类发生的少     

A conceptual model of the dynamics of the Syamozero Lake community

We present a conceptual mathematical model of the dynamics of a spatially heterogeneous population system whose prototype is the fish community of Lake Syamozero. Analysis of the solutions of this model is used to demonstrate that interactions between the predator and prey populations in two neighboring biotopes (the pelagic and coastal zones) may result in either undamped oscillations or steady states of the population sizes. The model population densities are of the same order of magnitude as the values obtained in long-term observations of the Syamozero biota. It is also demonstrated that the transition to steady states may be accompanied by long-term (dozens or hundreds of years) damped oscillations of the prey and predator population densities. Under natural conditions, long transitional periods may prevent fish communities from reaching stationary modes.     

黄山松种群结构与动态研究

以“空间代替时间”的方法,以种群径级结构代替年龄结构,采用静态生命表和生存分析的方法,探讨了天柱山国家森林公园黄山松种群结构和动态规律。结果表明,随海拔升高,黄山松种群密度增大,径级分布范围减小,种群存活曲线由Deevey-Ⅱ型之间过渡到Deevey—Ⅰ型,种群由稳定型过渡为增长型。表明由低海拔向高海拔,黄山松种群处于不同的演替和发展阶段。     

稻田水面漂浮的杂草种子种类及动态

为了揭示杂草种子的漂浮动态,并为探寻生态控草方法提供理论依据,我们于2005年6-11月,在南京沧波门稻作区调查了水稻种植前及生长后期田问杂草群落以及稻田灌水期间水面漂浮的杂草种子的种类及漂浮时间.结果表明,在水稻种植前及生长后期田间出现有15科24种杂草;可漂浮于水面的杂草种子有17科26种,与田间发生的杂草种类相同的共有18种,占所有32种杂草的56.25%.这些杂草主要隶属于禾本科、蓼科、毛茛科、报春花科、莎草科、菊科和雨久花科.田埂附近漂浮的杂草种类及种子数量均高于田中间;各类杂草种子的漂浮能力不一,其中菵草(Beckmannia syzigachne)、泽珍珠菜(Lysimachia candida)、茴茴蒜(Ranunculus chinensis)、齿果酸模(Rumex dentatus)、蛇床(Cnidium monnieri)、鳢肠(Eclipta prostrata)和看麦娘(Alopecurus aequalis)等在田间水面漂浮能力较强.漂浮期间杂草种子除多集中于田埂附近,也附着于稻稞周围,并有互相结联的趋势.从整体上看,杂草种子漂浮2天后骤降,8天后基本全部沉降.显然,稻田生境的杂草种子大多可以漂浮于水面传播扩散.因此在灌水早期采取过滤或清除水上漂浮杂草种子可以减少杂草种子的输入和加速杂草种子从田间输出,减少杂草发生基数.     

外来杂草薇甘菊种群分布格局研究

在3个群落中设置样方,采用方差/均值比率法测定了薇甘菊种群的分布格局类型。结果表明,薇甘菊种群的分布格局主要受自身的生物学特征和微环境的影响,呈随机或集群分布。随机分布的种群其聚集强度指标扩散型指数、丛生指数、聚块性指标和平均拥挤度多对1.0没有显著的偏离,负二项参数则较大;而聚集分布的种群其聚集强度指标则符合聚集特征。     

Epidemic progression on networks based on disease generation time

We investigate the time evolution of disease spread on a network and present an analytical framework using the concept of disease generation time. Assuming a susceptible–infected–recovered epidemic process, this network-based framework enables us to calculate in detail the number of links (edges) within the network that are capable of producing new infectious nodes (individuals), the number of links that are not transmitting the infection further (non-transmitting links), as well as the number of contacts that individuals have with their neighbours (also known as degree distribution) within each epidemiological class, for each generation period. Using several examples, we demonstrate very good agreement between our analytical calculations and the results of computer simulations.