Estimating intrinsic growth rates of arthropods from partial life tables using predatory mites as examples |
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Authors: | Janssen Arne Fonseca Morgana Maria Marcossi Italo Kalile Milena Oliveira Cardoso Andre Costa Walerius Adriana Helena Hanel Aldo Marques Vinicius Ferla Júlia Jantsch Farias Vanessa Carbajal Paola A F Pallini Angelo Nachman Gösta |
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Institution: | 1.Department of Entomology, Federal University of Vi?osa, Vi?osa, Minas Gerais, Brazil ;2.Evolutionary and Population Biology, IBED, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH, Amsterdam, The Netherlands ;3.Department of Biology, Section of Ecology and Evolution, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark ; |
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Abstract: | The intrinsic rate of natural increase of a population (rm) has been in focus as a key parameter in entomology and acarology. It is considered especially important in studies of predators that are potential biological control agents of fast-growing pests such as mites, whiteflies and thrips. Life-table experiments under controlled laboratory conditions are standard procedures to estimate rm. However, such experiments are often time consuming and may critically depend on the precise assessment of the developmental time and the fecundity rate early in the reproductive phase. Using selected studies of predatory mites with suitable life-table data, we investigated whether and how measurements of growth rates can be simplified. We propose a new method for estimating rm from partial life tables, in which the researcher can choose a level of precision based on a stand-in measure of relative error. Based on this choice, the procedure helps the researcher to decide when a life-table experiment can be terminated. Depending on the chosen precision, significant amounts of experimental time can be saved without seriously compromising the reliability of the estimated growth parameter. |
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