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11 - Population dynamics

from Part IV - Population ecology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

Peter W. Price
Affiliation:
Northern Arizona University
Robert F. Denno
Affiliation:
University of Maryland, College Park
Micky D. Eubanks
Affiliation:
Texas A & M University
Deborah L. Finke
Affiliation:
University of Missouri, Columbia
Ian Kaplan
Affiliation:
Purdue University, Indiana
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Summary

All natural populations fluctuate: they are dynamic. introduced the concepts of population growth and regulation. How and why populations change are the subjects of this chapter. Population dynamics has been of major concern in insect ecology for at least two reasons. First, ecology has been defined as the study of the distribution and abundance of species (Andrewartha and Birch 1954, Krebs 1972). Since the study of population dynamics must include both changes in numbers over time and over the landscape, the subject acts as a central theme in ecology: a unifying concept that permeates the science. It is therefore critical to the conceptual development of ecology. Second, the subject is directly applicable to problems in managing plants as resources for humans, in agriculture, horticulture and forestry. In fact, the need to monitor and understand insect damage to crops and forests was a major motivation for the beginnings of ecology and the study of population dynamics. Other applications include the study of vectors of diseases, such as mosquitoes, pests of cattle such as ticks and screwworm, and vectors of plant pathogens. For these reasons the field of insect population dynamics has played a prominent role in the development of basic ecology and in the understanding and management of serious pests over the landscape.

First we will examine major patterns in populations and then move on to mechanisms that may be driving these patterns, including abiotic and biotic influences, and complex interactions involving both. We also consider the question of how common eruptive species are, how frequently eruptions occur, and whether outbreaks result from human interference with natural dynamics. We note that long-term studies are essential in deciphering the reasons for population change, but many potential influences need to be investigated. Bottom-up effects from plants, top-down effects from natural enemies and lateral effects all need attention. Spatial distribution of populations is also important in a fragmented landscape, covered by the field of metapopulation dynamics. Population dynamics is a field of wide application for understanding pest species, epidemiology, biological control and conservation, all requiring information for planning and management.

Type
Chapter
Information
Insect Ecology
Behavior, Populations and Communities
, pp. 404 - 440
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2011

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References

Berryman, A. A. 2002 Population Cycles: The Case for Trophic Interactions Oxford Oxford University Press
Hunter, M. D. 1992 Special feature. The relative contributions of top-down and bottom-up forces in population and community ecology Ecology 73 723
McCullough, D. G. Wener, R. A. Neumann, D. 1998 Fire and insects in northern and boreal forest ecosystems in North America Annu. Rev. Entomol 43 107 Google Scholar
Price, P. W. 2003 Macroevolutionary Theory on Macroecological Patterns Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Van Nouhuys, S. Hanski, I. 2002 Multitrophic interactions in space: metacommunity dynamics in fragmented landscapes 124 Tscharntke, T. Hawkins, B. A. Multitrophic Level Interactions Cambridge Cambridge University Press

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