Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 6, 2026
10:30
Administering and Detecting Protein Marks on Arthropods for Dispersal Research
Published on: January 28, 2016
7.8K
The spatial population dynamics of insects exploiting a patchy food resource : II. Movements between patches
J P Dempster1, D A Atkinson1, M C French2
1Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK.
Oecologia
|March 18, 2017
Summary
Insect and parasitoid populations move extensively between plant patches, with colonization unaffected by distance up to 800m. Immigration plays a key role in population dynamics, especially when resident populations are low.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Population Dynamics
- Insect Ecology
Background:
- Studied population dynamics of phytophagous insects and parasitoids on Centaurea nigra and Arctium minus.
- Examined extinction rates, density dependence, and inter-population movements.
- Investigated the relative importance of immigration versus population regulation for species persistence.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the movement patterns of insect and parasitoid populations between host plant patches.
- To determine the role of immigration in the population dynamics of these species.
- To test the influence of patch size and distance on colonization.
Main Methods:
- Monitored insect populations across over 50 plant patches within a 5 km² area.
- Utilized chemical markers (Rb, Sr, Dy, Cs) applied to plant patches to trace insect movement.
- Analyzed insect samples using Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) mass spectrometry to detect marker elements.
Main Results:
- Experimentally planted new patches were rapidly colonized, irrespective of distance up to 800m.
- Larger plant patches were colonized more readily than smaller ones.
- Chemical marker analysis revealed insect movements of up to 2 km, indicating significant immigration.
Conclusions:
- Movement and immigration are crucial factors in the population dynamics of these insect and parasitoid species.
- Immigration appeared to be density-dependent, being higher when resident populations were low.
- Colonization success is influenced by patch size, with larger patches being more attractive.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
00:48Optimal Foraging
14.1K
How animals obtain and eat their food is called foraging behavior. Foraging can include searching for plants and hunting for prey and depends on the species and environment.
14.1K
00:57Population Growth
29.3K
Population size is dynamic, increasing with birth rates and immigration, and decreasing with death rates and emigration. In ideal conditions with unlimited resources, populations can increase exponentially, which plots as a J-shaped growth rate curve of population size against time. This type of curve is characteristic of newly-introduced invasive species, or populations that have suffered catastrophic declines and are rebounding.
29.3K
00:53Migration
9.0K
Migration is long-range, seasonal movement from one region or habitat to another. This common strategy, carried out by many different organisms around the world, is an adaptive response that typically corresponds to changes in an organism’s environment, like resource availability or climate. Migrations can involve huge groups of thousands of animals as well as single individuals traveling alone and can range from thousands of kilometers to just a few hundred meters.
9.0K
00:30What are Populations and Communities?
38.3K
Overview
38.3K
02:39Predator-Prey Interactions
22.0K
Predators consume prey for energy. Predators that acquire prey and prey that avoid predation both increase their chances of survival and reproduction (i.e., fitness). Routine predator-prey interactions elicit mutual adaptations that improve predator offenses, such as claws, teeth, and speed, as well as prey defenses, including crypsis, aposematism, and mimicry. Thus, predator-prey interactions resemble an evolutionary arms race.
22.0K
00:54Distribution and Dispersion
25.7K
To understand intra-specific interactions in populations, scientists measure the spatial arrangement of species individuals. This geographic arrangement is known as the species distribution or dispersion. Highly territorial species exhibit a uniform distribution pattern, in which individuals are spaced at relatively equal distances from one another. Species that are highly tied to particular resources, such as food or shelter, tend to concentrate around those resources, and thus exhibit a...
25.7K