Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T21:30:00.508Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The spatial dynamics of crop and ground active predatory arthropods and their aphid prey in winter wheat

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

J.M. Holland*
Affiliation:
The Game Conservancy Trust, Fordingbridge, Hants, SP6 1EF, UK
L. Winder
Affiliation:
Seale-Hayne at the University of Plymouth, Newton Abbot, Devon, TQ12 6NQ, UK
C.J. Alexander
Affiliation:
Plant and Invertebrate Ecology Division, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Herts, AL5 2JQ, UK
J.N. Perry
Affiliation:
Plant and Invertebrate Ecology Division, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Herts, AL5 2JQ, UK
*
*Fax: 01425 651026 E-mail [email protected]

Abstract

The distribution of aphid predators within arable fields has been previously examined using pitfall traps. With this technique predominantly larger invertebrate species are captured, especially Carabidae, but the technique provides no estimate of density unless mark–recapture is used. However, many other numerically important aphid predators occur in arable fields and relatively little is known about their distribution patterns nor whether they exhibit a density-dependent response to patches of cereal aphids. Identification of the most effective predators can allow management practices to be developed accordingly. In this study, the distribution of cereal aphids and their predators was examined by suction sampling within a field of winter wheat in Devon, UK, along with visual estimates of weed patchiness. Sampling was conducted on four occasions in 1999 across a grid of 128 sample locations. The distribution of 11 predatory taxa from the Carabidae, Staphylinidae and Linyphiidae was examined. Additionally, the total number of aphid predators and a predation index were used in these analyses. Carabid adults and larvae, along with staphylinid larvae showed the strongest aggregation into patches and the most temporal stability in their distribution. Other taxa had more ephemeral distributions as did the cereal aphids. The distribution of carabid larvae was disassociated from the distribution of cereal aphids for the first two sampling occasions indicating biocontrol was occurring. Other predatory groups showed both association and disassociation. Carabid larvae, Bathyphantes and total numbers of Linyphiidae showed a strong correlation with weed cover for two of the sample dates. Cereal aphids were disassociated from weed cover on three sampling occasions.

Type
Review Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2004

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alderweireldt, M. (1994) Prey seletion and prey capture strategies of linyphiid spiders in high-input agricultural fields. Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society 9, 300308.Google Scholar
Alvarez, T., Frampton, G.K. & Goulson, D. (1997) Population dynamics of epigeic Collembola in arable fields: the importance of hedgerow proximity and crop type. Pedobiologia 41, 110114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bohan, D.A., Bohan, A.C., Glen, D.M., Symondson, W.O., Wiltshire, C.W. & Hughes, L. (2000) Spatial dynamics of predation by carabid beetles on slugs. Journal of Animal Ecology 69, 367379.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boiteau, G. (1983) Activity and distribution of Carabidae, Arachnida, and Staphylinidae in New Brunswick potato fields. Canadian Entomologist 115, 10231030.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brenner, R.J., Focks, D.A., Arbogast, R.T., Weaver, D.K. & Shuman, D. (1998) Practical use of spatial analysis in precision targeting for integrated pest management. American Entomologist summer edition, 79101.Google Scholar
Brown, N.J. (2000) Carabid ecology in organic and conventional farming systems: population density, diversity and high resolution spatial dynamics PhD thesis University of Bristol.Google Scholar
Bryan, K.M. & Wratten, S.D. (1984) The responses of polyphagous predators to prey spatial heterogeneity: aggregation by carabid and staphylinid beetles to their cereal aphid prey. Ecological Entomology 9, 251259.Google Scholar
Collins, K.L., Boatman, N.D., Wilcox, A. & Holland, J.M. (2002) The influence of beetle banks on cereal aphid population predation in winter wheat. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 93, 337350.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dennis, P. & Sotherton, N.W. (1994) Behavioural aspects of staphylinid beetles that limit their aphid feeding potential in cereal crops. Pedobiologia 38, 222237.Google Scholar
Dennis, P., Wratten, S.D. & Sotherton, N.W. (1990) Feeding behaviour of the staphylinid beetle Tachyporus hypnorum in relation to it's potential for reducing aphid numbers in wheat. Annals of Applied Biology 117, 267276.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dennis, P., Wratten, S.D. & Sotherton, N.W. (1991) Mycophagy as a factor limiting aphid predation by staphylinid beetles (Coloeoptera: Staphylinidae) in cereals. Bulletin of Entomological Research 81, 2531.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dutilleul, P. (1993) Modifying the t-test for assessing the correlation between two spatial processes. Biometrics 49, 305314.Google Scholar
Elliott, N.C. & Kieckhefer, R.W. (2000) Response by coccinellids to spatial variation in cereal aphid density. Population Ecology 42, 8190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ericson, D. (1978) Distribution, activity and density of some Carabidae (Coleoptera) in winter wheat fields. Pedobiologia 18, 202217.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fernández-García, A.F. Griffiths, G.J.K. & Thomas, C.F.G. (2000) Density, distribution and dispersal of the carabid beetle Nebria brevicollis in two adjacent cereal fields. Annals of Applied Biology 137, 8997.Google Scholar
Glinwood, R., Pettersson, J., Ahmed, E., Ninkovic, V., Birkett, M. & Pickett, J. (2003) Change in acceptability of barley plants to aphids after exposure to allelochemicals from couch-grass (Elytrigia repens). Journal of Chemical Ecology 29, 261274.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Glinwood, R., Ninkovic, V., Pettersson, J. & Ahmed, E. (2004) Barley exposed to aerial allelopathy from thistles (Cirsium spp.) becomes less acceptable to aphids. Ecological Entomology 29, 188195.Google Scholar
Hance, T., Gregoire-Wibo, C. & Lebrun, P. (1990) Agriculture and ground-beetle populations. Pedobiologia 34, 337346.Google Scholar
Harwood, J.D., Sunderland, K.D., Symondson, W.O.C.. (2001) Living where the food web is: web location by linyphiid spiders in relation to prey availability in winter wheat. Journal of Applied Ecology 38, 8899.Google Scholar
Hengeveld, R. (1979) The analysis of spatial patterns of some ground beetles (Col. Carabidae). pp. 333346 in Cormack, R.M. & Ord, J.K. (Eds). Spatial and temporal analysis in ecology. FairlandInternational Co-operative Publishing House.Google Scholar
Holland, J.M. & Reynolds, C.J.M. (2003) The impact of soil cultivation on arthropod emergence on arable land. Pedobiologia 47, 181191.Google Scholar
Holland, J.M., Perry, J.N. & Winder, L. (1999) The within-field spatial and temporal distribution of arthropods in winter wheat. Bulletin of Entomological Research 89, 499513.Google Scholar
Holland, J.M., Winder, L. & Perry, J.N. (2000) The impact of dimethoate on the spatial distribution of beneficial arthropods. Annals of Applied Biology 136, 93105.Google Scholar
Holland, J.M., Begbie, M., Birkett, T., Reynolds, C.J.M. & Thomas, C.F.G. (2001) The influence of hedgerows on coleopteran distributions: results from a multi-field sampling study. pp. 167176 in Barr, C., Petit, S. (Eds). Hedgerows of the world: their ecological functions in different landscapes. IALE (UK).Google Scholar
Holland, J.M., Begbie, M., Birkett, T., Reynolds, C.J.M. & Thomas, C.F.G. (2002) The distribution of carabid beetles across the arable landscape: results from a 70 ha sampling study. pp. 117131 in Szyszko, J., den Boer, P.J., Bauer, T. (Eds). How to protect or what we know about carabid beetles. WarsawWarsaw Agricultural University Press.Google Scholar
Holland, J.M., Begbie, M., Birkett, T., Southway, S., Thomas, S.R., Alexander, C.J. & Thomas, C.F.G. (2004) The spatial dynamics and movement of Pterostichus melanarius and P. madidus (Carabidae) between and within arable fields in the UK. International Journal of Ecology and Environmental Sciences 30, 3553.Google Scholar
Holopainen, J.K. (1995) Spatial distribution of polyphagous predators in nursery fields. Acta Jutlandica 70, 213220.Google Scholar
House, G.J. & All, J.N. (1981) Carabid beetles in soybean agroecosystems. Environmental Entomology 10, 194196.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kennedy, J.S. (1972) The emergence of behaviour. Journal of the Australian Entomological Society 11, 168176.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kielty, J.P., AllenWilliams, L.J., Underwood, N. & Eastwood, E.A. (1996) Behavioral responses of three species of ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) to olfactory cues associated with prey and habitat. Journal of Insect Behaviour 9, 237250.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lefko, S.A., Pedigo, L.P., Batchelor, W.D. & Rice, M.E. (1998) Spatial modeling of preferred wireworm (Coleoptera: Elateridae) habitat. Environmental Entomology 27, 184190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lindroth, C.H. (1992) Ground beetles (Carabidae) of Fennoscandia: a zoogeographic study: Part 1. Specific knowledge regarding the species xxviii + 630 pp. Andover Intercept LtdGoogle Scholar
Longley, M. & Jepson, P.C. (1996) Effects of honeydew and insecticide residues on the distribution of foraging aphid parasitoids under glasshouse and field conditions. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 81, 189198.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Luff, M.L. (1974) Adult and larval feeding habits of Pterostichus madidus (F.) (Coleoptera: Carabidae). Journal of Natural History 8, 403409.Google Scholar
Luff, M.L. (2002) Carabid assemblage organization and species composition. pp. 4179 in Holland, J.M. (Eds). The agroecology of carabid beetles. AndoverIntercept.Google Scholar
Meijer, J. (1977) Immigration of spiders (Araneida) into a new polder. Ecological Entomology 2, 8190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mols, P.J.M. (1987) Hunger in relation to searching behaviour, predation and egg production of the carabid beetles Pterostichus coerulescens L.: results of simulation. Acta Phytopathologica Entomologica Hungarica 22, 187205.Google Scholar
Monsrud, C. & Toft, S. (1999) The aggregative numerical response of polyphagous predators to aphids in cereal fields: attraction to what? Annals of Applied Biology 134, 265270.Google Scholar
Murdoch, W.W. & Briggs, C.J. (1996) Theory for biological control: recent developments. Ecology 77, 20012013.Google Scholar
Ninkovic, V. & Pettersson, J. (2003) Searching behaviour of the sevenspotted ladybird, Coccinella septempunctata–effects of plant-plant odour interaction. Oikos 100, 6570.Google Scholar
Noorhuis, R., Thomas, S.R. & Goulson, D. (2001) Overwintering populations of beetle larvae (Coleoptera) in cereal fields and their contribution to adult populations in the spring. Pedobiologia 45, 8495.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nyffeler, M. & Sunderland, K.D. (2003) Composition, abundance and pest control potential of spider communities in agroecosystems: a comparison of European and US studies. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 95, 579612.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pavuk, D.M., Purrington, F.F., Williams, C.E. & Stinner, B.R. (1997) Ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) activity density and community composition in vegetationally diverse corn agroecosystems. American Midland Naturalist 138, 1428.Google Scholar
Perry, J.N. & Dixon, P.M. (2002) A new method to measure spatial association for ecological count data. Ecoscience 9, 133141.Google Scholar
Perry, J.N., Winder, L., Holland, J.M. & Alston, R.D. (1999) Red-blue plots for detecting clusters in count data. Ecology Letters 2, 106113.Google Scholar
Powell, W., Dean, D.A. & Dewar, A. (1985) The influence of weeds on polyphagous arthropod predators in winter wheat. Crop Protection 4, 298312.Google Scholar
Purvis, G. & Curry, J.P. (1984) The influence of weeds and farmyard manure on the activity of Carabidae and other ground-dwelling arthropods in a sugar beet crop. Journal of Applied Ecology 21, 271283.Google Scholar
Quisenberry, S.S., Schotzko, D.J., Lamb, P.F. & Young, F.L. (2000) Insect distribution in a spring pea-winter wheat–spring barley crop rotation system. Journal of Entomological Science 35, 327333.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schotzko, D.J., O'Keeffe, L.E. (1989) Geostatistical description of the spatial distribution of Lygus hesperus (Heteroptera: Miridae) in lentils. Journal of Economic Entomology 82, 12771288.Google Scholar
Schotzko, D.J. & Quisenberry, S.S. (1999) Pea leaf weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) spatial distribution in peas. Environmental Entomology 28, 477484.Google Scholar
Speight, M.R. & Lawton, J.H. (1976) The influence of weed cover on the mortality imposed on artificial prey by predatory ground beetles in cereal fields. Oecologia 23, 211223.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sunderland, K.D. (2002) Invertebrate pest control by carabids. pp. 165214 in Holland, J.M (Eds). The agroecology of carabid beetles. Andover, Intercept.Google Scholar
Sunderland, K.D. & Topping, C.J. (1995) Estimating population densities of spiders in cereals. Acta Jutlandica 70, 1322.Google Scholar
Sunderland, K.D., Fraser, A.M. & Dixon, A.G.F. (1986a) Distribution of linyphiid spiders in relation to capture of prey in cereal fields. Pedobiologia 29, 367375.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sunderland, K.D., Fraser, A.M. & Dixon, A.G.F. (1986b) Field and laboratory studies on money spiders (Linyphiidae) as predators of cereal aphids. Journal of Applied Ecology 23, 433447.Google Scholar
Sunderland, K.D., Crook, N.E., Stacey, D.L. & Fuller, B.T. (1987) A study of feeding by polyphagous predators on cereal aphids using ELISA and gut dissection. Journal of Applied Ecology 24, 907933.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, L.R. (1986) The relationship betwen density and distance of dispersing insects. Journal of Animal Ecology 55, 138.Google Scholar
Thiele, H.U. (1977) Carabid beetles in their environments. Berlin, Springer-Verlag.Google Scholar
Thomas, C.F.G., Hol, E.H.A. & Everts, J.W. (1990) Modelling the diffusion component of dispersal during recovery of a population of linyphiid spiders from exposure to an insecticide. Functional Ecology 4, 357368.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomas, C.F.G., Parkinson, L. & Marshall, E.J.P. (1998) Isolating the components of activity-density for the carabid beetle Pterostichus melanarius in farmland. Oecologia 116, 103112.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thomas, C.F.G., Parkinson, L., Griffiths, G.J.K., Garcia, A.F. & Marshall, E.J.P. (2001) Aggregation and temporal stability of carabid beetle distributions in field and hedgerow habitats. Journal of Applied Ecology 38, 100116.Google Scholar
Thomas, C.F.G., Holland, J.M. & Brown, N.J. (2002) The spatial distribution of carabid beetles in agricultural landscapes. pp. 305344 in Holland, J.M. (Eds). The agroecology of carabid beetles. Andover, Intercept.Google Scholar
Thomas, M.B., Wratten, S.D. & Sotherton, N.W. (1991) Creation of ‘island’ habitats in farmland to manipulate populations of beneficial arthropods: densities and emigration. Journal of Applied Ecology 28, 906917.Google Scholar
Thomas, S.R., Goulson, D. & Holland, J.M. (2000) Spatial and temporal distributions of predatory Carabidae in a winter wheat field. Aspects of Applied Biology 62, 5560.Google Scholar
Topping, C.J. & Sunderland, K.D. (1992) Limitations to the use of pitfall traps in ecological studies exemplified by a study of spiders in a field of winter wheat. Journal of Applied Ecology 29, 485491.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Topping, C.J. & Sunderland, K.D. (1994) Methods for quantifying spider density and migration in cereal crops. Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society 9, 209213.Google Scholar
Upton, G. & Fingleton, B. (1985) Spatial analysis by example. Point and quantitative data Volume, I. New YorkJohn Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Vickerman, G.P., Dowie, W. & Playle, K.E. (1987) The potential of Tachyporus spp. (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) as predators of cereal aphids. Integrated crop protection in cereals pp 6980 in Cavalloro, R. & Sunderland, K.D. (Eds). Rome, C.E.C.Google Scholar
Warner, D.J., Allen-Williams, L.J., Ferguson, A.W. & Willimas, I.H. (2000) Pest–predator spatial relationships in winter rape: implications for integrated crop management. Pest Management Science 56, 977982.Google Scholar
Weyman, G.S. & Jepson, P. (1994) The effect of food supply on the colonization of barley by aerially dispersing spiders (Araneae). Oecologia 100, 386390.Google Scholar
Winder, L. (1990) Predation of the cereal aphid Sitobion avenae by polyphagous predators on the ground. Ecological Entomology 15, 105110.Google Scholar
Winder, L., Hirst, D.J., Carter, N., Wratten, S.D. & Sopp, P.I. (1994) Estimating predation of the grain aphid Sitobion avenae by polyphagous predators. Journal of Applied Ecology 31, 112.Google Scholar
Winder, L., Perry, J.N. & Holland, J.M. (1999) The spatial and temporal distribution of the grain aphid Sitobion avenae in winter wheat. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 93, 277290.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Winder, L., Alexander, C.J., Holland, J.M., Woolley, C. & Perry, J.N. (2001) Modelling the dynamic spatio-temporal response of predators to transient prey patches in the field. Ecology Letters 4, 568576.Google Scholar