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Estimating population variability of aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae): how many years are required?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 September 2016

Robert J. Lamb ,
Patricia A. MacKay  and
Andrei Alyokhin
Robert J. Lamb*
Affiliation:
Department of Entomology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 2N2, Canada
Patricia A. MacKay
Affiliation:
Department of Entomology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 2N2, Canada
Andrei Alyokhin
Affiliation:
School of Biology and Ecology, University of Maine, 5722 Deering Hall, Orono, Maine, 04469, United States of America
*
1 Corresponding author (e-mail: [email protected])
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Abstract

Variability is an important characteristic of population dynamics, but the length of the time series required to estimate population variability is poorly understood. To this end, population variability of Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Thomas), Myzus persicae (Sulzer), and Aphis nasturtii (Kaltenbach) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) was investigated. Population variability (measured as PV, a proportion between 0 and 1) was estimated for time series of 3–62 years, giving replicate estimates for time series of 3–20 years that were normally distributed. Mean values for PV were more uniform for a time series of 12 years or longer than for shorter ones. The standard deviation of PV declined to a minimum at 12–15 years, as the length of the time series increased. Discrimination of estimates of PV was reliable for 15-year time series and longer, but not necessarily for shorter ones. Although M. euphorbiae had a relatively low PV, the coefficient of variation of that PV (12.5), was higher than for the other two species (3.5, 4.5). For robust estimates of PV, a time series of 15 years is recommended, because it minimises the standard deviation of PV, and discriminates values of PV that differ by 0.06 on a 0–1 scale.

Type
Behaviour & Ecology
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 149 , Issue 1 , February 2017 , pp. 48 - 55
Copyright
© Entomological Society of Canada 2016 

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Footnotes

Subject editor: John Wise

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