Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T05:58:05.572Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Fluctuation and natural control of animal population, as exemplified in the garden chafer Phyllopertha horticola (L.)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 December 2011

A. Milne
A. Milne
Affiliation:
University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Department of Agricultural Biology, Field Laboratory, Close House, Newcastle upon Tyne NE15 OHT, U.K.
Get access

Synopsis

The garden chafer. Phyllopertha horticola (L.), renews its population every June. Its numbers fluctuate irregularly from year to year. During 1947 75 in the English Lake District, it had two ‘outbreaks’ (with peaks in 1952 and 1975) separated by a long period of low population (1956–70). In nine of the years 1948 75, October population increased significantly over that of the preceding year: in eleven, it did not change significantly; and in ihe remaining eight, it decreased significantly. These fluctuations in numbers were due to fluctuations in the effective environmental factors (weather, enemies and intraspecific competition) influencing sun ival, fecundity and migration. Weather was more effective than enemies in this respect and intraspecific competition became important only when weather and enemies together failed to keep numbers from rising dangerously high for the chafer. Weather was, of course, density-independent in action. Among enemies, interspecific competitors were density-independent while pathogens, parasites and predators were all imperfectly density-dependent. The only perfectly density-dependent factor was intraspecific competition. These findings bear out Milne's theory (1957a et seq.) that for part of the time, natural control of population increase of any species X is due to the combined action of density-independent and imperfectly density-dependent environmental factors but, whenever this combined action fails (as inevitably it sometimes must), increase to the point of collective suicide is prevented by the one and only perfectly density-dependent factor, namely, intraspecific competition of X; on the other hand, decrease of numbers of X to zero is prevented ultimately by density-independent factors alone.

Type
Articles
Information
Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Section B: Biological Sciences , Volume 82 , Issue 3: Fluctuation and natural control of animal population, as exemplified in the garden chafer Phyllopertha horticola (L.) , 1984 , pp. 145 - 199
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1984

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

Bellows., J. S. (Jr.) 1981. The descriptive properties of some models for density dependence. J. Anim. Ecol. 50, 139–156.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bliss, C. I. 1953. Fitting the negative binomial distribution to biological data. The Biometric Soc. 9, 176–200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cameron, A. E. 1941. Insect and other pests of 1940. Trans. Roy. Highld Agric. Soc. Scoll. (5) 53, 77–97.Google Scholar
Danthanarayana, W. 1983. Population ecology of the light brown apple moth. Epiphyas postvittana (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). J. Anim. Ecol. 52, 1–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dempster, J. P. 1983. The natural control of populations of butterflies and moths. Biol. Rev. 58, 461–181.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elton, C. 1935. Animal Ecology. London: Sidgwick & Jackson.Google Scholar
Fisher, R. A. 1941. Statistical methods for research workers (8th edn), p. 177. Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd.Google Scholar
Gray, R. A. H., Peet, W. V. and Rogerson, J. P. 1947. Observations on the chafer grub problem in the Lake District. Bull. Em. Res. 37, 455–168.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Imms, A. D. 1947. Insect natural history, PI. 28 and pp. 132 & 159. London: Collins.Google Scholar
Laughlin, R. 1956. Storage and utilization of reserves by the garden chafer. Phyllopertha horticola (L.). J. Exp. Biol. 33, 566–575.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laughlin, R. 1957. Biology and ecology of the garden chafer. Phyllopertha horticola (L.). III. The growth of the larva. Bull. Em. Res. 48, 127–154.Google Scholar
Laughlin, R. 1964. Biology and ecology of the garden chafer, Phyllopertha horticola (L.). VIII. Temperature and larval growth. Bull. Em. Res. 54, 745–759.Google Scholar
Meteorological Office. 1947–75. Mon. Weath. Rep. Land. 1947–75.Google Scholar
Milne, A. 1956. Biology and ecology of the garden chafer, Phyllopertha horticola (L.). II. The cycle from egg to adult in the field. Bull. Em. Res. 47, 23–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milne, A. 1957a. The natural control of insect populations. Can. Em. 89, 193–213.Google Scholar
Milne, A. 1957b. Theories of natural control of insect populations. Cold Spring Harb. Symp. Quant. Biol. 22, 253–271.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milne, A. 1958a. Biology and ecology of the garden chafer, Phyllopertha horticola (L.). IV. The flight season: introduction and general aspects. Bull. Em. Res. 49, 685–699.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milne., A. 1958b. Perfect and imperfect density dependence in population dynamics. Nature, Land. 182, 1251–1252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milne, A. 1959a. Biology and ecology of the garden chafer, Phyllopertha horticola(L). V. The flight season: sex proportions. Bull. Ent. Res. 50, 39–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milne, A. 1959b. Biology and ecology of the garden chafer, Phyllopertha horticola (L.). VI. The flight season: reproductive state of females. Bull. Em. Res. 50, 467–486.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milne, A. 1959c. The centric systematic area-sample treated as a random sample. Biometrics 15, 270–297.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milne, A. 1959d. Weather, enemies and natural control of insect populations. J. Econ. Ent. 52, 532–533.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milne, A. 1959e. A controversial equation in population ecology. Nature, Land. 184, 1582–1853.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milne, A. 1960. Biology and ecology of the garden chafer, Phyllopertha horticola (L.). VII. The flight season: male and female behaviour, and concluding discussion. Bull. Ent. Res. 51. 353–378.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milne, A. 1961. Definition of competition among animals. Symp. Soc. Exp. Biol. 15, Mechanisms in biological competition, 40–61.Google Scholar
Milne, A. 1962. On a theory of natural control of insect population. J. Theoret. Biol. 3, 19–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milne, A. 1964. Biology and ecology of the garden chafer. Phyllopertha horticola (L.). IX. Spatial distribution. Bull. Ent. Res. 54, 761–795.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milne, A. and Laughlin, R. 1956. Biology and ecology of the garden chafer, phyllopertha horticola (L.). I. The adult and egg production. Bull. Ent. Res. 47, 7–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries 1942. Chafer beetles. Advis. Leafl. 235, 1–4. London: H.M.S.O.Google Scholar
Nakamura, M. 1965. Bio-economics of some larval populations of pleurostict Scarabeidae on the flood plain of the River Tamagawa. Jap. J. Ecol. 15, 1–18.Google Scholar
Nicholson, A. J. 1933. The balance of animal populations. J. Anim. Ecol. 2, 132–178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nicholson, A. J. and Bailey, V. A. 1935. The balance of animal populations. Proc. Zool. Soc. Land. 1935 551–598.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oldham, C. 1933. Gulls feeding on beetles. Br. Birds 27, 169–170.Google Scholar
Raw, F. 1951. The ecology of the garden chafer, Phyllopertha horticola (L). With preliminary observations on control measures. Bull. Ent. Res. 42, 605–646.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ritcher, P. O. 1958. Biology of the Scarabeidae. Ann. Rev. Ent. 3, 311–334.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmidt., L. and Philips, Gj. 1958. Granulosis A new virus disease of the Fall Webworm Poljoprivredno. Sumarski Facultet. Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Institute of Entomology. Zagreb.Google Scholar
Schwerdtfeger, F. 1935. Studien über den Massenwechsel ciniger Forstshädlinge. Z. Forst- u. Jagdw. 67, 15–38, 85–104, 449–482 & 513–540.Google Scholar
Schwerdtfeger, F. 1942. Über die Ursachen des Massenwechsels der Insekten. Z. Angew. Ent. 28, 254–303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomas, I. and Heal, G. M. 1944. Chafer damage to grassland in North Wales in 1942–1943 by Phyllopertha horticola L. and Hoplia philanthus Fuess. I. Notes on population, life history and morphology. Ann. Appl. Biol. 31, 124–131.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Varley, G. C. 1947. The natural control of population balance in the knapweed gall-fly (Urophora jaceana). J. Anim. Ecol. 16, 139–187.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Varley, G. C. 1949. Population changes in German forest pests. J. Anim. Ecol. 18, 117–122.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walker, M. G. 1943. Notes on the biology of Dexia rustica F.. a dipterous parasite of Melolontha melolontha L. Proc. Zool. Sot. Land. (A) 113, 126–176Google Scholar