Flight Pattern (flight + pattern)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Land-use influences macroinvertebrate community response following a pulse disturbance

FRESHWATER BIOLOGY, Issue 8 2003
Kevin J. Collier
Summary 1.,We tested the hypothesis that interactions between disturbance types can influence invertebrate community response and recovery in two streams draining pasture (press-pulse disturbance) and native forest (pulse disturbance) catchments before and after a one-in-28-year flood. We also sampled drift and adult insects to gain insights into the relative importance of these two postdisturbance recolonisation pathways. 2.,Taxa numbers and total density declined markedly at the forested site after the flood, but there was a delayed response at the pasture site, reflecting greater initial resistance to this pulse disturbance among taxa adapted to the underlying press disturbance. 3.,Community composition was less stable at the pasture site where per cent abundance of taxa was highly variable prior to the flood and over the 2-year postflood sampling period. After the flood, the pasture stream fauna was more heavily dominated by vagile taxa, including several chironomid species and hydroptilid caddisflies. 4.,Taxa numbers and densities recovered to preflood levels within 5,7 months at both sites, but a range of taxa-specific responses was observed that took up to 18 months to recover to preflood densities. Community stability at the pasture site had not returned to preflood composition by 2 years postflood. 5.,Changes in drift densities of several common stream invertebrates at the pasture site reflected postflood changes in benthic densities and seasonally low drift in winter. Terrestrial invertebrates dominated drift at the pasture site for 3 months postflood whereas Ephemeroptera were most common at the native forest site. 6.,Flight patterns of selected adult aquatic insects showed a strongly seasonal pattern. Abundance of adults at the pasture site in the second year following the flood increased in line with the recovery of the non-Dipteran benthic fauna. Significant upstream flight occurred for several caddisfly species at the native forest site, and weakly directional or downstream flight was evident for most common Plecoptera and Ephemeroptera. 7.,This study indicates that the magnitude and duration of responses to major pulse disturbances can depend on the presence or absence of an underlying press disturbance. This finding has implications for monitoring, and suggests that a knowledge of disturbance history beyond 2 years may be required to interpret mechanisms contributing to observed land-use impacts. [source]


Skipping flights in Ypthima butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)

ENTOMOLOGICAL SCIENCE, Issue 2 2010
Munenori SUGIURA
Abstract The skipping flight patterns of three species of Ypthima (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) were analyzed using high-speed video recordings to clarify how wings move and how driving forces are produced. All three species showed a flight pattern that includes a pause that accounts for about 50% of a flap cycle when their wings completely close after each upstroke. The observed pause causes the "skipping" flight trajectory based on the clap,fling mechanism. Pause duration was correlated with upstroke wing motion, suggesting the contribution of the latter to a long pause duration. This is also supported by the temporal relationship between the wing and body motions. The aerodynamic power necessary for the pause flight was calculated for the three species. [source]


Sex pheromone for monitoring flight periods and population densities of the pine sawfly, Diprion jingyuanensis Xiao et Zhang (Hym., Diprionidae)

JOURNAL OF APPLIED ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 7 2005
Z. Zhang
Abstract:, The pine sawfly, Diprion jingyuanensis Xiao et Zhang, is a serious pest of Chinese pine (Pinus tabulaeformis Carr.) in the northern parts of China. The general biology of this recently described sawfly species is little known and in the present study we used a synthetic pheromone to monitor its flight period and to evaluate the possibility to use pheromone traps as a tool for estimating and predicting population densities. The attractant pheromone of D. jingyuanensis is (1S,2R,6R)-1,2,6-trimethyldodecyl propionate and in this study we used a four-isomer threo-mixture containing the active attractant. Both doses tested, 1 and 2 mg/trap, revealed the same seasonal flight pattern, the higher dosage demonstrating more clear flight peaks. The first flight peak of D. jingyuanensis occurred in mid-June during all 3 years, 1997,1999, and in 1997 and 1998 a second flight peak was also recorded in mid-July. The flight period was similar in time for populations located at higher (1400 m) and lower altitude (1100 m), from early June to late July or early August. Temperature was the main weather factor-affecting trap catches. Diurnal flight activity began at 9.00, peaked at 13.00 and lasted until 20.00. A series of tests with traps in different positions within stands and trees were conducted and the results demonstrated the importance of standardizing the trapping protocol in population monitoring studies. By using traps with 2 mg baits it is possible to detect sawfly occurrence at very low population densities, not detectable by other means. Strong positive correlations between trap catch and relative population density were found in 2000 and 2001, but not in 1998, when only few sites were monitored and the population was in a decreasing phase. The results are promising for future large-scale use of pheromone-based monitoring of D. jingyuanensis. [source]


Contradictory results from different methods for measuring direction of insect flight

FRESHWATER BIOLOGY, Issue 10 2004
Kate H. Macneale
Summary 1. Stream ecologists have been puzzled by the apparent paradox that invertebrate populations persist in headwater streams despite the high frequency with which individuals drift downstream. To resolve this ,drift paradox', directions and distances of both larval and adult movement must be identified. Using over 50 interception traps in combination with results from several mark,capture experiments using 15N as a label, we tested the assumption that interception traps accurately represent the ultimate direction of adult insect flight. 2. In several streams in the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, 76% of 15N-labelled stoneflies (Leuctra ferruginea) had flown upstream from where they emerged to where they were captured. In contrast, over 60% of stoneflies were flying downstream when captured, i.e. on the upstream side of an interception trap. 3. The instantaneous direction, as indicated by the side of the interception trap on which they were captured, indicated the ultimate flight direction for fewer than 1/3 of the individuals captured. Thus, such traps did not accurately reflect the ultimate flight patterns of individuals, as indicated by mark,capture data. 4. Conclusions drawn from interception trap counts regarding the direction of movement and the distribution and persistence of populations may need to be re-evaluated. We suggest that better tracking methods, including mass mark,capture studies using stable isotopes, be used to evaluate the potentially complex patterns of adult insect movement and the consequences of that movement for individuals and populations. [source]