Bogotá D. C., Jun. 27 de 2012 - Agencia de Noticias UN- A dispersion analysis is necessary to become acquainted with the structure, dynamics and evolution of insect populations and also serves as a model to develop successful management strategies.

Landscape features and insect dispersion capacity are key to understanding the dynamics of fragmented populations and the interaction amongst insect species.  

“In my research, I study insect flight features and their relationship with the landscape in order to determine their dispersion area. I am currently working with insect wind mills, a tool that enables me to measure flight capacity and a software application where I write down what happens”, says María Laura Pedemonte, biologist and Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (Argentina) PhD (c) in Biological Sciences, lecturer invited to Natural Sciences Institute (ICN, for its Spanish acronym) Thursday biodiversity conferences. 

This research will not only provide information on insect strategies and management plans, but also determine why insects which migrate from their habitat, settle appropriately in others. 

Understanding the dispersion causes and consequences is essential to establishing management plans and allows predicting the demographical response to environmental changes. 

Insect dispersion

With diminishing resources and an increase in member density of a habitat, resource competition pressure increases, thus motivating insects to move to another “patch”. 

As the habitat grows smaller, the greater the possibility of insects escaping to other and friendlier habitats and greater their time in the new environment.

According to the researcher, any movement between habitat patches is considered a dispersion and has three stages: when the insect decides to leave the current patch, movement between habitat patches and entering and staying at another patch. 

On the other hand, greater and nearer habitats allow for more individuals. However, when they are away, predators also diminish as they can no longer find the habitat due to a lack of chemical and visual signals. 

Landscape ecology

For the researcher, the landscape structure affects abundance and distribution of organisms and the type of patch, affects movement. 

“The interaction between insect movement and landscape structure determine its capacity to move, which in turn, translates into connectivity (movement rate). This is the degree by which the landscape facilitates or hinders movement between patches”, says Pedemonte.  

If resource concentration is high and damage or death risk due to physiological stress or predation is lower, insects will remain more time in the new habitat. 

Finally, the expert is hoping to find a positive relationship between landscape connectivity and insect abundance. This means that an environment which enables migrations will allow more dispersions.

(Por:Fin/CJCO/sup)

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