Jason Chapman - Tracking insect migrations

Question 1

Bebbe et al. 2013

Answer 1

• Potential for migrating insects to carry pathogens to new areas, esp. with climate change leading to altered distributions
• Climate change has implications for change in migration patterns of economically important migrators, so monitoring and research are becoming increasingly important

Question 2

Chapman et al. 2008a,b

Answer 2

Behaviours that result in benefitial migration direction in Autographa Gamma:

1) Initiation of migration only on nights with favourable high altitude tail winds
2) FLying at the altitude of fastest winds (400-800m above ground)
3) Flight heading that helps to compenate cross-wind drift
4) Seasonal reversal of preferred wind direction

Question 3

Chapmen et al. 2015

Answer 3

• Most insects migrate at up to 2km above ground and at night, makig observation more tricky, hence why VLR is so useful.
• Still much work needd on describing migration and return routes of many importat insects, lags behing birds/turtles
• Apart from mortality risk, migration is enertgetically costly, more reseasrch meeeded on how insects compensate for this

Benefits of migration:

• Insects can exploit succession of breeding grounds?
• Avoidance of parasites/pathogens
• Is predation increased or reduced? (Lowered in birds, McInnon et al. 2010)

Question 4

Bauer & Hoye 2014

Answer 4

Seasonal movement of insects important for many reasons:

• Movement of enormous biomass, nutrients, pathogens/microbes
• Ecosystems services: Pollination, biocontrol, prey provision
• Negative effects for biodiversity and for human communities: Spread of disease/parasites, agricultural pests

Question 5

Chapman et al. 2003

Answer 5

Description of vertical looking radar (VLR) and usefulness in study of insect migration