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Prolonged diapause of specialist seed-feeders makes predator satiation unstable in masting of Quercus crispula

  • Plant Animal Interactions
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Abstract

Quercus crispula (=Q. mongolica var. grosseserrata) is the predominant tree species in cool temperate, mixed broadleaf/conifer forests in northern Japan. We compared 11 years of data on acorn production in a population of Q. crispula, with data on seed-insect populations, to try to answer the following questions: (1) Does Q. crispula show a regular pattern of masting? (2) How long do principal seed predators remain in diapause? (3) How do the seed predators affect the pattern of predator satiation? Q. crispula showed a tendency to alternate bearing, with significant synchrony between individual trees. The principal acorn-feeding insects (Curculio spp. weevils), which infested 25%–70% of matured acorns, generally exhibited a prolonged diapause of 2 years. No significant negative relationship was found between the rate of injury by the weevils and the density of mature acorns, indicating that simple predator satiation fails due to the synchrony of the life-cycle of acorn-feeding insects and the periodical production of acorns. However, the rate of injury by the weevils was negatively correlated with the relative abundance of mature acorns to the number of weevil larvae that had matured 2 years previously. Thus, the proportion of sound acorns notably increased in a rich crop after a disturbance in alternate bearing. Prolonged diapause of specific seed predators is critical in determining the peak year of sound-seed production.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Simon Lawson, Naoto Kamata and Mitsue Shibata for commenting on an earlier draft of the manuscript, and Katsura Morimoto and Furumi Komai for the identification of weevils and moths, respectively. Our thanks are also due to Chikara Koizumi and Kenji Fukuyama for their continuous encouragement. This study was supported in part by a grant-in-aid (Bio Cosmos Program) from the Japan Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

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  1. Laboratory of Insect Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Kobe University, Rokkodai 1-1, Nada-ku, 657-8501, Kobe, Japan

    Kaoru Maeto

  2. Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Japan

    Kennichi Ozaki

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  1. Kaoru Maeto
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  2. Kennichi Ozaki
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Correspondence to Kaoru Maeto.

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Maeto, K., Ozaki, K. Prolonged diapause of specialist seed-feeders makes predator satiation unstable in masting of Quercus crispula . Oecologia 137, 392–398 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-003-1381-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-003-1381-6

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