Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Responses of parasitoids to saproxylic hosts and habitat: a multi-scale study using experimental logs

  • Population Ecology - Original Paper
  • Published:
Oecologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Species belonging to higher trophic levels are particularly vulnerable to habitat loss and consequential host population declines, but detection of effects depends on observation scale. We investigated the effects of habitat and host availability at multiple scales on parasitoids of early successional saproxylic beetles in middle boreal Sweden, where forestry has led to habitat fragmentation and coarse woody debris (CWD) loss. Parasitoid wasps and beetle hosts were collected from nine locations, each containing three spruce-dominated stand types (clear-cut, mature managed and unmanaged stands), using emergence traps on experimental CWD. We measured local CWD volumes and determined the availability of forests of a suitable age within the landscape. We tested parasitoid responses to stand type, CWD volume, abundance of known and probable hosts and longitude. Additionally, we tested whether parasitoids responded to the area of habitat of a suitable age within radii from 0.2 to 10 km. Stand type appeared in best-fit models for all common species, suggesting that wasps respond strongly to habitat at local scales. Longitude (largely climate) featured commonly, but CWD volume was never significant. Host abundance appeared in best-fit models for three of five common species, proving significant only for Bracon obscurator, the abundance of which correlated with that of Orthotomicus laricis at both trap and site levels. Rhimphoctona spp. also correlated significantly with its known host Tetropium castaneum at the trap level. B. obscurator responded to habitat area at scales of 0.6–1 km and Cosmophorus regius responded at radii greater than 7 km, while the larger species did not respond strongly to habitat area. The role of habitat area at greater scales thus varied greatly amongst species, but our data suggest that dispersal of these common early successional species may not be strongly restricted at the current scale of fragmentation of their boreal habitats.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1a–d
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ahti T, Hämet-Ahti L, Jalas J (1968) Vegetation zones and their sections in northwestern Europe. Ann Bot Fenn 5:169–211

    Google Scholar 

  • Anselin L (2003) GeoDa 0.9 user’s guide. Spatial analysis laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana–Champaign, Ill.

  • Atlegrim O, Ball JP, Danell K, Hjältén J, Johansson T, Pettersson R (2005) Värdet av sparad död ved. en beskrivning av ett forskningsprojekt. Entomol Tidskr 126:103–106

    Google Scholar 

  • Atlegrim O, Sjöberg K (2004) Selective felling as a potential tool for maintaining biodiversity in managed forests. Biodiv Conserv 13:1123–1133

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balazy S (1964) A new place of appearance of the wasp Cosmophorus regius Niezabitowski (Hym, Braconidae) in Poland and some remarks on this species. Polsk Pismo Entomol Ser B 1–2:97–100

    Google Scholar 

  • Beyer HL (2004) Hawth’s Analysis Tools for ArcGIS (http://www.spatialecology.com/htools)

  • Brenner GJ, Oboyski PT, Banko PC (2002) Parasitism of Cydia spp (Lepidoptera:Tortricidae) on Sophora chrysophylla (Fabaceae) along an elevational gradient of dry subalpine forest on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Pan-Pacific Entomol 78:101–109

    Google Scholar 

  • Burnham KP, Anderson DR (1998) Model selection and inference: a practical information-theoretic approach. Springer, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Cabin RJ, Mitchell RJ (2000) To Bonferroni or not to Bonferroni: when and how are the questions. Bull Ecol Soc Am 81:246–248

    Google Scholar 

  • Chevan A, Sutherland M (1991) Hierarchical partitioning. Am Stat 45:90–96

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Compton SG, Ellwood MDF, Davis AJ, Welch K (2000) The flight heights of chalcid wasps (Hymenoptera:Chalcidoidea) in a lowland Bornean rain forest: fig wasps are the high fliers. Biotropica 32:515–522

    Google Scholar 

  • Cronin JT, Reeve JD (2005) Host–parasitoid spatial ecology: a plea for a landscape-level synthesis. Proc R Soc B 272:2225–2235

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ellers J, Van Alphen JJM, Sevenster JG (1998) A field study of size-fitness relationships in the parasitoid Asobara tabida. J Anim Ecol 67:318–324

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ESRI (2002) ESRI ArcMap version 8.3. 1999–2002. ESRI Inc. http://www.esri.com/

  • Fernández-Arhex V, Corley JC (2003) The functional response of parasitoids and its implications for biological control. Biocontrol Sci Tech 13:403–413

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Force DC (1985) Competition among parasitoids of endophytic hosts. Am Nat 126:440–444

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forsse E, Solbreck C (1985) Migration in the bark beetle Ips typographus L: duration, timing and height of flight. Z Angew Entomol 100:47–57

    Google Scholar 

  • Fortin M-J, Dale MRT (2005) Spatial analysis: a guide for ecologists. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Garcia LV (2004) Escaping the Bonferroni iron claw in ecological studies. Oikos 105:657–663

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gibb H, Ball JP, Atlegrim O, Johansson T, Hjältén J, Danell K (2005) The effects of management on coarse woody debris volume and quality in boreal forests in northern Sweden. Scand J For Res 20:213–222

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gibb H, Hjältén J, Ball JP, Atlegrim O, Pettersson R, Hilszczański J, Johansson T, Danell K (2006) Effects of landscape composition and substrate availability on saproxylic beetles in boreal forests: a study using experimental logs for monitoring assemblages. Ecography 29:1–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Granqvist Pahlén T, Nilsson M, Egberth M, Hagner O, Olsson, H (2004) kNN-Sverige:Aktuella kartdata över skogsmarken. Fakta Skog 12. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå

  • Hagstrum DW, Smittle BJ (1978) Host utilization by Bracon hebetor. Environ Entomol 7:596–600

    Google Scholar 

  • Haining R (2003) Spatial data analysis: theory and practice. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Harrison S, Bruna E (1999) Habitat fragmentation and large-scale conservation: what do we know for sure? Ecography 22:225–232

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hassell MP (1978) Arthropod predator–prey systems. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hawkins BA, Compton SG (1992) African fig wasp communities. Undersaturation and latitudinal gradients in species richness. J Anim Ecol 61:361–372

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henneman ML, Memmott J (2001) Infiltration of a Hawaiian community by introduced biological control agents. Science 293:1314–1216

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hilszczański J, Gibb H, Hjältén J, Atlegrim O, Johansson T, Pettersson RB, Ball JP, Danell K (2005) Parasitoids (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonoidea) of saproxylic beetles are affected by forest successional stage and dead wood characteristics in boreal spruce forest. Biol Conserv 126:456–464

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holland JD, Bert DG, Fahrig L (2004) Determining the spatial scale of species’ response to habitat. BioScience 54:227–233

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holland JD, Fahrig L, Cappuccino N (2005) Body size affects the spatial scale of habitat–beetle interactions. Oikos 110:101–108

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johansson T, Gibb H, Hilszczański J, Pettersson RB, Hjältén J, Atlegrim O, Ball JP, Danell K (2006) Conservation-oriented manipulations of coarse woody debris affect their value as habitat for spruce-infesting bark and ambrosia beetles (Coleoptera:Scolytinae) in Northern Sweden. Can J For Res

  • Kato M (1994) Structure, organisation and response of a species-rich parasitoid community to host leafminer population dynamics. Oecologia 97:17–25

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kenis M, Wermelinger B, Grégoire J-C (2004) Research on parasitoids and predators of Scolytidae in living trees in Europe—a review. In: Lieutier F, Day K, Battisti A, Grégoire JC, Evans H (eds) Bark and wood boring insects in living trees in Europe, a synthesis. Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp 237–290

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Komonen A, Penttila R, Lindgren M, Hanski I (2000) Forest fragmentation truncates a food chain based on an old-growth forest bracket fungus. Oikos 90:119–126

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kruess A, Tscharntke T (1994) Habitat fragmentation, species loss, and biological control. Science 264:1581–1584

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kruess A, Tscharntke T (2000) Species richness and parasitism in a fragmented landscape: experiments and field studies with insects on Vicia sepium. Oecologia 122:129–137

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lavandero B, Wratten S, Hagler J, Jervis M (2004) The need for effective marking and tracking techniques for monitoring the movements of insect predators and parasitoids. Int J Pest Manage 50:147–151

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Linder P, Elfving B, Zackrisson O (1997) Stand structure and successional trends in virgin boreal forest reserves in Sweden. For Ecol Manage 98:17–33

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Linder P, Östlund L (1992) Changes in the boreal forests of Sweden 1870–1991. Svensk Bot Tidskr 86:199–215

    Google Scholar 

  • Linder P, Östlund L (1998) Structural changes in three mid-boreal Swedish forest landscapes, 1885–1996. Biol Conserv 85:9–19

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacNally R (2000) Regression and model-building in conservation biology, biogeography and ecology: the distinction between and reconciliation of “predictive” and “explanatory” models. Biodiv Conserv 9:655–671

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Munro VMW (1998) A retrospective analysis of the establishment and dispersal of the introduced Australian parasitoids Xanthopimpla rhopaloceros Krieger (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) and Trigonospila brevifacies (Hardy) (Diptera: Tachinidae) within New Zealand. Biocontr Sci Technol 8:559–571

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nason JD, Herre EA, Hamrick JL (1996) Paternity analysis of the breeding structure of strangler fig populations: evidence for substantial long-distance wasp dispersal. J Biogeogr 23:501–512

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nilssen AC (1984) Long-range aerial dispersal of bark beetles and bark weevils (Coleoptera, Scolytidae and Curculionidae) in northern Finland. Ann Entomol Fenn 50:37–42

    Google Scholar 

  • Nilsson SG, Baranowski R (1997) Habitat predictability and the occurrence of wood beetles in old-growth beech forests. Ecography 20:491–498

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Norowi HM, Perry JN, Powell W, Rennolls K (2000) The effect of spatial scale on interactions between two weevils and their parasitoid. Ecol Entomol 25:188–196

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Økland B, Bakke A, Hågvar S, Torstein K (1996) What factors influence the diversity of saproxylic beetles? A multiscaled study from a spruce forest in southern Norway. Biodiv Conserv 5:75–100

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pielou EC (1969) An introduction to mathematical ecology. Wiley-Interscience, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Puterka GJ, Slosser JE, Price JR, Meinke LJ (1986) Bracon spp, their host insects and plants in the Texas rolling plains. Southwest Entomol 11:249–254

    Google Scholar 

  • Quicke DLJ, Laurenne NM, Barclay M (2005) Host, host location and aggressive behaviour in a tropical wood-borer parasitoid genus Monilobracon Quicke (Hymenoptera:Braconidae), parasitoids of Lymexylidae (Coleoptera) in Kibale Forest National Park, west Uganda. Afr Entomol 13:213–220

    Google Scholar 

  • R Development Core Team (2007) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria (http://www.R-project.org)

  • Reese H, Nilsson M, Granqvist Pahlén T, Hagner O, Joyce S, Tingelöf U, Egberth M, Olsson H (2003) Countrywide estimates of forest variables using satellite data and field data from the national forest inventory. Ambio 32:542–548

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rice WR (1989) Analyzing tables of statistical tests. Evolution 43:223–225

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roland J, Taylor PD (1997) Insect parasitoid species respond to forest structure at different spatial scales. Nature 386:710–713

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rothman LD, Roland J (1998) Forest fragmentation and colony performance of the forest tent caterpillar. Ecography 21:383–391

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • SAS Institute (2002–2003) SAS version 9.1. SAS Institute, Cary, N.C.

  • Sauvard D (2004) General biology of bark beetles. In: Lieutier F, Day KR, Battisti A, Grégorie J-C, Evans HF (eds) Bark and wood boring insects in living trees in Europe, a synthesis. Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp 63–88

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Schooley RL (2006) Spatial heterogeneity and characteristic scales of species–habitat relationships. Ecoscience 56:533–537

    Google Scholar 

  • Sherratt TN, Harvey IF (1993) Frequency-dependent food selection by arthropods: a review. Biol J Linn Soc 48:167–186

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Siitonen J (1994) Decaying wood and saproxylic Coleoptera in two old spruce forests: a comparison based on two sampling methods. Ann Zool Fenn 31:89–95

    Google Scholar 

  • Sivinski J, Pinero J, Aluja M (2000) The distributions of parasitoids (Hymenoptera) of Anastrepha fruit flies (Diptera:Tephritidae) along an altitudinal gradient in Veracruz, Mexico. Biol Contr 18:258–269

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Southwood TRE (1977) Habitat, the templet for ecological strategies? J Anim Ecol 46:337–365

    Google Scholar 

  • Southwood TRE (1978) Ecological methods with particular reference to the study of insect populations, 2nd edn. Chapman and Hall, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Söderström L (1988) Sequence of bryophytes and lichens in relation to substrate variables of decaying coniferous wood in northern Sweden. Nord J Bot 8:89–97

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan BT, Berisford CW (2004) Semiochemicals from fungal associates of bark beetles may mediate host location behaviour of parasitoids. J Chem Ecol 30:703–717

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thies C, Roschewitz I, Tscharntke T (2005) The landscape context of cereal aphid–parasitoid interactions. Proc R Soc Lond B 272:203–210

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thies C, Steffan-Dewenter I, Tscharntke T (2003) Effects of landscape context on herbivory and parasitism at different spatial scales. Oikos 101:18–25

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tscharntke T, Brandl R (2004) Plant–insect interactions in fragmented landscapes. Annu Rev Entomol 49:405–430

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Virtanen T, Neuvonen S (1999) Performance of moth larvae on birch in relation to altitude, climate, host quality and parasitoids. Oecologia 120:92–101

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wagner HH, Fortin M-J (2005) Spatial analysis of landscapes: concepts and statistics. Ecology 86:1975–1987

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walsh C, MacNally R (2004) hier.part R package: hierarchical partitioning. R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R foundation for statistical computing (http://www.R-project.org)

  • White GC, Bennetts RE (1996) Analysis of frequency count data using the negative binomial distribution. Ecology 77:2549–2557

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank the forest companies SCA, Holmen skog and Sveaskog for providing sites and logs. We are grateful to Eric Andersson, Mikael Kärnlund, Johan Nilsson, Åke Nordström, Fredrik Stenbacka and Christer Zakrisson for field assistance and to Mark R. Shaw for verification of parasitoid identifications. Holger Dettki, Tina Granqvist-Pahlén, Mats Högström and Wiebke Neumann kindly assisted us with the geographic data. Nadiah Kristensen provided invaluable help with the statistics and Therese Johansson and Saul Cunningham provided helpful comments on the manuscript. The study was financed by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (grant to Kjell Danell and Stig Larsson), Centre for Environmental Research and the Kempe Foundation (grant to Joakim Hjältén) and complies with the current laws of Sweden.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 901 83, Umeå, Sweden

    H. Gibb, J. Hjältén, K. Danell, J. P. Ball, R. B. Pettersson & O. Alinvi

  2. C.S.I.R.O. Entomology, Black Mountain, Canberra, 2601, ACT, Australia

    H. Gibb

  3. Department of Forest Protection, Forest Research Institute, 00-973, Warsaw, Poland

    J. Hilszczański

Authors
  1. H. Gibb
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. J. Hilszczański
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. J. Hjältén
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. K. Danell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. J. P. Ball
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. R. B. Pettersson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. O. Alinvi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to H. Gibb.

Additional information

Communicated by Thomas Hoffmeister.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Gibb, H., Hilszczański, J., Hjältén, J. et al. Responses of parasitoids to saproxylic hosts and habitat: a multi-scale study using experimental logs. Oecologia 155, 63–74 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-007-0887-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-007-0887-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation