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Detecting spatial interactions in the ragweed (Ambrosia artemissifolia L.) and the ragweed beetle (Ophraella communa LeSage) populations

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  • Spatial statistics in ecology
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Ecological Research

Abstract

We observed a weed (Ambrosia artemissifolia)–beetle herbivore (Ophraella communa) system for three years in a spatially continuous field (≈200 ha). We analyzed our field data in the light of two contrasting theories: the resource-concentration hypothesis and reaction–diffusion theory. For the resource-concentration hypothesis, we calculated the correlation coefficients between weed and beetle abundances for every season in each year. Although we found weak support for resource concentration in some seasons, we could not find any clear relationships in other seasons. We discuss a dispersal-based mechanism to explain the differences observed among seasons in lieu of the resource-concentration hypothesis. For the reaction–diffusion theory, we estimated the nonparametric spatial covariance functions for the spatial autocorrelation of weeds and beetles. Although we could not find any strong spatial structure for the individual species, we found evidence of spatial interactions between weeds and beetles using time lagged cross-correlation functions. Weed abundance enhanced local beetle abundance. Through time, there was evidence of beetle spillover to adjacent locations at roughly the one beetle-generation time scale. Sites with large number of beetles did not seem to reduce subsequent weed abundance.

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Acknowledgments

We thank K. Shibata and M. Tanaka for their assistance with the field observations. Dr. S. Moriya gave us important comments and suggestions before and during the experiments. We appreciate the efforts of Kevin A. Zelnio, a marine biologist and my best friend living in Long Meadow Lane, for his assistance in preparing this paper.

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Author notes

  1. Takehiko Yamanaka

    Present address: Department of Entomology, The Pennsylvania State University, 501 Ag Sciences & Industries Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Entomology group, National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, 3-1-3 Kannondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8604, Japan

    Takehiko Yamanaka & Koichi Tanaka

  2. Department of Information Science and Technology, National Agricultural Research Center, 3-1-1, Kannondai, Tsukuba, 305-8666, Japan

    Akira Otuka

  3. Departments of Entomology and Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, 501 Ag Sciences & Industries Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Ottar N. Bjørnstad

Authors
  1. Takehiko Yamanaka
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  2. Koichi Tanaka
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  3. Akira Otuka
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  4. Ottar N. Bjørnstad
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Correspondence to Takehiko Yamanaka.

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Yamanaka, T., Tanaka, K., Otuka, A. et al. Detecting spatial interactions in the ragweed (Ambrosia artemissifolia L.) and the ragweed beetle (Ophraella communa LeSage) populations. Ecol Res 22, 185–196 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-006-0300-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-006-0300-9

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