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Title: The movement of small insects in the convective boundary layer: linking patterns to processes

Journal Article · · Scientific Reports
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [2]
  1. Rothamsted Research, Hertfordshire (United Kingdom); DOE/OSTI
  2. Rothamsted Research, Hertfordshire (United Kingdom)
  3. Rothamsted Research, Hertfordshire (United Kingdom); Univ. of Greenwich, Kent (United Kingdom)
+ Show Author Affiliations

In fine warm weather, the daytime convective atmosphere over land areas is full of small migrant insects, among them serious pests (e.g. some species of aphid), but also many beneficial species (e.g. natural enemies of pests). For many years intensive aerial trapping studies were the only way of determining the density profiles of these small insects, and for taxon-specific studies trapping is still necessary. However, if we wish to determine generic behavioural responses to air movements shown by small day-migrating insects as a whole, the combination of millimetre-wavelength ‘cloud radars’ and Doppler lidar now provides virtually ideal instrumentation. Here we examine the net vertical velocities of >1 million insect targets, relative to the vertical motion of the air in which they are flying, as a succession of fair-weather convective cells pass over the recording site in Oklahoma, USA. The resulting velocity measurements are interpreted in terms of the flight behaviours of small insects. These behaviours are accounted for by a newly-developed Lagrangian stochastic model of weakly-flying insect movements in the convective boundary layer; a model which is consistent with classic characterisations of small insect aerial density profiles. We thereby link patterns to processes.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Data Center
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1624303
Journal Information:
Scientific Reports, Journal Name: Scientific Reports Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 7; ISSN 2045-2322
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Ascent and descent rates of high-flying insect migrants determined with a non-coherent vertical-beam entomological radar journal October 2018
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Common noctules exploit low levels of the aerosphere journal February 2019
Environmental effects on flying migrants revealed by radar text January 2019
Linking Small-Scale Flight Manoeuvers and Density Profiles to the Vertical Movement of Insects in the Nocturnal Stable Boundary Layer journal January 2020
Photonic Monitoring of Atmospheric and Aquatic Fauna journal October 2018
Linking Small-Scale Flight Manoeuvers and Density Profiles to the Vertical Movement of Insects in the Nocturnal Stable Boundary Layer journal January 2020
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Do atmospheric events explain the arrival of an invasive ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) in the UK? posted_content June 2019
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