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ARS Home » Plains Area » Brookings, South Dakota » Integrated Cropping Systems Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #144210
Title: CHARACTERIZATION OF WESTERN CORN ROOTWORM (COLEOPTERA: CHRYSOMELIDAE) POPULATION DYNAMICS IN RELATION TO LANDSCAPE ATTRIBUTES

Author
item Beckler, Amber
item French, Bryan
item Chandler, Laurence - Larry

Submitted to: Agricultural and Forest Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/21/2004
Publication Date: 5/1/2004
Citation: Beckler, A.A., French, B.W., Chandler, L.D. 2004. Characterization of western corn rootworm (coleoptera: chrysomelidae) population dynamics in relation to landscape attributes. Agricultural and Forest Entomology 6: 129-139.

Interpretive Summary: Western corn rootworms (WCR) create economic and environmental concerns in the Corn Belt region of the United States. In order to supplement the population control tactics of the areawide program in Brookings, South Dakota, Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and spatial analysis were used to look for spatial relationships from 1997-2001 between population dynamics, habitat structure, soil texture and elevation. This information is used to find patterns in the landscape that promote high population density patches. WCR density maps were created from emergence and post-emergence traps placed in cornfields. For each year, these maps were overlaid with vegetation, soil and elevation maps to identify quantitative relationships. Annual changes in habitat size, number, and arrangement were associated with population abundance and distribution. WCR population abundances also were associated with soil texture and elevation.

Technical Abstract: Western corn rootworms (WCR), Diabrotica virgifera virgifera Leconte (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), create economic and environmental concerns in the Corn Belt region of the United States. In order to supplement the population control tactics of the areawide program in Brookings, South Dakota, Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and spatial analysis were used to examine the spatial relationships from 1997-2001 between population dynamics, habitat structure, soil texture and elevation. This information is used to find patterns in the landscape that promote high population density patches. Using the inverse distance weighted interpolation technique, WCR density maps were created from emergence and post-emergence traps placed in cornfields. For each year, these maps were overlaid with vegetation, soil and elevation maps to identify quantitative relationships. Shifts in landscape structure, such as size, number and arrangement of patches were associated with population abundance and distribution. Contingency analysis showed that WCR population abundance was associated with soil texture and elevation.