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Evidence for mate‐encounter A llee effect in an invasive longhorn beetle ( C oleoptera: C erambycidae)
Author(s) -
RHAINDS MARC,
HEARD STEPHEN B.,
HUGHES CORY,
MACKIN WAYNE,
PORTER KEVIN,
SWEENEY JON,
SILK PETER,
DEMERCHANT IAN,
MCLEAN SARAH,
BRODERSEN GARRETT
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
ecological entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.865
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1365-2311
pISSN - 0307-6946
DOI - 10.1111/een.12255
Subject(s) - biology , longhorn beetle , abundance (ecology) , mating , sex pheromone , sperm , ecology , limiting , pheromone , zoology , botany , mechanical engineering , engineering
1. Limited empirical support is available for mate‐encounter A llee effects in invasive insects due to the logistical challenges of studying demographic trends in low‐density populations. 2. Traps baited with pheromone and spruce volatiles were used to monitor the abundance of female Tetropium fuscum F . ( C oleoptera: C erambycidae) at multiple sites in N ova S cotia in 2011 and 2012. Each female was dissected to determine the presence or absence of sperm in its spermatheca (mated or virgin female, respectively). 3. Both male and total T. fuscum abundance declined with increasing distance to the focal point of T. fuscum 's invasion. Female mating probability declined with male abundance and with distance from the invasion focus, and mating probabilities were very low at the most peripheral sites. Difficulty in encountering mates may thus contribute to limiting the spread of T. fuscum . 4. The approach outlined here could be integrated into existing surveys of wood borers using traps baited with semiochemicals to improve our understanding of the role of the mate‐encounter A llee effect in invasion dynamics.