Premium
Population Dynamics of the Burrowing Mayfly Hexagenia Limbata
Author(s) -
Horst Thomas J.
Publication year - 1976
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.2307/1936412
Subject(s) - fecundity , survivorship curve , mayfly , biology , population , nymph , vital rates , population density , density dependence , ecology , life history theory , population dynamics , population growth , life history , demography , sociology
Population regulation of burrowing mayflies was investigated by modeling the population dynamics of Hexagenia limbata at Tuttle Creek Reservoir, Kansas, USA. Census data were obtained for the egg, nymph, and adult life stages to construct the basic statistics for life tables. Estimates were derived for survivorship of nymphs during 4 yr and for egg and adult survivorship in four areas in 1 yr. Fecundity was estimated from a random sample of adult ♀ ♀. Density dependence between segments of the life history was tested by key factor analysis and also by discrete time simulation. Population growth rate, calculated using the exponential model, had a negative linear relationship with population density, suggesting regulation at some life stage within the cycle. Population growth rates calculated for Leslie matrices with different nymphal survivorships but constant egg and adult survivorship also had a negative linear relationship with population density. Therefore, it is concluded that the population is regulated in the aquatic environment in the nymphal portion of the life cycle.