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Interactions Among Gypsy Moths, White‐footed Mice, and Acorns
Author(s) -
Elkinton Joseph S.,
Healy William M.,
Buonaccorsi John P.,
Boettner George H.,
Hazzard Anne M.,
Smith Harvey R.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.2307/2265735
Subject(s) - gypsy moth , lymantria dispar , peromyscus , acorn , population density , biology , ecology , population , density dependence , predator , zoology , lepidoptera genitalia , predation , demography , sociology
Low—density populations of gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, were studied over a 10—yr period in Massachusetts. Increases in gypsy moth density were associated with declines in density of the white—footed mouse, Peromyscus leucopus, a principal predator. Furthermore, changes in density of P. leucopus populations were positively correlated with the density of acorn crops, a dominant winter food source for these mice. To demonstrate these effects we used a novel bootstrap regression method that adjusts for spatial and temporal autocorrelation in the time series data. The findings are compatible with a dual equilibrium model of gypsy moth population dynamics, in which low densities are regulated by mice and high densities are regulated by other factors, notably a virus disease.