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University of Massachusetts Amherst

Joseph Elkinton

1998

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Foliage Damage Does Not Affect Within-Season Transmission Of Am Insect Virus, Joseph Elkinton, V. D'Amico, G. Dwyer, R. B. Willis, M. E. Montgomery Apr 1998

Foliage Damage Does Not Affect Within-Season Transmission Of Am Insect Virus, Joseph Elkinton, V. D'Amico, G. Dwyer, R. B. Willis, M. E. Montgomery

Joseph Elkinton

Gypsy moth defoliation of oak trees has been shown to lead to increased tannin levels, which, in turn, lead to reduced gypsy moth growth and fecundity. In laboratory experiments, increased tannin levels can interfere with the transmission of a virus that is consumed by larvae on oak foliage, and high mortality rates of larvae in the field are sometimes associated with low levels of defoliation. These latter results have led to the suggestion that gypsy moth defoliation may cause reduced mortality attributable to the virus by elevating oak tannin levels. In a series of field experiments, we directly tested the …


Material Effects In Gypsy Moth: Only Sex Ratio Varies With Population Density, Joseph Elkinton, J. H. Myers, G. Boettner Jan 1998

Material Effects In Gypsy Moth: Only Sex Ratio Varies With Population Density, Joseph Elkinton, J. H. Myers, G. Boettner

Joseph Elkinton

A number of species of forest caterpillars fluctuate in density with a periodicity of 8–11 yr. One explanation for these “cycles” is that changes in food quality or quantity and crowding influence the growth rate and final size of moths at high density. Carryover of these influences to the next generation through maternal effects could modify the dynamics of the population. To determine whether development, survival, pupal size, fecundity, or sex ratio varied among offspring of gypsy moths from high- and low-density populations, we collected eggs from three sites where moths had been at low density and three sites where …