Behaviour of group-living outbreaking insects

群居爆发昆虫的行为

• 批准号: 250173-2007
• 负责人: Despland, Emma
• 金额: $ 1.82万
• 依托单位: Concordia University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2015-01-01 至 2016-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=570835
• 关键词: Behaviour; group; living; outbreaking; insects

Insect outbreaks, from seething swarms of locusts to writhing masses of caterpillars, can be spectacular, not only by their sheer numbers, but also by the way multitudes of individuals move and feed in concert. This pattern of collective behaviour is an emergent group property that arises from the responses of individuals to each other and to the environment. Emergence means that interactions between individuals generate feedback loops leading to group behaviour that cannot be predicted from the behaviour of individuals. Therefore, studying the behaviour of groups, and how it emerges from that of individuals, is necessary to understand the ecology of group-living species. The forest tent caterpillar is a group-living outbreaking forest pest across most of Canada. These caterpillars live in colonies that travel together between resting and feeding sites, laying pheromone trails behind them. The purpose of my research is to show how individual behaviour generates the dynamics observed at the colony level, and to determine the role played by these dynamics in the species' ecology. Specifically, the questions I intend to answer are: 1. How do colonies stay together and keep synchronized? 2. How does food quality influence the timing and duration of caterpillar meals? And, 3. How do patterns of colony collective foraging emerge from the answers to the previous two questions? My research uses a bottom-up approach, starting by characterizing behaviour and determining the proximate mechanisms involved. Observations of individual caterpillars will be used to build computer models, whose predictions will be compared with the behaviour of colonies in the field. This research programme will bring important insights to fundamental science in behavioural ecology by explaining how groups collectively make choices about when and where to feed. It will also contribute to applied entomology by shedding insight into the role of group dynamics in both the individual and population ecology of outbreaking insects.

昆虫爆发从沸腾的蝗虫群到扭动的毛毛虫群，不仅可以是巨大的数字，而且还以许多人的共同融合方式而动。这种集体行为的模式是一个新兴的群体财产，它源于个人对彼此和环境的反应。 出现意味着个体之间的相互作用会产生反馈回路，从而导致群体行为无法从个人的行为中预测。 因此，必须研究群体的行为及其如何从个人中出现的行为，对于了解群体生存物种的生态是必要的。 森林帐篷毛毛虫是整个加拿大大部分地区的群体爆发森林虫害。这些毛毛虫生活在殖民地中，它们在休息和喂养地点之间一起旅行，在其后面铺设信息素踪迹。 我的研究的目的是展示单个行为如何在菌落水平上观察到的动力学，并确定这些动态在物种生态学中所起的作用。具体来说，我打算回答的问题是：1。殖民地如何保持在一起并保持同步？ 2。食品质量如何影响毛毛虫餐的时间和持续时间？ 3。 我的研究使用一种自下而上的方法，首先要表征行为并确定所涉及的近距离机制。对单个毛毛虫的观察将用于构建计算机模型，其预测将与该领域的菌落的行为进行比较。 该研究计划将通过解释群体如何共同做出何时何地的选择来为行为生态学的基础科学带来重要的见解。 它还将通过深入了解群体动态在突发昆虫的个体和种群生态学中的作用，从而有助于应用昆虫学。