Long-term variation in the timing and height of annual peak abundance of caterpillars in tree canopies: Some effects on a breeding songbird
Climate warming affects trophic interactions in ecosystems, which has been documented for relationships between plants, herbivores and predators, including their relative densities, varying between taxons/guilds. In the case of leaf-eating caterpillars feeding in tree canopies the use of caterpillar...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2021-02-01
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| Series: | Ecological Indicators |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X20310591 |
| _version_ | 1818734522904084480 |
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| author | Jerzy Nadolski Barbara Marciniak Barbara Loga Marek Michalski Jerzy Bańbura |
| author_facet | Jerzy Nadolski Barbara Marciniak Barbara Loga Marek Michalski Jerzy Bańbura |
| author_sort | Jerzy Nadolski |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Climate warming affects trophic interactions in ecosystems, which has been documented for relationships between plants, herbivores and predators, including their relative densities, varying between taxons/guilds. In the case of leaf-eating caterpillars feeding in tree canopies the use of caterpillar frass fall as an indicator of density and production has proven to be advisable. Here we analysed annual variation in the peak mass of caterpillar frass fall and the timing of the occurrence of the peak mass in a deciduous forest site as compared with an urban park site during 16 consecutive years (2003–2018) in central Poland. Variation in the mean date of the frass fall peak mass among years was extensive, up to 20 days, with the sequence of the occurrence in the study habitats differing between years. There was a significant advance in the date of the peak frass fall in the course of the study years. There was also great variation in the peak frass fall mass between years and study sites. The tree canopy caterpillars were consistently less numerous in the urban park than in the deciduous forest. Cyclical outbreaks of caterpillars, whose signs were visible in the data set, possibly tended to decline. A decline in the annual peak mass of frass fall over the study period was found. No evidence for synchronization of the timing of blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus breeding with the timing of peak caterpillar abundance was found. The annual average peak mass of caterpillar frass fall proved to be a significant predictor of the annual mean number of fledgling blue tits per brood. Both the consistent pattern of spatio-temporal variation in the timing of peak availability and the abundance of tree-canopy caterpillars and the effects of caterpillar abundance on an insectivorous bird confirm that frass fall is a useful indicator of tri-trophic links to birds that prey upon caterpillars. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-18T00:06:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dd7fff0331ae47eeac45a11c8f1335c7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1470-160X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-18T00:06:42Z |
| publishDate | 2021-02-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecological Indicators |
| spelling | doaj.art-dd7fff0331ae47eeac45a11c8f1335c72022-12-21T21:27:46ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2021-02-01121107120Long-term variation in the timing and height of annual peak abundance of caterpillars in tree canopies: Some effects on a breeding songbirdJerzy Nadolski0Barbara Marciniak1Barbara Loga2Marek Michalski3Jerzy Bańbura4Natural History Museum, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Łódź, Kilińskiego 101, 90-011 Łódź, PolandDepartment of Experimental Zoology and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Łódź, Banacha 12/16, 90-237 Łódź, PolandNatural History Museum, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Łódź, Kilińskiego 101, 90-011 Łódź, PolandDepartment of Experimental Zoology and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Łódź, Banacha 12/16, 90-237 Łódź, PolandDepartment of Experimental Zoology and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Łódź, Banacha 12/16, 90-237 Łódź, Poland; Corresponding author.Climate warming affects trophic interactions in ecosystems, which has been documented for relationships between plants, herbivores and predators, including their relative densities, varying between taxons/guilds. In the case of leaf-eating caterpillars feeding in tree canopies the use of caterpillar frass fall as an indicator of density and production has proven to be advisable. Here we analysed annual variation in the peak mass of caterpillar frass fall and the timing of the occurrence of the peak mass in a deciduous forest site as compared with an urban park site during 16 consecutive years (2003–2018) in central Poland. Variation in the mean date of the frass fall peak mass among years was extensive, up to 20 days, with the sequence of the occurrence in the study habitats differing between years. There was a significant advance in the date of the peak frass fall in the course of the study years. There was also great variation in the peak frass fall mass between years and study sites. The tree canopy caterpillars were consistently less numerous in the urban park than in the deciduous forest. Cyclical outbreaks of caterpillars, whose signs were visible in the data set, possibly tended to decline. A decline in the annual peak mass of frass fall over the study period was found. No evidence for synchronization of the timing of blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus breeding with the timing of peak caterpillar abundance was found. The annual average peak mass of caterpillar frass fall proved to be a significant predictor of the annual mean number of fledgling blue tits per brood. Both the consistent pattern of spatio-temporal variation in the timing of peak availability and the abundance of tree-canopy caterpillars and the effects of caterpillar abundance on an insectivorous bird confirm that frass fall is a useful indicator of tri-trophic links to birds that prey upon caterpillars.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X20310591InsectsMonitoringLepidoptera larvaeAbundance indicatorAnnual variationCyanistes caeruleus |
| spellingShingle | Jerzy Nadolski Barbara Marciniak Barbara Loga Marek Michalski Jerzy Bańbura Long-term variation in the timing and height of annual peak abundance of caterpillars in tree canopies: Some effects on a breeding songbird Ecological Indicators Insects Monitoring Lepidoptera larvae Abundance indicator Annual variation Cyanistes caeruleus |
| title | Long-term variation in the timing and height of annual peak abundance of caterpillars in tree canopies: Some effects on a breeding songbird |
| title_full | Long-term variation in the timing and height of annual peak abundance of caterpillars in tree canopies: Some effects on a breeding songbird |
| title_fullStr | Long-term variation in the timing and height of annual peak abundance of caterpillars in tree canopies: Some effects on a breeding songbird |
| title_full_unstemmed | Long-term variation in the timing and height of annual peak abundance of caterpillars in tree canopies: Some effects on a breeding songbird |
| title_short | Long-term variation in the timing and height of annual peak abundance of caterpillars in tree canopies: Some effects on a breeding songbird |
| title_sort | long term variation in the timing and height of annual peak abundance of caterpillars in tree canopies some effects on a breeding songbird |
| topic | Insects Monitoring Lepidoptera larvae Abundance indicator Annual variation Cyanistes caeruleus |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X20310591 |
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