Journal article

Publication year: 2006

Pages: 412-429

Journal: Central European Journal of Biology

Volume number: 1

Issue number: 3

ISSN: 1895-104X

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.2478/s11535-006-0025-3

Publisher: De Gruyter Open

Abstract: 

Although the impact of vegetation and other environmental factors on the
distribution of terrestrial invertebrates has been known since the
1950s, basic knowledge about their interaction with micro-landscape
elements is lacking. In experimental model systems, the impact of
varying local spatial resistance (LSR) on the distribution of Tenebrio molitor
individuals was analysed in the laboratory. In the setups, LSR led to a
reduction of the average distance covered (move step length) and a
reduction of the velocity (the maximum speed ranging from 36.1 in the
control groups to 20.4 [mm*step⁻¹] in areas with a maximum
LSR). Also, the covered distances per individual varied among three
groups, from 2.97 m in the control to 1.11 m in areas with medium LSR to
0.88 m in areas with maximum LSR. Thus, in areas with LSR, animals were
forced by their habitats to perform shorter move steps on average and
covered less distance. The distance covered (i.e., dispersal
performances) were not correlated with such factors as sex, weight and
length of the Tenebrio individuals
from other studies. Analysis of the data for net squared displacement
indicated that the dispersal of the beetles did not follow a diffusion
process. The move step directions of the dispersal data showed
pronounced autocorrelation, which means that in contrast to other
findings, the individuals were not performing a random walk. This effect
was strongly dependent on the temporal resolution (i.e. grain), and was
also influenced by the experimental conditions. The entire array of
data showed high variability among the sub-groups (as well as many
outliers), revealing nonparametric characteristics. The results showed
that the specific physical configuration of suitable habitat for Tenebrio is one of the key indicators of landscape connectivity on the micro-scale.

Harvard Citation style: Jopp, F. (2006) The impact of local spatial resistance on the movement behaviour of Tenebrio molitor L., Central European Journal of Biology, 1(3), pp. 412-429. https://doi.org/10.2478/s11535-006-0025-3

APA Citation style: Jopp, F. (2006). The impact of local spatial resistance on the movement behaviour of Tenebrio molitor L.. Central European Journal of Biology. 1(3), 412-429. https://doi.org/10.2478/s11535-006-0025-3