Browsing by Author "Wittman, Jacob"
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Item Effects of host type and food deprivation on the movement behavior of late-instar larvae of gypsy moth Lymantria dispar (Lepidoptera: Erebidae)(2018-09) Wittman, JacobThe European gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar dispar L. (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) is an invasive insect in North America. Gypsy moth larvae are highly polyphagous and capable of extensive defoliation during population outbreaks. The United States maintains a quarantine across the established range of the gypsy moth to help slow the spread of the moth. One component of the quarantine requires that entities that move wood products across quarantine boundaries stage those wood products within a buffer zone area devoid of any host vegetation. The purpose of the buffer zone is to reduce the likelihood that late instar gypsy moth larvae will pupate nearby, emerge as adults, mate, and lay eggs on the wood. In practice, this buffer zone is 100 feet in radius. It is difficult to evaluate the efficacy of the buffer zone practice, however, due to our limited understanding of the movement ecology of these larvae. Here, I study the movement ecology of late instar larvae of European gypsy moths. I investigate how host type and food deprivation affects the movement capacity and behavior of larvae in the laboratory using a servosphere. I then quantify the movement capacity and behavior of larvae in a field experiment simulating the buffer zone environment.Item Harnessing the power of data-driven models to improve management and detection of emerald ash borer(2022-05) Wittman, JacobThe emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), is an invasive beetle in North America. All North American species of ash (Fraxinus spp.) are susceptible to this beetle such that widespread mortality to ash is occurring as the beetle spreads. Since the discovery of emerald ash borer in North America in the early 2000s, much research has been devoted to improving management efforts that target this species. Here, I study the cold tolerance of Spathius galinae Belokobylskij & Strazanac (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a classical biological control agent against emerald ash borer. I forecast the ability of this parasitoid to survive winters in the northern range of ash in North America. To improve monitoring and early detection of emerald ash borer, I also evaluate the range of attraction of baited green prism traps using a novel quantitative method. The traps were baited with the host volatile (3Z)-hexenol and the sex pheromone (3Z)-lactone. Lastly, I model the spread rate of emerald ash borer from its first detection in Michigan to present across North America to quantify anisotropy (i.e., directionality) in the rate of spread. I then determine how environmental factors known to affect the spread and demographics of insects are associated with these variable rates of spread. Collectively, my dissertation furthers improvements in monitoring and management efforts for this devastating invasive species.