The importance of temperature and moisture to the egg-laying behaviour of a pest slug, Deroceras reticulatum

A - Papers appearing in refereed journals

Willis, J. C., Bohan, D. A., Powers, S. J., Choi, Y. H., Park, J. and Gussin, E. 2008. The importance of temperature and moisture to the egg-laying behaviour of a pest slug, Deroceras reticulatum. Annals of Applied Biology - AAB. 153 (1), pp. 105-115. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7348.2008.00242.x

AuthorsWillis, J. C., Bohan, D. A., Powers, S. J., Choi, Y. H., Park, J. and Gussin, E.
Abstract

Oviposition behaviour is important when modelling the population dynamics of many invertebrates. The numbers of eggs laid are frequently used to describe fecundity, but this measure may differ significantly from realised fecundity. Oviposition has been shown to be important when describing the dynamics of slug populations, which are important agricultural pests. The numbers of eggs laid by Deroceras reticulatum and their viability were measured across a range of 16 temperature (4, 10, 15 and 23 degrees C) by moisture (33%, 42%, 53% and 58% by dry soil weight) experimental combinations. A fitted quadratic response surface model was used to estimate how D. reticulatum adjusted its egg laying to the surrounding temperature and moisture conditions, with most eggs being laid at a combination of 53% soil moisture and 18 degrees C. The number and proportion of viable eggs also covaried with temperature and moisture, suggesting that D. reticulatum may alter their investment in reproduction to maximise their fitness. We have shown that the number of viable eggs differs from the total number of eggs laid by D. reticulatum. Changes in egg viability with temperature and moisture may also be seen in other species and should be considered when modelling populations of egg-laying invertebrates.

KeywordsAgriculture, Multidisciplinary
Year of Publication2008
JournalAnnals of Applied Biology - AAB
Journal citation153 (1), pp. 105-115
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7348.2008.00242.x
Open accessPublished as non-open access
Funder project or codeSEF
Centre for Mathematical and Computational Biology (MCB)
Project: 4561
Research into spatio-temporal dynamics for ecological and agricultural populations
Research in statistics relevant to biological processes
ISSN00034746
PublisherWiley

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