Assessing and interpreting the spatial distributions of insect populations

Spatial distribution is one of the most characteristic ecological properties of species. Unlike rates of growth and reproduction, which often vary more between generations within a species than they do between species, spatial distribution yields characteristics parameters that segregate species. These parameters are the population expression of the individual behavior defined by the ethologist and observed by the naturalist. They determine the spatial distribution of temporal dynamic change. Starlings flock, herrings school, and deer herd together, while eagles, sharks, and tigers hunt alone. This behavior determines their spatial patterns. The spatial patterns of insects are no less specific. Interest in this characteristic of species is both applied and fundamental. Most of the sound data available for analysis were collected by applied entomologists and hydrobiologists. Large mammals are rarely available in the numbers and species necessary for comparative analysis, although there are good data for birds. Insects are especially suitable for investigation because of the large numbers of individuals and species. Expermentation is difficult because, if the population is constrained, the natural distribution is destroyed. Hence, fundamental interest tends to be theoretical, rather than practical, or directed to behavioral response rather than to spatial pattern. Applied interest centers on formalizing systems of sampling.