Temporal autocorrelation in host density increases establishment success of parasitoids in an experimental system.

ABSTRACT: Environmental variation is classically expected to affect negatively population growth and to increase extinction risk, and it has been identified as a major determinant of establishment failures in the field. Yet, recent theoretical investigations have shown that the structure of environmental variation and more precisely the presence of positive temporal autocorrelation might alter this prediction. This is particularly likely to affect the establishment dynamics of biological control agents in the field, as host-parasitoid interactions are expected to induce temporal autocorrelation in host abundance. In the case where parasitoid populations display overcompensatory dynamics, the presence of such positive temporal autocorrelation should increase their establishment success in a variable

SUBMITTER: Vercken E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4523363 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature