Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1970. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 186-192).

Thesis--University of Florida. / Description based on print version record. Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-70).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Florida, 1975. / Description based on print version record. Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 140-146).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1965. / Typescript. Vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1964. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 195-210).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1971. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

A natural population of Pleuroptya ruralis has been studied for three years with the following aims: (1) to elucidate its life history; (2) to study the variations in the larval and adult densities; (3) to identify the mortality factors acting upon them; (4) to investigate possible relationships between the intensity of the mortality factors and the spatial distribution (horizontal and vertical) of P. ruralis ; (5) to describe the role of the major mortality factors in determining the size of the population studied; (6) to assess the potential of the system for further studies about the mechanism of population regulation. P. ruralis caterpillars were individually labelled and followed throughout their development on a natural growth of their food plant, Urtica dioica (the nettle), near Leeds, Yorkshire, United Kingdom. Parasitism and predation as well as the distribution and movements of the larvae on the host plant were assessed. Caterpillars were also collected and reared in the laboratory for identification of the parasitoid species and to provide support for the field results. Adults were studied in the field by the mark- release- recapture method. Potential female fertility was investigated in the laboratory. The population suffered a dramatic decline in numbers during the period of this study. The main factors determining the observed population levels were the interactions between the weather, time spent in development, deviations in the sex ratio, bird predation towards the completion of pre-adult development and parasitization by a braconid (Macrocentrus grandii). Other parasitoids also had some effect, notably Diadegma sp. Predation also had a strong impact on the population of M. grandii. Birds appear to concentrate their attack in the part of the plant in which they are more likely to find the prey. Weather also influenced adult activity and availability of nectar sources in the field, and starvation of females reduced fecundity in the laboratory. Thus, egg shortfall may also have been important in the decrease of population size. The field method used with the caterpillars provided detailed and valuable information about individual and spatial variation and it is suggested that the system 'nettles / P. ruralis / natural enemies' can be a powerfull tool for studies on the mechanisms of population regulation.

Seven outbreaks of Douglas-fir tussock moth, Orgyia pseudotsugata McDunnough, have recurred in the interior of British Columbia since 1915. But little is known about their impacts on renewable resources in affected stands. A study was undertaken to examine effects of the most recent outbreak on understory vegetation and tree productivity near Kamloops, British Columbia. Dry weight forage production was sampled from 1m² circular plots under various levels of stand crown cover (0-96%) and density (0-45.9m²/ha), as modified by defoliation. Crown cover was determined using a moosehorn, and from vertical photographs obtained with a 160° lens mounted on a conventional camera. Stand density was determined using a 20 factor prism. Increment cores were obtained at breast height, and radial growth analysed under the Addo-X. Ring width behaviour was compared with occurrence of past outbreaks. The ecological literature on 0. pseudotsugata was reviewed. Negligible amounts of forage were obtained from many plots with undefoliated trees. In defoliated plots with live trees, total forage production ranged from 0.0 under 96% crown cover and 45.9 m²/ha density to 648.9 kg/ha under 50% crown cover and 16.0 m²/ha density. The average yield in small openings was 3667.4 kg/ha. High variability was evident. In one stand, two years following its defoliation and consequent death, total forage yields exceeded those from nearby small openings. Forage yield data were described better by logarithmic models than by hyperbolic ones, at 95% probability. Impacts on tree growth were not demonstrable one year following defoliation. Many trees recovered even from complete defoliation. Insect outbreaks and periods of slow tree growth coincided, but quite inconsistently. Apparently, most scattered infestation patches develop independently of each other. Grazing values should increase in seriously defoliated stands even without range seeding. On poor sites and in stands managed primarily for forage production, outbreaks of 0. pseudotsugata may be left alone without necessarily endangering remote stands. Selective control favoring better sites managed for tree production should improve efficiency of investing scarce funds in protection of the inventory. Tree growth and insect outbreaks may be under the influence of some regional climatic factor, but local factors are also important. A need remains for long term impact studies on tree growth, forage yield and nutrient status, and other resources. / Forestry, Faculty of / Graduate

Despite the biological importance of lepidopteran wing patterns, homologies between pattern elements in different lineages are still not understood. Though plesiomorphic wing veins influence color patterning even when not expressed in the adult wing, most studies of wing pattern evolution have focused on derived taxa with reduced venation. Here I address this gap with an examination of Micropterigidae, a very early-diverged family in which all known plesiomorphic lepidopteran veins are expressed in the adult wing. Differences between the coloration of transverse bands in Micropterix and Sabatinca suggest that homologies exist between the contrast boundaries that divide wing pattern elements. Because the wing pattern of Sabatinca doroxena very closely resembles the nymphalid groundplan when plotted onto a hypothetical nymphalid wing following the relationship between pattern and venation discussed here, it appears that the nymphalid groundplan may have originated from a Sabatinca-like wing pattern subjected to changes in wing shape.

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