The Role of Arthropods in Forest Ecosystems

113 Pages·1977·3.021 MB·English

by  G. D. Amman (auth.), William J. Mattson (eds.)

Proceedings in Life Sciences
The Role of
Arthropods in
Forest Ecosystems
Edited by 'V. J. Mattson
With Contributions by
G. D. Amman J. T. Callahan B. W. Comaby
K. Cromack, Jr. D. A. Crossley, Jr. .
D. L. Dindal W. M. Fender R. Fogel
B. Heinrich D. Inouye J. C. M. Jonkman
J. F. McBrayer L. J. Metz P. A. Morrow
P. SoIlins A. W. Todd R. L. Todd D. P. Webb
With 28 Figures
Springer-Verlag
New York Heidelberg Berlin
WILLIAM J. MATTSON
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service
North Central Forest Experiment Station
1992 Folwell Avenue
St. Paul, Minnesota 5510S/USA
ISBN-13: 978-3-642-88450-4 e-ISBN-13: 978-3-642-88448-1
001: 10.1007/978-3-642-88448-1
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data. International Congress of
Entomology, 15th, Washington, D.C., 1976. The role of arthropods in forest eco
systems. (Proceedings in life sciences). Includes index. 1. Forest insects-Congresses.
2. Arthropoda-Congresses. 3. Forest ecology-Congresses. I. Mattson, William J.,
1943- II. Title.
QLA61.172 1976 595'.2'045264 77-23558
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© by Springer-Verlag, New York, Inc. 1977.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 1977
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Preface
The role of arthropods in forest ecosystems is poorly
understood. Yet such knowledge may be critical in order
to explain fully the fundamental forces that shape the
structure and regulate the functioning of such ecosys
tems. There are numerous hypotheses about the roles of
various arthropods, but few, if any, of these hypotheses
have been rigorously tested. Some, however, have been
repeated so often and so widely that they are now accept
ed by many as unequivocal fact. Nothing could be further
from the truth.
Forest arthropods which derive most of their sustenance
from plants are usually specially adapted for feeding in
one of three subsystems-the above-ground plant system,
the soil-litter system, or the aquatic stream system.
Plant-feeding arthropods in the soil-litter and stream
systems are primarily saprophous although many consume
significant amounts of microorganisms. Research on the
role of arthropods in each of these three subsystems has
historically been provincial. Until very recently there
has been little effort to collate, assimilate, and syn
thesize the plethora of findings in even one of these
systems-rnuch less all three. This Symposium (at the 15th
International Congress of Entomology, Washington, D.C.
August 19-27, 1976) was organized for the specific pur
pose of promoting scientific synthesis. It fulfills one
of the first requirements in such endeavors; namely, the
juxtapositioning of current knowledge and hypotheses so
that similarities can be perceived, insights can be de
rived, and more elaborate conceptual constructs can be
built.
These Proceedings have two Divisions-terrestrial phyto
phagous arthropods and terrestrial saprophagous arthro
pods. The Division on aquatic arthropods, which was
given at the 15th International Congress of Entomology,
is unfortunately not included here. The papers present
a variety of perspectives on the roles of a variety of
arthropods. However, there are some dominant recurring
themes-one is the significant impact of arthropods on
quantitative and qualitative aspects of system structure.
For example: bark beetles affect the frequency distribu
tion of tree size classes and plant succession; phyllo
phagous and sucking insects can differentially affect
the competitive ability of coexisting eucalypt trees,
bumblebees and other pollinating organisms can influ
ence plant species composition as well as the evolution
of certain qualitative characteristics of plants and
plant communities, ants build nests which become ideal
sites for the colonization and establishment of certain
plants, soil arthropods alter the physicochemical struc
ture of the soil-litter milieu through pelletizing plant
vi
debris and converting some refractory substances (often
with the aid of microorganisms) into more mobile, ele
mentary forms, soil Collembola are not merely random
assemblages of species but interact with one another
forming definite associations.
Another obvious theme which reinforces and is a cor
ollary of the first is the sensitivity and responsive
ness of arthropods to system structure-broadly speaking,
cover and food. For example, it seems that organisms
have evolved an "energy fit" to their normal hosts in
their usual environment. This fit evolves in relation
to the concentration and distribution of energy, nutri
ents and plant defenses through space and time. Environ
mental "patchiness" describes such variation. Although
the three subsystems are different in many ways, they
do have some similar structural features to which ar
thropod consumers are sensitive. In all three systems
it is apparent that there is (1) a scarcity of Nand
perhaps other elements like P and Na: (2) an abundance
of nutritionally impoverished, nearly indigestible sub
strates like celluloses and lignins: (3) a pervasive
presence of secondary plant compounds that are repell
ent, deterrent or toxic: and (4) an abundance of micro
organisms which are intimately associated with arthro
pod microhabitats, foods, and bodies.
An organism's life history strategy may vary in rela
tion to these as well as other components of system
structure. For example, where food substrates are nu
tritionally pauperate, many consumers rely heavily on
microorganisms (as gut symbionts or as food) to enable
them to gain adequate nutrition. Secondary compounds
usually slow utilization rates of plant tissue by in
hibiting microorganisms and arthropod consumers. Arthro
pods either avoid the compounds by attacking tissues
before or after significant concentrations occur or
evolve enzymes or other mechanisms to cope with such
substances.
The evidence suggests that arthropods, along with micro
organisms, significantly interact with system structure;
that is, they affect and are affected by it. It is a
continuous, dynamic feed-back loop with rates of change
usually subtle, but occasionally rapid and sweeping.
St. Paul, July 1977 w. J. MATTSON
Contents
Terrestrial Phytophagous Arthropods
1. The Role of the Mountain Pine Beetle in Lodgepole
Pine Ecosystems: Impact on Succession (With 11 Figures)
G. D. AMMAN • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 3
2. The Significance of Phytophagous Insects in the
EucaZyptus Forests of Australia
P. A. MORROW. • •• •••••••••• 19
3. Resource Utilization by Colonial Lepidoptera
Defoliators
J. T. CALLAHAN. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 30
4. Species Structure of Bumblebee Communities in North
America and Europe (With 2 Figures)
D. INOUYE • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 35
5. Pollination Energetics: An Ecosystem Approach
B. HEINRICH • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• 41
Terrestrial Saprophagous Arthropods
6. The Roles of Terrestrial Saprophagous Arthropods
in Forest Soils: Current Status of Concepts (With
1 Figure)
D. A. CROSSLEY, JR. • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• 49
7. Regulation of Deciduous Forest Litter Decomposition
by Soil Arthropod Feces (With 6 Figures)
D. P. WEBB. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• 57
8. Contributions of Cryptozoa to Forest Nutrient
Cycles
J. F. McBRAYER ••.••••• 70
9. Soil Microorganism-Arthropod Interactions: Fungi
as Major Calcium and Sodium Sources (With 1 Figure)
K. CROMACK, JR., P. SOLLINS, R. L. TODD,
D. A. CROSSLEY, JR., W. M. FENDER, R. FOGEL, and
A. W. TODD ••••••••••••••• 78
10. Ant Nests as Accelerators of Succession in
Paraguayan Pastures (With 1 Figure)
J. C. M. JONKMAN. • • • • • • • ••• 85
11. Community Structure of Collembola Affected by
Fire Frequency (With 6 Figures)
D. L. DINDAL and L. J. METZ ••••.•••••• 88
viii
12. Saprophagous Organisms and Problems in Applied
Resource Partitioning
B. W. CORNABY • • • • • • • • • • • • • 96
Subject Index • . . • . . . . . . . . . • • . .. 101
List of Contributors
AMMAN, G. D., Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment
Station, Forest Service, U.S.D.A. Ogden, UT 84401,
USA
CALLAHAN, J. T., National Science Foundation, Washington,
DC 20550, USA
CORNABY, B. W., Battelle Columbus Laboratories, Columbus,
OH 43201, USA
CROMACK, K., JR., Department of Forest Science, Oregon
State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
CROSSLEY, D. A., JR., Department of Entomology, Insti
tute of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens,
GA 30602, USA
DINDAL, D. L., Department of Forest Zoology SUNY,
College of Environmental Science and Forestry,
Syracuse, NY 13210, USA
FENDER, W. M., Department of Entomology, Oregon State
University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
FOGEL, R., Department of Forest Science, Oregon State
University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
HEINRICH, B., Department of Entomological Sciences,
University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
INOUYE, D., Department of Zoology, University of
Maryland, College Park, MD 20740, USA
JONKMAN, J. C. M., Royal Netherlands Embassy, Scientific
Office, 4200 Linnean Avenue NW, Washington, DC
20008, USA
McBRAYER, J. F., Environmental Sciences Division, Build
ing 2024, Oak Ridge National Lab., P. O. Box X,
Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USA
METZ, L. J., Southeastern Forest Experiment Station,
Forest Service, U.S.D.A., Research Triangle Park,
NC 27709, USA
MORROW, P. A., Department of Ecology and Behavioral
Biology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis,
MN 55455, USA
SOLLINS, P., Department of Forest Science, Oregon State
University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
x
TODD, A. W., Department of Botany and Plant Pathology,
Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
TODD, R. L., Institute of Ecology, Department of Agro
nomy, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602 USA
WEBB, D. P., Department of Entomology, Texas A & M
University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
Terrestrial Phytophagous Arthropods