Quantifying long-range migration in Lepidoptera: integrating population dynamics and flight behaviour

Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.

The objectives of the proposal partition into four study topics: (1) We will use specially-designed flight simulators to investigate the role that environmental factors (climate and larval rearing conditions) play in regulating the promotion of migratory flight and the flight-direction in a range of long-range migrant pest Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths). (2) We will study the low-altitude migratory flight behaviour of individual, free-flying pest Lepidoptera using harmonic radar, to test whether the selected species can control their flight direction in differing wind fields. (3) We will determine the relative migration flux of the selected species throughout the first km of the vertical air column using data from ground-based traps and vertical-looking radar. (4) Finally, we will assess the impact that long-range migration has on the population dynamics of the pests, and assess the degree to which selction of flight-timing, altitude and heading contribute to the successful completion of autumn return migrations to their permanent over-wintering areas.

unavailable