Experimental predator manipulation with colony establishment

Knowledge graph centered on Experimental predator manipulation with colony establishment with 74 nodes and 164 connections. Top connected: Ligusticum porteri, Spruce, Atriplex canescens, phenological mismatch, Asteraceae.

Method synopsis

Controlled experiment manipulating predator presence by establishing artificial aphid colonies, protecting them from natural predators, then adding lygus bugs to treatment plants. Includes ant bridge establishment to facilitate mutualism formation.

Synthesized from method descriptions across 29 papers using this protocol.

Procedure from a recent peer-reviewed implementation

Steps below were extracted from the most recent peer-reviewed implementation of this protocol in the corpus — Host plant phenology shapes aphid abundance and interactions with ants (2023), Oikos. The protocol was originally introduced by Self-Similarity in the Distribution of Plant Species Across a Successional Gradient (2002). Implementations in other papers (listed below) may differ.

1. Establish monitoring populations
   Selected 20 populations of Ligusticum porteri in subalpine meadows and canopy gaps near Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory. Populations spanned elevation gradient from 2774 to 3109 m above sea level. Randomly selected ten flowering plants in each population in June of each year.
   Quantities: 20 populations, 10 plants per population per year, elevation range 2774-3109 mDuration: Initial selection in June annually from 2017-2021Conditions: Subalpine meadows and canopy gaps
   Equipment: GPS for location recording
2. Install temperature monitoring
   Placed temperature sensor (HOBO, Onset Technology) at plant height (0.5 m) and shielded from solar radiation at each site. Extracted mean temperatures from hourly records for each day of monitoring.
   Quantities: One logger per site, 0.5 m heightDuration: Continuous logging throughout growing season, September 2018-2020Conditions: Shielded from solar radiation
   Equipment: HOBO temperature loggers, Onset Technology sensors
3. Conduct weekly aphid censuses
   Censused numbers of aphids, ants and other arthropods on flowering stalks on each plant for nine weeks. During census, scored phenology of inflorescences using 0-8 scale. Tracked individual aphid colonies and recorded establishment, growth, and persistence.

Typical Equipment

• random number generator
• paint brush
• mesh bags
• twist ties
• tanglefoot
• 3cm straws
• tape
• sweep net
• coin for randomization
• data collection sheets

Output Measurements

• aphid colony size
• ant recruitment
• lygus bug abundance
• colony survival

Papers Using This Protocol (33)

Species Studied With This Protocol