@article{c6b756418abb4f0fb997bd71b72bed3b,
title = "Declines and Resilience of Communities of Leaf Chewing Insects on Missouri Oaks Following Spring Frost and Summer Drought",
abstract = "Extreme weather events dramatically impact populations of individual insect species but the consequences of such events for entire insect communities are not well documented. We present evidence that mid spring frosts and summer drought negatively affect the community of insects found on Missouri oaks (Quercus alba and Q. velutina), amounting to a 23–186 fold decrease depending on the oak species, insect body size and feeding guild, and the specific weather event. Depending on the event, spring faunas required 1–5 years and summer faunas 1–4 years following spring frosts to reach pre-event levels. The impact of summer drought on leaf tying caterpillars also lasted over an extended period of time; it was 5 years before numbers of leaf ties reached pre-drought levels. Smaller-bodied species of leaf tying Lepidoptera took longer to recover than larger-bodied species following the drought. Overall, we found no evidence for a general decline in abundance, even a modest one, during the 20 years of study of faunas on oak trees in southeastern Missouri. However, the risk of mid-season frost damage to trees is expected to increase with predicted earlier onset of spring. Similarly, the effects of drought reported here are likely to increase with time, as the climate in the Midwest U.S. is only expected to become warmer and drier during the summer months. Understanding the impact of such weather events on insect communities influences our ability to predict how habitat and landscape management, or lack thereof, will influence future patterns of insect abundance and diversity.",
keywords = "Quercus, climate change, drought, herbivorous insects, insect decline, insect populations, spring frosts",
author = "Marquis, {Robert J.} and Lill, {John T.} and Forkner, {Rebecca E.} and {Le Corff}, Josiane and Landosky, {John M.} and Whitfield, {James B.}",
note = "We thank numerous undergrad and graduate students at the University of Missouri-St. Louis for help with insect sampling. In addition to the many students, we thank F. DiTirro, N. Greig, J. McGrath, and G. Wang who all helped with data collection. R. Jensen helped with logistics on the ground in MOFEP, and B. Schuette did the same at CRSP. Patrick Guinan provided information on the NCEI climate data base, and V. Redensek and S. Bahar provided many helpful suggestions regarding climate data analysis. The Missouri Department of Conservation, the USDA, and the National Science Foundation provided funding. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources provided access to Cuivre River State Park, and Washington University gave us access to the Tyson Research Center. Funding. This work was supported by the Missouri Department of Conservation, USDA Grant No. 02DG 1124225 430, and National Science Foundation grant 6164397. We thank numerous undergrad and graduate students at the University of Missouri-St. Louis for help with insect sampling. In addition to the many students, we thank F. DiTirro, N. Greig, J. McGrath, and G. Wang who all helped with data collection. R. Jensen helped with logistics on the ground in MOFEP, and B. Schuette did the same at CRSP. Patrick Guinan provided information on the NCEI climate data base, and V. Redensek and S. Bahar provided many helpful suggestions regarding climate data analysis. The Missouri Department of Conservation, the USDA, and the National Science Foundation provided funding. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources provided access to Cuivre River State Park, and Washington University gave us access to the Tyson Research Center. This work was supported by the Missouri Department of Conservation, USDA Grant No. 02DG 1124225 430, and National Science Foundation grant 6164397.",
year = "2019",
month = oct,
day = "22",
doi = "10.3389/fevo.2019.00396",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "7",
journal = "Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution",
issn = "2296-701X",
publisher = "Frontiers Media SA",
}