The outbreak mechanisms of the green rice leafhopper,Nephotettix cincticeps Uhler, in northern Japan |
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Authors: | Kohji Hirano and Koichi Fujii |
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Institution: | (1) Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 305 Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan |
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Abstract: | Intraspecific regulatory processes keep the population ofNephotettix cincticeps stable at a low density in southern Japan. In northern Japan, however, the yearly population density of the insect fluctuates
violently, and large outbreaks occasionally take place. To clarify the difference in the population dynamics between the two
regions, we analyzed light-trap and sweep-net sampling records from prefectural and national agricultural experimental stations.
The survival rate of the overwintering population decreased with increases in the period of continuous snow cover (PCSC) in
the north, and initial population densities in the years of long PCSC were too low for populations to reach equilibrium density
by the end of the active breeding season. This made yearly population fluctuations in the north much larger than in the south.
The equilibrium density in the north was higher than in the south. The higher equilibrium density presumably permits the higher
population density and larger yearly population fluctuations in the north. A major factor responsible for the difference in
equilibrium densities between the two regions is the difference in heading dates of the host plant (rice). Qualitative differences
among rice plant varieties, and among biotypes ofN. cincticeps, may also be important. |
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Keywords: | climate equilibrium density Nephotettix outbreak host plant quality |
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