1. Simulation studies of Senegalese Grasshopper ecosystem interactions II: the role of egg pod predators and birds
- Author
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Abdoulaye Niassy, Christiaan Kooyman, Kemo Badji, Jørgen Aagaard Axelsen, Mette Sønderskov, Bo Svenning Petersen, Zakaria Ouambama, and Idrissa Halidou Maiga
- Subjects
Wet season ,education.field_of_study ,biology ,Population ,biology.organism_classification ,Predation ,Senegalese grasshopper ,Agronomy ,Insect Science ,Ecosystem ,Grasshopper ,Nymph ,Transect ,education ,Agronomy and Crop Science - Abstract
We present a simulation study of the role of birds and egg pod predators in the population dynamics of the Senegalese grasshopper. The model was an energetics-driven ecosystem model that included a natural Sahelian grass, millet, grasshoppers, the egg pod predators bombyliidae and Tenebrionidae, and 24 species of birds that prey on grasshopper nymphs and adults. The model simulated the rain-dependent dynamics and migration along a five-location south–north transect in Niger and Senegal, and the main outputs were the grasshopper pressure on the transect, measured as accumulated transect grasshopper days, and the density of eggs ready to emerge the following rainy season. The model was calibrated using observations from transects in Niger (2003, 2004) and Senegal (2004). When input data from Niger 2003 and 2004 were applied, simulated reductions in grasshopper pressure during the rainy season from egg pod predators and birds, respectively, were within a range of 18–25%, but taken together the overall reduc...
- Published
- 2009
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