The dispersal patterns of a migratory insect are driven by biotic interactions

Abstract

AbstractAimThe distribution of a species in an area depends on the presence of suitable climatic conditions, suitable biotic interactions and species dispersal capabilities. Studies of species migration usually do not include all these factors due to a lack of detailed ecological information or appropriate methods. Here, we present simulations that consider all those factors for the study of the migratory patterns of Urania boisduvalii by incorporating environmental suitability, biotic interactions with its host plants (Omphalea spp.), and the moth dispersal capacity.LocationCuba.TaxonUrania and Omphalea.MethodsOur approach considers changes in the palatability of plants resulting from foraging by moths, as the novel mechanism driving their dispersal. Here, the state of each cell is determined by climate, dispersal, presence of edible food plants and change in food plant palatability.ResultsUrania dispersal occurs among sites with both edible food plants and suitable climates within the dispersal capacity of the moths. The number of isolated clusters of suitable patches decreased with larger dispersal capacities. All simulations where the palatability recovery is faster than palatability loss, lead to an oscillatory pattern of a local nature, while the other ones lead to a steady occupancy or extirpation of the moth species.Main ConclusionsOur results provide theoretical support for the hypothesis that the palatability of food plants drives the pattern of movement of the moths and predict that the relationship between toxic and non‐toxic periods is critical to determining steady occupancy, oscillatory occupancy or extirpation of the moth from the host plant patches. The conceptual framework we used is directly based on classic literature and the methods we used are implemented as an R package. Therefore, our approach is suited to model, in a practical way, invasive species, emerging diseases or migratory species.