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Application of pheromone lures to study mechanisms of reproductive isolation and to develop cost-efficient population assessments of click beetles in North America

Resource type
Thesis type
(Thesis) M.P.M.
Date created
2023-04-28
Authors/Contributors
Abstract
I tested the effects of synthetic (E)-4-ethyloct-4-enoic acid ('limoniic acid'; sex pheromone component of the click beetles Limonius canus and L. californicus) and of (E)-5-ethyloct-4-enoic acid (analog of limoniic acid) as trap lures on captures of L. canus, L. californicus, L. infuscatus and L. agonus across North America. Males of all four species were attracted to both limoniic acid and the analog irrespective of lure dose (0.4 or 4 mg). Exploring mechanisms that underlie species-specificity of sexual communication in Limonius congeners, I discovered that L. canus and L. californicus have seasonally distinct communication periods but that captures of L. infuscatus overlap with those of L. canus and L. californicus. Investigating whether mixed pheromone lures attract elaterid heterogeners (Agriotes spp. and Limonius spp.), I found that mixed lures did not reduce captures of target species, suggesting that these lures can be used to effectively monitor, or possibly control, select elaterid heterogeners.
Document
Extent
86 pages.
Identifier
etd22512
Copyright statement
Copyright is held by the author(s).
Permissions
This thesis may be printed or downloaded for non-commercial research and scholarly purposes.
Supervisor or Senior Supervisor
Thesis advisor: Gries, Gerhard
Language
English
Member of collection
Download file Size
etd22512.pdf 3.2 MB

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