Defoliation of trees in roadside corridors and remnant vegetation in the Western Australian wheatbelt
We compared the abundance and impact of caterpillars of the bag-shelter moth (Ochrogaster lunifer) on trees of Acacia acuminata on road verges and within a large reserve in the Western Australian wheatbelt. Caterpillars were observed to cause severe damage to roadside trees during an outbreak of the...
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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1992
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/16132 |
| _version_ | 1848749086477385728 |
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| author | Van Schagen, John Hobbs, R. Majer, Jonathan |
| author_facet | Van Schagen, John Hobbs, R. Majer, Jonathan |
| author_sort | Van Schagen, John |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | We compared the abundance and impact of caterpillars of the bag-shelter moth (Ochrogaster lunifer) on trees of Acacia acuminata on road verges and within a large reserve in the Western Australian wheatbelt. Caterpillars were observed to cause severe damage to roadside trees during an outbreak of the insect in 1987 and 1988. The caterpillars live communally in a bag which develops on a tree branch. Within the reserve, bags were present early in the season but failed to develop and no caterpillars reached maturity. On road verges, the number of bags per tree was significantly greater on narrow verges than on medium or wide verges. An individual colony consumed foliage estimated to be equivalent to that carried by a tree 2 m tall. Colonies were found only on trees greater than 2 m tall, and abundance increased with tree size. Caterpillars significantly affected the numbers of leaves present on tagged shoots on trees in road verges, and defoliated shoots produced a flush of new leaves. Foliar N and P were significantly hiqher in mature leaves on road verges than in the reserve, and soil N was also higher on road verges. We suggest that ecological processes are significantly modified in road verges, especially narrow verges, compared with intact vegetation, and that this has important implications for corridor management. Intensive management of narrow corridors, or widening of these corridors, is required for their long-term persistence. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:15:21Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-16132 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:15:21Z |
| publishDate | 1992 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-161322017-01-30T11:53:58Z Defoliation of trees in roadside corridors and remnant vegetation in the Western Australian wheatbelt Van Schagen, John Hobbs, R. Majer, Jonathan caterpillars - Ochrogaster lunifer - Acacia acuminata - defoliation We compared the abundance and impact of caterpillars of the bag-shelter moth (Ochrogaster lunifer) on trees of Acacia acuminata on road verges and within a large reserve in the Western Australian wheatbelt. Caterpillars were observed to cause severe damage to roadside trees during an outbreak of the insect in 1987 and 1988. The caterpillars live communally in a bag which develops on a tree branch. Within the reserve, bags were present early in the season but failed to develop and no caterpillars reached maturity. On road verges, the number of bags per tree was significantly greater on narrow verges than on medium or wide verges. An individual colony consumed foliage estimated to be equivalent to that carried by a tree 2 m tall. Colonies were found only on trees greater than 2 m tall, and abundance increased with tree size. Caterpillars significantly affected the numbers of leaves present on tagged shoots on trees in road verges, and defoliated shoots produced a flush of new leaves. Foliar N and P were significantly hiqher in mature leaves on road verges than in the reserve, and soil N was also higher on road verges. We suggest that ecological processes are significantly modified in road verges, especially narrow verges, compared with intact vegetation, and that this has important implications for corridor management. Intensive management of narrow corridors, or widening of these corridors, is required for their long-term persistence. 1992 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/16132 fulltext |
| spellingShingle | caterpillars - Ochrogaster lunifer - Acacia acuminata - defoliation Van Schagen, John Hobbs, R. Majer, Jonathan Defoliation of trees in roadside corridors and remnant vegetation in the Western Australian wheatbelt |
| title | Defoliation of trees in roadside corridors and remnant vegetation in the Western Australian wheatbelt |
| title_full | Defoliation of trees in roadside corridors and remnant vegetation in the Western Australian wheatbelt |
| title_fullStr | Defoliation of trees in roadside corridors and remnant vegetation in the Western Australian wheatbelt |
| title_full_unstemmed | Defoliation of trees in roadside corridors and remnant vegetation in the Western Australian wheatbelt |
| title_short | Defoliation of trees in roadside corridors and remnant vegetation in the Western Australian wheatbelt |
| title_sort | defoliation of trees in roadside corridors and remnant vegetation in the western australian wheatbelt |
| topic | caterpillars - Ochrogaster lunifer - Acacia acuminata - defoliation |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/16132 |