| Title: |
Gypsy Moth Project
|
| Objective: |
To determine the relationship between white-footed mouse abundance
and gypsy moth survival and density. To determine the relationship
between acorn supply and white-footed mouse abundance. |
| Year Established: |
1989 |
| Year Completed: |
expected to continue thru 1996 |
| Site Description: |
All plots are located on Quabbin Reservation in Franklin and
Hampshire Counties, MA. where a FS research permit is renewed
annually. Land is part of Boston's municipal water supply managed
by Met. District Commission. Stands dominated by pole- and sawtimber-sized
trees occupy 89% of the area. The remainder being stands of
saplings, open fields, and wetlands. Oak types dominate the
northern red oak-red maple-white pine forest land (36%); white
pine(18%); pine(10%). |
| Statistical Design: |
Acorns: 3 1-hectare plots per 8 stands (4 thinned and 4 unthinned)
for a total of 24 plots. Plots are gridded with 15 m spacing
between columns and rows.
Small mammals: 3 1-hectare plots and consists of 4 consecutive
nights of live trapping.
Gypsy moth larvae on 23 burlap bands in each of 4 1-hectare
plots in each of 8 stands for a total of 32 plots.
Egg mass from 5 systematically designed 15m fixed radius plots
in each hectare. |
| Likelihood of Locating Study Areas: |
100% |
| Experimental Treatments: |
Two out of each group of 4 stands has received partial overstory
removal (sawlog and cordwood removal). Long-term control plots
had no treatments applied to them, while other plots underwent
one of the following two treatments: 1) mouse removal: Mammals
were caught in snap traps and removed from one plot per stand
June-August 1990 only. 2) supplemental acorn feeding if acorn
crops were considered too high for supplemental feeding to have
an effect. Acorns added to 1 plot in edge of the 8 gypsy moth
stands: ~9km per week was added starting 9 September 1992 and
was continued until 158.7kg had been added to each plot.
Gypsy Moth egg mass counts taken from undisturbed forests.
|
| Sampling Methods: |
All mark-recapture trapping were completed during 4 periods
of 2 weeks each. Methods followed: White, G. C., D.R. Anderson,
K.P. Burnham, and D.L. Otis. 1982. Capture-Recapture and Removal
Methods for Sampling Closed Populations. Los Alamos National
Laboratory, New Mexico. LA-8787-NERP, UC-11.
Acorns were collected in traps with 0.5m2 surface area and
checked at about 2-week intervals from August to December.
|
| Variables and Sampling Frequency: |
Small mammal abundance; species, age, sex, reproduction condition,
weight, and parasites: annually during April, June, August,
October/1989-1992 starting with June 1989. Acorn production
and class: estimated for 1989 through 1994. Gypsy moth data;
pupal abundance is monitored: annually 1989 to present. |
| QA/QC Practices: |
Ranges of each variable are visually checked line-by-line
on hardcopies of every data set entered as a computer file.
Temporary employees are always trained in the field by professionals. |
| Data Storage: |
Raw data are in ASCII (sys.dat) files in dBASE III. All cleaned
raw data are on floppies and some on hard drive as permanent
data files (pdf). Hardcopies of all raw data are kept in file
cabinets. Analyses are generated in dBASE and sometimes SAS. |
| Global Change Research Applications: |
Studies of Ecosystem Processes
Model Application |
| Data Availability: |
each request is reviewed |
| Publications and Reports: |
Healy, W.M. 1993. Thinning oak stands to enhance acorn production
(submitted to Northern Journal of Applied Forestry 1993).
Elkinton, J.S.; Gould, J.R.; Liebhold, A.M.; Smith, H.R.;
Wallner, W.E. 1989. Are gypsy moth populations in North America
Regulated at low density? In: Wallner, W.E.; McManus, K.A.,
Tech Coords. 1989. Proceedings, Lymantriidae, a comparison
of features of new and old world tussock moths. U.S. Department
of Agriculture Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment
Station Symposium. GTR NE-123. p. 233-250.
|
| Contact: |
William Healy, USDA Forest Service, Holdsworth Hall, University
of Massachusetts, P.O. Box 34230, Amherst
MA 01003. (413) 545-0357 |
| Cooperation: |
Joe Elkinton, Dept. of Entomology, Univ. of Mass. Amherst
MA. |
