Hodges, S., Hassall, C. orcid.org/0000-0002-3510-0728 and Neely III, R. (2024) Weather Radars Reveal Environmental Conditions for High Altitude Insect Movement Through the Aerosphere. Remote Sensing, 16 (23). 4388. ISSN 2072-4292
Abstract
High-flying insects that exploit tropospheric winds can disperse over far greater distances in a single generation than species restricted to below-canopy flight. However, the ecological consequences of such long-range dispersal remain poorly understood. For example, high-altitude dispersal may facilitate more rapid range shifts in these species and reduce their sensitivity to habitat fragmentation, in contrast to low-flying insects that rely more on terrestrial patch networks. Previous studies have primarily used surface-level variables with limited spatial coverage to explore dispersal timing and movement. In this study, we introduce a novel application of niche modelling to insect aeroecology by examining the relationship between a comprehensive set of atmospheric conditions and high-flying insect activity in the troposphere, as detected by weather surveillance radars (WSRs). We reveal correlations between large-scale dispersal events and atmospheric conditions, identifying key variables that influence dispersal behaviour. By incorporating high-altitude atmospheric conditions into niche models, we achieve significantly higher predictive accuracy compared with models based solely on surface-level conditions. Key predictive factors include the proportion of arable land, altitude, temperature, and relative humidity.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/license s/by/4.0/). |
Keywords: | weather; niche modelling; insects; movement ecology; radar; remote sensing |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Biological Sciences (Leeds) > School of Biology (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 26 Nov 2024 15:14 |
Last Modified: | 26 Nov 2024 15:14 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | MDPI |
Identification Number: | 10.3390/rs16234388 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:220003 |