Mechanical thinning to restore oak savanna promoted predator assemblages of gypsy moth pupae in Michigan

The United States Forest Service conducted an oak savanna restoration using thinning and prescribed burning in the Manistee National Forest in Michigan to provide additional habitat for species dependent on this rare community type, including the Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis). B...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Agricultural and forest entomology Vol. 20; no. 4; pp. 531 - 540
Main Authors: Larsen, Angela L., Jacquot, Joseph J., Keenlance, Paul W., Keough, Heather L.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.11.2018
Subjects:
Abundance
Animal behavior
Bacillus thuringiensis
Bulldozers
Burning
Butterflies & moths
Communities
defoliating insects
Endangered species
forest thinning
Forests
Gypsy moth
habitats
Huron-Manistee National Forest
Invertebrates
Lycaeides melissa samuelis
Lymantria dispar
Mammals
mechanical thinning
Mice
Michigan
National forests
Oak
oak savanna
Peromyscus leucopus
Predation
Predators
Pupae
pupal predation
Rare species
Relative abundance
Restoration
Savannahs
savannas
Small mammals
Thinning
USDA Forest Service
white‐footed mouse
United States > US
Michigan
Huron-Manistee National Forest
ISSN:1461-9555, 1461-9563
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The United States Forest Service conducted an oak savanna restoration using thinning and prescribed burning in the Manistee National Forest in Michigan to provide additional habitat for species dependent on this rare community type, including the Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis). Because the Karner blue butterfly is a federally endangered species, managers cannot spray Bt‐k (Bacillus thurigiensis var kurstaki) in areas undergoing restoration to control exotic invasive defoliators, such as European gypsy moths (Lymantria dispar). Although gypsy moths are invasive in North America, several native predators, such as white‐footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus), other small mammals and invertebrates, help keep gypsy moth populations at nondestructive levels. The present study investigated whether the small mammal community and gypsy moth predation rates were affected by the type of mechanical forest thinning method (bulldozer, masticator, shear cutter) used during an oak savanna restoration at two sites in Michigan within the suppression zone in 2010 and 2011. Predation rates on gypsy moth pupae were higher in bulldozer and shear cutter thinned compared with control plots at both sites in 2010. White‐footed mice relative abundance was significantly higher in thinned compared with control plots at one site in 2010 and 2011. Thinning maintained or promoted white‐footed mice abundance, which will maintain or enhance predation on gypsy moth pupae during oak savanna restoration.
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ISSN:1461-9555
1461-9563
DOI:10.1111/afe.12286