Insects in population ecology experiments: a didactical approach case - DOI: 10.4025/actascibiolsci.v26i3.1541

• Autor(a) principal: Vital, Marcos Vinicius Carneiro
• Data de Publicação: 2008
• Outros Autores: Vieira, Ludgero Cardoso Galli, Carvalho, Rodrigo Assis de, Costa, Diogo Andrade, Silva, Leo Caetano Fernandes da, Silveira, Allan Valle Toledo da, Lima Filho, Guilherme Ferreira de
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Acta Scientiarum Biological Sciences
• Texto Completo: http://www.periodicos.uem.br/ojs/index.php/ActaSciBiolSci/article/view/1541
• topic: dispersão; ensino de ecologia; Sitophilus oryzae; 2.01.00.00-0 Biologia Geral

Insects are thought to have great potential in ecology teaching. Estimates of dispersion rates are essential in studies of population ecology. Such rates are difficult to obtain in nature, but they may be estimated through experiments. In this study, a study in Sitophylus oryzae’s movement capacity was performed, reinforcing its potential for didactic experiments. The experiment was made with 16 pairs of recipients filled with corn; each pair was linked by tubes, in four different distances. One of the recipients of each pair received a 35-individual population. After a week, the number of individuals was counted in each recipient; this procedure was repeated twice. The results showed that the number of individuals decreases as the distance between recipients increases. This is an interesting result, since this species is known as a stored-crop plague. The experiment showed that S. oryzae could be used in ecological experiments, either with scientific or didactic aims