NATURAL ENEMY ABUNDANCE AND BIOLOGICAL CONTROL IN BT MAIZE USING

215 Pages·2017·2.12 MB·English

NATURAL ENEMY ABUNDANCE AND BIOLOGICAL CONTROL IN BT MAIZE
USING SIMULATIONS OF PREDATOR-PREY INTERACTIONS

by
Christopher Regan Brown

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree

of
Doctor of Philosophy
in
Ecology and Environmental Sciences

MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bozeman, Montana

July 2017
©COPYRIGHT
by
Christopher Regan Brown
2017
All Rights Reserved
ii

DEDICATION

The spirit of adventure that led to this undertaking and the perseverance to get
through the tough times are credited to the inspiration of Ryan Brown.
iii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I give my sincere thanks to my parents who started me on this path and always
gave me freedom to pursue my interests however unconventional they may have been;
my wife, Jessica, who has been the backbone of our family over the last four years and
has inspired me by her own experiences during this time, which have been as profound as
my own; my kids, Mason, Avery, and Summer, who have been a great motivation for me
to “do my best” but also provided welcome distractions from this effort; my advisor, Dr.
Bob Peterson, for his support, insights, and, not least, for putting the “philosophy” into
my PhD; my lab mates, Claire Donahoo, Alyssa Piccolomini, Collin Preftakes, and
Shavonn Whitten for friendship, support, and great discussions; my committee members,
Laura Burkle, David Weaver, Paul Stoy, and Jeff Wolt, for their time, support, and
technical advice; Jeff Wolt for giving the initial idea that led to my project; my computer
savvy colleagues, Geoffrey Caron-Lormier, Adam Schapaugh, Joao Rossi, Daniel Salinas
Duron, and Chris Sehy for sharing their vast technical skills with me; and, lastly,
Monsanto company that made it all possible, in particular, Tracey Reynolds and Michael
Horak, and other Monsanto colleagues who helped along the way, including Aqeel
Ahmad, Dave Carson, Peter Jensen, and Roger Effertz.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 1

Natural Enemies, Biological Control, and Integrated Pest Management ........................ 4
Current Understanding of Potential Effects of Bt Crops on Arthropod
Communities ................................................................................................................. 11
Bt Proteins ............................................................................................................. 11
Exposure of Natural Enemies to Bt Proteins ........................................................ 11
Lab and Greenhouse Studies ................................................................................. 12
Field Biodiversity and Arthropod Abundance Field Studies ................................ 14
Off-field Non-target Effects .................................................................................. 16
Meta-analyses ....................................................................................................... 16
Long Term, Landscape Effects ............................................................................. 19
Computer Simulation Models to Evaluate Non-target Organism Effects
from Bt Crops ....................................................................................................... 22
Objectives ...................................................................................................................... 24
References Cited ........................................................................................................... 27

2. SIMULATING INTERACTIONS BETWEEN NATURAL ENEMIES
AND PESTS IN MAIZE TO ASSESS THE INFLUENCE OF
ALTERNATIVE FOOD, CANNIBALISM, AND INTRAGUILD
PREDATION ................................................................................................................. 51

Abstract ......................................................................................................................... 54
Introduction ................................................................................................................... 55
Methods ......................................................................................................................... 61
Results ........................................................................................................................... 71
Discussion ..................................................................................................................... 77
Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................... 81
References Cited ........................................................................................................... 96
v

TABLE OF CONTENTS (CONTINUED)
3. SIMULATING INTERACTIONS BETWEEN NATURAL ENEMIES
AND PREY IN BT AND CONVENTIONAL MAIZE .............................................. 103

Abstract ....................................................................................................................... 106
Introduction ................................................................................................................. 107
Methods ....................................................................................................................... 111
Results ......................................................................................................................... 122
Discussion ................................................................................................................... 125
Acknowledgments ....................................................................................................... 127
References Cited ......................................................................................................... 133

APPENDICES .................................................................................................................. 139

CHAPTER 2 SUPPORTING INFORMATION ....................................................... 140

References Cited ....................................................................................................... 150

CHAPTER 3 SUPPORTING INFORMATION ....................................................... 153

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION GATHERED IN SUPPORT OF
THE PROJECT ......................................................................................................... 158

References Cited ....................................................................................................... 173

COMPLETE REFERENCES CITED .............................................................................. 174
vi

LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

2.1. Model input file descriptions ............................................................................ 83
2.2. Modifications made to the TrophicLINK model for this project...................... 84
2.3. Key parameter values and growth and development outcomes
under ideal conditions for the ECB, lady beetle, and lacewing trophic
functional types ................................................................................................ 85
2.4. Mean peak mass of the herbivore and natural enemy trophic
functional types from each scenario ................................................................. 86
3.1. Key parameter values and growth and development outcomes
under ideal conditions for the ECB, lady beetle, and lacewing
trophic functional types .................................................................................. 129
3.2. Mean peak mass of the herbivore and natural enemy trophic
functional types from each scenario ............................................................... 130
A.1. Initial traits input file parameter descriptions ................................................ 141
A.2. Maize trait parameter values .......................................................................... 143
A.3. Aphid “super” individual trophic functional type individual trait
parameter values ........................................................................................... 144
A.4. European corn borer trophic functional type trait parameter values .............. 145
A.5. Lady beetle trophic functional type trait parameter values ............................ 146
A.6. Lacewing trophic functional type trait parameter values ............................... 147
A.7. Invertebrate efficiency of conversion of ingested food rates
when feeding for the different trophic functional type feeding
combinations .................................................................................................. 148
A.8. Food preference tier values for the different trophic functional
type feeding combinations .............................................................................. 149
B.1. Maize yield across scenarios .......................................................................... 154
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LIST OF TABLES (CONTINUED)
Table Page
C.1. Initial traits input file key ............................................................................... 160
C.2. Complete list of modifications made to TrophicLINK to enable
current project ................................................................................................. 165
C.3. Life history measurements of European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis,
reared at 25 ºC ................................................................................................ 167
C.4. Developmental measurements of European corn borer,
Ostrinia nubilalis, reared at 25 ºC ................................................................... 168
C.5. Life history measurements of fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda,
reared at 25 ºC ................................................................................................ 169
C.6. Developmental measurements of fall armyworm,
Spodoptera frugiperda, reared at 25 ºC .......................................................... 170
C.7. Life history measurements of four species of lady beetles
(Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) ............................................................................ 171
C.8. Late instar, pupal, and adult weight measurements of the cabbage
white butterfly, Pieris rapae (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) ..................................... 172
viii

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
2.1. Flow diagram of the model. .............................................................................. 87
2.2. Maize yield variability depending on simulation number. ............................... 88
2.3. Variability of a) aphid, b) European corn borer, c) lady beetle,
d) lacewing trophic functional type mass (g) over time with data
combined from 20 simulations of a 120-day season. ....................................... 89
2.4. Effects of varying daily pollen degradation rates on pollen amounts
over time ........................................................................................................... 90
2.5. Invertebrate trophic type mass across the season with foraging
radius values varied for a) lady beetle and b) lacewing and resulting
prey mass of c) aphids and d) European corn borer. ........................................ 91
2.6. Invertebrate trophic type mass across the season for each scenario
for a) aphid, b) European corn borer, c) lady beetle, and d) lacewing. ............ 92
2.7. The amount of maize plant consumed by the herbivore trophic
types, European corn borer (ECB) and aphid for different TrophicLINK
simulations. ....................................................................................................... 93
2.8. Amount of food consumed in each trophic interaction combination................ 94
2.9. Maize yield across scenarios............................................................................. 95
3.1. Herbivore trophic functional type mass across the season for each
scenario for a) aphid, b) European corn borer with high infestation, and
c) European corn borer with low infestation. ................................................. 131
3.2. Natural enemy trophic functional type mass across the season for
each scenario for a) lady beetle and b) lacewing. ........................................... 132
B.1. Amount of plant consumed by the aphid (left) and European corn
borer (right) trophic functional type. .............................................................. 155
B.2. Amount of pollen and aphid (top) and ECB (bottom) consumed by
the natural enemy trophic functional types. ................................................... 156
ix

LIST OF FIGURES (CONTINUED)
Figure Page
B.3. Amount of food consumption through cannibalism and intraguild
predation within the natural enemy trophic functional types. ........................ 157