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Using Blow Flies (Family: Calliphoridae) As a Model System to Study Coexistence Mechanisms at Multiple Scales

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Using Blow Flies (Family: Calliphoridae) As a Model System to Study Coexistence Mechanisms at Multiple Scales University of Windsor Scholarship at UWindsor Electronic Theses and Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, and Major Papers 2014 Spatial and Temporal Variability in the Carrion Insect Community: Using Blow Flies (Family: Calliphoridae) as a Model System to Study Coexistence Mechanisms at Multiple Scales Jennifer Yvonne Rosati University of Windsor Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd Recommended Citation Rosati, Jennifer Yvonne, "Spatial and Temporal Variability in the Carrion Insect Community: Using Blow Flies (Family: Calliphoridae) as a Model System to Study Coexistence Mechanisms at Multiple Scales" (2014). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 5193. https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/5193 This online database contains the full-text of PhD dissertations and Masters’ theses of University of Windsor students from 1954 forward. These documents are made available for personal study and research purposes only, in accordance with the Canadian Copyright Act and the Creative Commons license—CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivative Works). Under this license, works must always be attributed to the copyright holder (original author), cannot be used for any commercial purposes, and may not be altered. Any other use would require the permission of the copyright holder. Students may inquire about withdrawing their dissertation and/or thesis from this database. For additional inquiries, please contact the repository administrator via email ([email protected]) or by telephone at 519-253-3000ext. 3208. Spatial and Temporal Variability in the Carrion Insect Community: Using Blow Flies (Family: Calliphoridae) as a Model System to Study Coexistence Mechanisms at Multiple Scales by Jennifer Y. Rosati A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies through Biological Sciences in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Windsor Windsor, Ontario, Canada 2014 © 2014 Jennifer Y Rosati Spatial and Temporal Variability in the Carrion Insect Community: Using Blow Flies (Family: Calliphoridae) as a Model System to Study Coexistence Mechanisms at Multiple Scales By Jennifer Y. Rosati APPROVED BY: __________________________________________________ Terry Wheeler, External Examiner McGill University __________________________________________________ A. Fisk Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences __________________________________________________ T. Pitcher Department of Biological Sciences __________________________________________________ D. Higgs Department of Biological Sciences __________________________________________________ G. Otis University of Guelph __________________________________________________ S. VanLaerhoven, Advisor Department of Biological Sciences December 18, 2013 DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY I hereby certify that I am the sole author of this dissertation and that no part of this dissertation has been published or submitted for publication. I certify that, to the best of my knowledge, my dissertation does not infringe upon anyone’s copyright nor violate any proprietary rights and that any ideas, techniques, quotations, or any other material from the work of other people included in my dissertation, published or otherwise, are fully acknowledged in accordance with the standard referencing practices. Furthermore, to the extent that I have included copyrighted material that surpasses the bounds of fair dealing within the meaning of the Canada Copyright Act, I certify that I have obtained a written permission from the copyright owner(s) to include such material(s) in my dissertation and have included copies of such copyright clearances to my appendix. I declare that this is a true copy of my dissertation, including any final revisions, as approved by my dissertation committee and the Graduate Studies office, and that this dissertation has not been submitted for a higher degree to any other University or Institution. iii ABSTRACT Resource partitioning can lead to species coexistence. In a field study, temporal and spatial partitioning were examined by testing the effects of season and habitat on the structure of the blow fly community on domestic pig carcasses, Sus scrofa domesticus in southwestern Ontario, Canada. Blow fly communities did not differ between field and forest habitats, however there were seasonal differences. Fall was characterized by having more species and higher levels of species evenness, diversity, and niche overlap than spring and summer. On a finer scale, effects of arrival order were examined in laboratory experiments with three blow fly species: Phormia regina, Lucilia sericata, and the introduced species Chrysomya rufifacies. Arrival order of adults was varied in combinations of two species: “L. sericata and P. regina” and “L. sericata and C. rufifacies”. Both positive and negative priority effects were recorded, with species having altered colonization patterns temporally and spatially in response to presence of another species, even at low density (i.e. minimal competition). Blow flies sometimes selected oviposition sites other than the natural orifices predicted by previous studies, such as the neck and cheek regions or between legs. Delays in colonization, particularly for P. regina and C. rufifacies, occurred in response to the absence of heterospecifics. Additional experiments with larvae determined that C. rufifacies and P. regina benefitted from the presence of L. sericata due to predation (for C. rufifacies) or the presence of compound(s) that may aid in the digestion of the resource and increase nutrient availability (for P. regina). In summary, adult and larval experiments indicate that species interactions and differences in arrival order can affect colonization times, the distribution of eggs over a iv resource, larval interactions and offspring fitness. On a larger scale, temporal partitioning (i.e. seasonal effects) can promote coexistence in blow flies, however, spatial partitioning (i.e. habitat effects) was not evident. This study demonstrates the importance of ADD standardization, emphasizes the need to understand species interactions between native and non-native species, and highlights the need for more ecological studies regarding habitat and seasonal differences within the carrion community. v DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to the many family members and significant people in my life that supported me throughout my graduate years. My parents, for giving me the love and support that only parents can give. I would not be where I am today without them and I am thankful they were given the chance to be my parents. To my brother, Mark, for always looking out for me and for being the best big brother I could have asked for. Thank you to all of my birth siblings (Tina, Tom, Tracy, Kara and Lauren), especially my research assistant Mandy, for giving me support and words of encouragement when I needed it the most. Each of you came into my life at different points during my Ph.D. and gave me the motivation to keep moving forward, always knowing that each of you would be there behind me. Thank you to my Robinson, for coming into my life at a point where I didn’t think I needed help, not realizing it was when I needed it the most. Thank you for simply being there, accepting me and my work wholeheartedly, and for sharing your Al and all the joy she brings to your life. Finally, I dedicate this work to my daughter, Alexandra. For her excitement about entomology, her willingness to get dirty and constant understanding of the time required for graduate work. Her childhood years were spent in the lab with flies and maggots, which was anything but typical, but she took it in stride and worked right along with me in every aspect of this project. Most importantly, I thank her for lending me her hands when mine weren’t enough. This work is the result of many friends and family that have played a role in helping me get to where I needed to go. I will be eternally grateful. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge all of my committee members (my supervisor, Dr. Sherah VanLaerhoven, Dr. Aaron Fisk, Dr. Trevor Pitcher, Dr. Dennis Higgs and Dr. Gard Otis) for their support, patience and guidance throughout this project. I would additionally like to thank Gard for his time, words of advice, assistance, mentorship and friendship, which helped in keeping me focused on achieving this goal. Thank you to Dr. Lisa Porter and Nancy Barkley for their support and encouragement. I would also like to thank the many people that donated property (the Rizzo family, Pollard family, Fackrell family, DiGiovanni Construction Co., Phil Roberts and the Windsor Airport, Ojibway Park Provincial Nature Reserve and the Essex Regional Conservation Authority) or materials (Romano’s Specialty Meats & Deli and Heinz). A special thank you to my pig supplier Robert Rivest Farms for supplying and donating pigs used in this study. A sincere thank-you to Dr. Jan Ciborowski for lending his expertise in the areas of statistics and experimental design and to Dan Edelstein from the Academic Data Centre for his assistance in the statistical analyses of this work. Thank you to the many lab members and work study students that assisted me over the years. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY ................................................................................iii ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................
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