Patterns of praying mantid population density following cyclone disturbance in far north Queensland, Australia
J. O’Hanlon A C and G. I. Holwell A BA Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia.
B School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, 1142, Auckland, New Zealand.
C Corresponding author. Email: johanlon@bio.mq.edu.au
Australian Journal of Zoology 57(2) 85-88 https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO09056
Submitted: 7 May 2009 Accepted: 25 May 2009 Published: 10 July 2009
Abstract
In 2006, Cyclone Larry passed over a large area of far north Queensland, Australia. Before the cyclone, data had been collected on the population density of two species of praying mantids. Follow-up surveys found that one species, Ciulfina klassi (Mantodea: Liturgusidae), decreased in density following Cyclone Larry whereas the congeneric C. rentzi appeared resilient to cyclone disturbance. The differing responses of these two species are most likely attributable to their respective habitats being affected differently by cyclone disturbance. Whereas dense rainforest may have buffered C. rentzi from the damaging effects of cyclones, C. klassi may have been more vulnerable as it inhabits more sparsely vegetated woodlands.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Marian O’Hanlon, Natalie Alves, Aaron Harmer and Dinesh Rao for their assistance with the field work for this project. Thanks to Mariella Herberstein and several anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments. Funding was provided by Macquarie University and the Australian Research Council.
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