Dispersal patterns of insects after a major disturbance event is applied to a disturbance gradient that conformed to the intermediate disturbance hypothesis in an urban ecosystem

Insects have been losing their habitats with the rapid expansion of many urban cities such as Toronto. This study aims at understanding the dispersal patterns insects take once they are placed under a heavy amount of disturbance. The use of power line corridors allows us to have a disturbance gradient within an urban city that allows us to observe the normal distribution of insects across the gradient and compare it to how their distribution patterns change once a disturbance has been applied. It is important in understanding insect dispersal patterns, because only then can we accurately create conservation strategies, and plan urban development to minimize the amount of damage done to insect populations. In this study, sweep nets, pan traps, and point counts were used to sample five areas of a disturbance gradient along a power line corridor. The experiment was conducted over three weeks and it was found that the gradient studied followed a quadratic distribution pattern predicted by the intermediate disturbance hypothesis, although with the application of disturbance, the insects diapered into an exponential type pattern in which the greatest abundance of insects were found in the area of least disturbance. The findings of this study have important implications in understanding the effects of disturbance on insects in urban ecosystems and are a step in the direction of forming a unified theory of insect/disturbance dynamics.