| There has been much recent interest in spatial aspects of insect population processes, particularly in the effects of insect movement and dispersal on the epidemiology of arthropod vectored diseases and upon the spatial dispersion of damage caused by pest species. Computer simulations and Geographic Information Systems are powerful adjuncts for conducting this research. This research used automata simulations of epidemic progress to study the spatio-temporal disease transmission of spotted wilt disease in peanut, caused by thrips (Thysanoptera) vectored tomato spotted wilt Tospovirus (Bunyaviridae). These analyses were used both directly, as an aid to understanding the mechanics of insect vectored disease transmission in crops, and indirectly, to test hypotheses regarding the biology of the insect vectors themselves.; GIS technology is also ideally suited for the analysis and modeling of landscape level processes relevant to insect ecology. Since GIS representations of real or imaginary landscapes can be modified in numerous ways, model performance can be easily evaluated at various parameter values by manipulating the landscape maps themselves. Model output can be presented in its proper spatial context, and the relationships between spatial and temporal changes can be retained.; The southern pine beetle (SPB), Dendroctonus frontalis Zimm., is the most destructive forest insect in the Georgia coastal plain. I used Bayes' Theorem to develop a GIS model of SPB infestation risk, linking historical SPB infestation patterns and landscape heterogeneity. While initially conceived as a research tool intended to generate hypotheses for further modeling or field experiments, this research can lead to the development of a southern forest management tool.; To demonstrate this potential usefulness, I developed a GIS-based habitat suitability model for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, Picoides borealis, covering 74,000 hectares of Georgia/Alabama costal plain. This was used in conjunction with the southern pine beetle risk assessment model to investigate the degree of habit competition between SPB and red-cockaded woodpecker. |
