By Angus R. Westgarth-Smith

• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: North Atlantic; North Atlantic oscillation
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.426.7435; http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/bitstream/2438/6594/1/FullTextThesis.pdf

University. This work was done independently and has not been submitted for any other degree. Evidence is accumulating that climate change is having a significant effect on a wide range of organisms spanning the full range of biodiversity found on this planet. This study investigates the ecological role of climate change, the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and habitat change on British insect populations. Despite the NAO having a considerable effect on British weather, the role of the NAO on British insects has not previously been studied in great detail. The World‟s two best entomological time series datasets were used – the United Kingdom Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS) and the Rothamsted Insect Survey of aphids – both surveys with very large sample sizes and high quality data. Summary of main findings: 1. Warm weather associated with a positive NAO index caused the spring migration of the green spruce aphid (Elatobium abietinum), a pest species of