Population dynamics of maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais, and their parasitoids Anisopteromalus calandrae were examined while considering the spatio-temporal interactions using population modelling as a tool. The modelling of two species host-parasitoid systems identified the some factors concerning the long-term dynamics of interacting populations. In the single host system, the total density of S. zeamais increased exponentially and reached a saturated, asymptotic level with time. This stabilization in the density could be explained by the spatio-temporal dynamics among the patches. S. zeamais disperses continuously from patches of high density to those of low density. This density-dependent dispersal could be one of the mechanisms for stabilizing the S. zeamais population density. In the S. zeamais-A. calandrae system, both populations showed long-term coexistence. The long term coexistence could be attributed to spatio-temporal interactions of S. zeamais and A. calandrae resulted from dispersal of host and a non-random searching behavior of the parasitoid. Because such spatio-temporal variation in population dynamics, the overall host-parasitoid system may have been in a stable state, although the local population system in each patch was unstable.

• Youngwoo Nam(Division of Forest Disease and Insect Pests, Korea Forest Research Institute)
• Key-Il Shin(Department of Statistics, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies)
• Kijong Cho(Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University)
• Mun Il Ryoo(Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University)