Migration Monitoring and Route Analysis of the Oriental Armyworm Mythimna separata (Walker) in Northeast China

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

 

This study analyzed M. separata’s migration pathways into and from northeastern China. The searchlight trap data at 3 sites for 4 years and trajectory method was mainly used. It is novel that relationship between M. separata’s ovarian development and flight age was applied to trajectory analysis. Especially, analysis of autumn return migration over northeastern China is limited so far. This study gains knowledge of this part.

 

The reviewer found some issues that should be resolved to improve the manuscript.

 

Particularly, English is poor and there are still careless mistakes here and there, which are disappointing very much. Apparently, the manuscript was not proofread fully before submitting. This is not ready for reviewing by professionals in the scientific community. A premature manuscript causes damages against their voluntary efforts, taking much more time for reviewing. Scientists are all busy and have no time for correcting your English.

 

Anyway, some corrections have been listed below this time. These are not all that need a language improvement. The authors are responsible for the total quality to proofread the whole text. Chinese scientists now publish a rapidly growing number of papers in the world. Please contribute to and lead the scientific community properly.

 

Lines 18-19: but the pathway of migration still lacks accurate analysis.

Accurate analysis here suggests trajectory analysis and meteorological analysis. However, there are sufficient studies on migrations of the first generation of M. separata into northeastern China (NE), but the number of studies on the autumn generation emigrating from NE is limiting. Please describe the situation accurately. In addition, climate change is referred to in introduction. Therefore, this sentence describes the situation too simplified and must be changed, for example, to like

è but knowledge of migration pathways over northestern China, especially in autumn, is still limited. Migration analysis in recent years under climate change condition is also of importance.

 

Lines 25-26: The manuscript says that “From late August to mid-late September, most of the moths southward migrate through the Heilongjiang-Jilin-Liaoning-Shandong.

However, percentage of autumn moths arriving at the three sites from northern area was low. According to the result on lines 305-320, 13 cases in autumn were southward, but 19 cases showed local trappings or movements in different directions. The percentage of the southward is 40.6 %, being very small.” Therefore, the phrase “most of the moths” is not accurate. Moreover, as no analytical result of migration arriving in Shandong province is presented, migration pathway arriving Shandong was not shown with the scope of this study, although previous studies found that pathway. Therefore, Shandong should be removed from the phrase “the Heilongjiang-Jilin-Liaoning-Shandong” in Abstract that is based on the currently presented results.

Figure 2, 3 and 4: Similar graphs are repeatedly indicated. Remove Figure 2b, d, f, Figure 3. Temporal resolution of 10 d is favored to indicate 3 occurrence peaks, the middle of which is not recognized in the monthly analysis; a peak in D-period is lost. Monthly average wind is also used in Fig. 5. Winds averaged limitedly in the B-, D- and F-periods are favored. The reason why temporal resolution was lowered to be monthly is unknown.

Lines 294-295: The paragraph presents analysis of wind direction in detail, but no explanation of selectivity of wind speed in migration events. Table 3 shows monthly mean wind speed and daily wind speed on migration peak day. But what day is the migration peak day for each month? Did you select a single highest day or days of clear peaks? The table caption says the peak day. In addition, it is said that “significant” selectivity and preference”, but there are no statistical results shown here.

L468-502: These monitoring and control strategy is already known and mostly implemented in China. The suggestion that is related to the study’s output is basically favored here.

The manuscript must be improved by considering these main points and following additional suggestions.

Line 63: “three generations” to “third generation”.

Line 95: “wind site structure” to “wind”

Line 118: “After the migration period ends, after 2 days,” to “When the migration period ends and additional 2 days pass, “

L124: An odd phrase of “wind condition environment.”

Line 125: “the daily latitude wind u and meridional wind v” to “daily zonal component u and meridional wind component v”

L137: “trajectory model” to “trajectory model [refs]”. Please add references that NOAA asks.

L144-145: to “the previous night’s endpoint was set to be the start point of the current trajectory. The calculation was repeated for maximum 3 nights.”

L165-171: Please list the weighting coefficients in each month. “landing” points should be “emigration” points?

L183-184: Remove “Use the square root…”

L202: May 10(SY, 2017 a): SY should be CC. What is “a”?

L215: “there were significant” to “There..” (Start with a capital letter)

L276: h Pa to hPa

L305-306: English is wrong.

Figure 6: Titles for the axes are necessary for the bar graph.

L344: “north toward” to “northward”, and southward as well.

Figure 7: The resolution of the figure is low, and the size is very small. The figure cannot be read.

L349: F-period <-> B-period

L364: “three flight migration activities” to “three flight activities”

L374: breeding back to obstructed? Not effectively back to north China? English is poor.

L381: What does this “which” points to?  The number of migration peak? English is poor.

L382: The overwintering northern boundary is located…[ref].

L383: “insect source overwintered in” : overwintered must be removed.

L424-431: This part is duplicated and should be removed. Low quality.

L447: “thousands of kilometers”: This phrase implies M. separata flies for some 1,000 km, which is longer than the maximum estimated total distance over China (=1,000 km) (Li et al. 1964; Chen et al. 1989). It is “hundreds of kilometers” or “up to a thousand of kilometers.”

L447: “the second” to “the first”

L448: the Yellow and Huaihe Rivers: Non-Chinese readers may not know exactly where they are. The rivers are better shown in Fig. 1.

L450-457: This part is difficult to understand. Several sentences are connected by commas. It is better to be separated.

A reference is necessary to the 1- to 2-day delay.

Readers do not know the 2014 case, therefore short description of it is necessary with a reference.

I do not know what the part of from L454 to L457 tries to say.

L458-459: “migrated short distances” to “migrated for short distances”

L461: “high-altitude measuring lights” is not common and changed to “searchlight traps”

L471: the central and southern peninsula: where is it? Do you mean Leizhou Peninsula?

 

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

The final analysis data for wind conditions are critical in this analysis, but the quality is low as low resolution. This can be improved by using reanalysis data from European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (0.25 *0.25)

 

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

The article “Migration monitoring and pathway analysis of the oriental armyworm Mythimna separata (Walker) in northeast China” monitored the migration activities of the armyworm in northeast China by searchlight traps. I have some suggestions to improve it.

Abstract: ok.

Introduction:

Lines 54-55: There are some outdated data in some specific points in the introduction, like in the lines: 54 and 55. It is necessary to exclude them and/or to add more updated information. It is necessary to double check all outdated for the full introduction.

Lines 51-75: The second paragraph is too long.

Lines 63-64: In early autumn (August–September) of which year?

Material and Methods:

Lines 149-175: This paragraph is too long

In the data analysis the authors used analysis of variance for the monthly captured M. separata moths at different sites and months and for captured M. separata moths at the same site in different months. However, I would recommend to the authors justify the use of a normal distribution or as alternative it is necessary to use of Generalized linear mixed models, because the response variable is not normally distributed. And there are some random effects. Thus, great part of inference presented in the current paper could be compromised.

Discussion

Lines 328 – 434: The paragraph is too long; it is necessary to break it into 3 or 4 paragraphs.

Author Response

Please see the attachment

Author Response File: Author Response.docx