Mortality also did not significantly correlate with oxygen levels. Eighty-two percent of observed variation in mortality was explained. The model does not address all factors that could govern the success of flooding as a control strategy. For example, in cane fields larvae may move to avoid moisture, but such behavior was precluded in the laboratory. It may be difficult to entirely flood all areas inhabited by larvae.
Developmental state can also have a significant effect.
Larval size or age could have a dramatic effect on the success of flooding. In short, the success of flooding as an emergency control tactic for Diaprepes abbreviatus in sugarcane needs to be evaluated under field conditions. Comparison of observed mortalities with mortalities calculated from the arcsin-transformed model. The two possibilities are difficult to differentiate, since temperature could interact with either. If increased temperature results in increased metabolic rate, lower oxygen content may very well cause suffocation.