17 research outputs found
Impact of the invasive argentine ant in citrus agroecosystems: effects on the diversity and frequency of native ant species foraging on tree canopy
The invasion of the Argentine ant, Linepithema humile (Mayr) (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) can
alter the entire ecosystem with serious impacts on the native community structure (e.g., ant diversity)
and processes (e.g., trophic interactions) leading to biodiversity loss and pest outbreaks. Most studies
addressing these impacts have been conducted in natural or semi-natural areas, few are those
conducted in agricultural ecosystems, such as citrus orchards. These are dominant agricultural
ecosystems in Mediterranean landscapes. Furthermore, most studies have been conducted in a
short span, not evidencing seasonal fluctuations. In this work, we assessed the ecological impact
of the Argentine ant on the native ant communities in citrus orchards, in the region of Algarve,
southern Portugal. By using principal response curve, we compared seasonal variation on ant
assemblages in invaded and uninvaded citrus orchards foraging on tree canopy from a two-year
sampling. The Argentine ant had a marked negative impact on the native ant community foraging
on citrus canopy. In the uninvaded orchards, the native ant community had a rich assemblage
composed of 16 ant species, in its majority (72%) controlled by the dominant species Lasius grandis
Forel, Tapinoma nigerrimum (Nylander) and/or Pheidole pallidula (Nylander). In the invaded orchards,
the native ant community was poorer and highly modified, mostly dominated by the Argentine
ant (80%). Apparently, the only native ant species not a ected by the presence of the Argentine ant
was Plagiolepis pygmaea (Latreille). A significant negative e ect was found between the proportion
of infested trees by L. humile and the number of native ant species per orchard. Di erences in the
native ant community in the invaded and uninvaded orchards persisted over seasons and years.
However, negative impacts were higher in the spring and summer, and less pronounced in the
autumn. We discuss implications for citrus pest managementinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Formigas (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) associadas a pomares de citrinos na região do Algarve
Mestrado em Engenharia Agronómica - Instituto Superior de AgronomiaAnts (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) may play an important economic role in citrus
orchards, either by causing damage in trees or induce pest’s outbreaks, due to interactions
with injurious honeydew-producing insects, or even by being potential predators of other
arthropods.
In order to deepen knowledge about the ant species associated to citrus orchards, in
the southern region of Portugal, Algarve, samples were collected in 49 citrus orchards, along
the subregions of Litoral, Barrocal and Serra, between July and August 2007.
In all, 2812 ants were identified comprising 12 different genera and 26 species. The
most common species were Linepithema humile (Mayr), Plagiolepis pygmaea Latreille and
Pheidole pallidula (Nylander).
Nineteen species are reported for the first time in citrus, in Portugal, and ten are first
records, in citrus, in the world.
The higher number of species was found in the Serra subregion, with 19 species.
Regarding economic importance, special attention must be paid to the phytophagous
ants of Tapinoma genus, that can originate direct damage, and the argentine ant, L. humile,
which interferes with the activity of natural enemies, disrupting biological control of pests
Ants as bioindicators of riparian ecological health in catalonian rivers
In this study, we assess the potential of ants as bioindicators of riparian ecological health
in two river types (upland and lowland type) located in the Catalonian region. We proposed to
understand to what extent do metrics based on ant responses provide useful information that cannot
be presented by traditional biophysical assessments while attempting an approach to creating an
ant-based multimetric index (ant-based MMI) of the riparian ecological health. A total of 22 ant
species were identified, and 42 metrics related to ant foraging activity, species richness, and functional
traits were evaluated as potential core metrics of the index. Riparian features and proximal land
use land cover (LULC) were used to distinguish disturbed from less disturbed sites. We found that
ant communities strongly responded to human disturbance. When compared with an exclusively
physical-based index for the assessment of the riparian health, the ant-based MMI was more sensitive
to human disturbance, by also reacting to the effects of the surrounding LULC pressure. This study
provides a preliminary approach for an ant-based assessment tool to evaluate the health of riparian
corridors although additional research is required to include other river types and a wider stressor
gradient before a wider applicationinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Soil Arthropods in the Douro Demarcated Region Vineyards : General Characteristics and Ecosystem Services Provided
Viticulture is one of the oldest and most profitable forms of agriculture; it is also one of the most intensive farming systems. As intensive cultivation threatens the environment, there is increasing interest in the concept of sustainability within the wine industry, as well as new business opportunities, as customers begin to pay more attention to environmental and sustainability issues. Recognizing the key role of soil quality in environmentally and economically sustainable viticulture makes it essential to understand better soil arthropod communities, given their crucial functions in maintaining soil quality and health. The 'Douro Demarcated Region' (DDR) in northern Portugal offers good potential, in regards to biodiversity, due to its significant areas of non-crop habitats. This work aims to compile information on soil arthropod communities (both soil surface and soil-living) collected in the DDR vineyard agroecosystems. A description of the ecosystem services provided by them, as a basis for the development and implementation of sustainable viticulture systems, is also an objective of this work. An important set of soil arthropods necessary for the delivery of vital ecosystem services for viticulture, with particular reference to supporting and regulating services, occurred in this ecosystem. Eight classes were chiefly represented in a sample of about 167,000 arthropod specimens: Arachnida, Chilopoda, Diplopoda, Entognatha, Insecta, Malacostraca, Pauropoda, and Symphyla. The most representative were Entognatha and Insecta in soil-surface arthropods, and Arachnida and Entognatha in soil-living arthropods. The presence of recognized groups as bioindicators in agroecosystems, such as soil quality indicators, is also revealed. This knowledge is expected to contribute to a more efficient and sustainable management of the viticultural ecosystem.Peer reviewe
Riparian Ecological Infrastructures: Potential for Biodiversity-Related Ecosystem Services in Mediterranean Human-Dominated Landscapes
Riparian Ecological Infrastructures are networks of natural and semi-natural riparian
areas located in human-dominated landscapes, crucial in supporting processes that directly or
indirectly benefit humans or enhance social welfare. In this study, we developed a novel multimetric
index, termed Habitat Ecological Infrastructure’s Diversity Index (HEIDI), to quantify the potential of
Riparian Ecological Infrastructures in supporting biodiversity, and related ecosystem services, in three
managed landscapes: Intensive Agriculture, Extensive Agriculture, and Forest Production. Metrics
describing the structure, composition, and management of riparian vegetation and associated habitats
were used to derive the potential of Riparian Ecological Infrastructures in supporting three distinct
biological dispersal groups: short-range dispersers (ants), medium-range dispersers (pollinators),
and long-range dispersers (birds, bats, and non-flying small mammals). The composition of floristic
resources, assessed by identifying trees and shrubs at the species and genus level, and herbaceous
plants at the family level, was used as a proxy to evaluate the potential of Riparian Ecological
Infrastructures in promoting seed dispersal and pollination ecosystem services provided by the three
biological communities. Our research evidenced that Riparian Ecological Infrastructures located
in the Forest Production and Intensive Agriculture landscapes exhibited the highest and lowest
potential for biodiversity-related ecosystem services, respectively. The Forest Production landscape
revealed higher suitability of forage resources for short- and medium-range dispersers and a higher
landscape coverage by Riparian Ecological Infrastructures, resulting in more potential to create
ecological corridors and to provide ecosystem services. The Riparian Ecological Infrastructures
located in the Extensive Agriculture landscape seemed to be particularly relevant for supporting
long-ranges dispersers, despite providing less habitat for the biological communities. Land-use
systems in the proximity of Riparian Ecological Infrastructures should be sustainably managed
to promote riparian vegetation composition and structural quality, as well as the riparian width,
safeguarding biodiversity, and the sustainable provision of biodiversity-related ecosystem servicesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
The location and vegetation physiognomy of ecological infrastructures determine bat activity in Mediterranean floodplain landscapes
Ecological infrastructures (EI), defined as natural or semi-natural structural elements, are important to support biodiversity and could play a crucial role in counteracting the well-known impacts of intensive agriculture. Yet, the importance of EI remains largely unexplored in Mediterranean agricultural landscapes and for species providing essential ecosystem services such as bats. Here, we evaluated the role of different EI types – in terms of location (riparian vs terrestrial) and vegetation physiognomy (woody vs non-woody) – in shaping bat guild activity in crop fields located in the floodplains of the Iberian Peninsula. We recorded 60,732 bat sequences in 96 crop fields and characterised 106 EI patches via an adaptation of the Biodiversity Potential Index (BPI). We found that the activity of mid-range echolocators (MRE) and long-range echolocators (LRE) was twofold higher when the nearest EI patch was riparian (i.e., contiguous to a watercourse) than when it was terrestrial. When assessing changes in bat activity in crop fields in relation to a gradient distance from EI types, our results revealed both distinct and similar effects of the location and vegetation physiognomy of the EI on bat guilds. For instance, while only the LRE guild positively responded to the proximity of woody EI, both MRE and LRE showed a marked increase of activity when increasing distances to non-woody EI, thus suggesting low bat activity levels near these features. Our habitat quality assessment also revealed that woody EI and riparian EI had higher biodiversity potential and related habitat quality, thus contributing to our understanding of bat responses to EI type in crop fields. As riparian areas are rarely targeted in biodiversity-friendly measures in farmland, we strongly recommend including riparian EI (especially the woody type) in conservation planning as they are crucial for both biodiversity conservation and ecosystem functioning
Ants as Bioindicators of Riparian Ecological Health in Catalonian Rivers
In this study, we assess the potential of ants as bioindicators of riparian ecological health in two river types (upland and lowland type) located in the Catalonian region. We proposed to understand to what extent do metrics based on ant responses provide useful information that cannot be presented by traditional biophysical assessments while attempting an approach to creating an ant-based multimetric index (ant-based MMI) of the riparian ecological health. A total of 22 ant species were identified, and 42 metrics related to ant foraging activity, species richness, and functional traits were evaluated as potential core metrics of the index. Riparian features and proximal land use land cover (LULC) were used to distinguish disturbed from less disturbed sites. We found that ant communities strongly responded to human disturbance. When compared with an exclusively physical-based index for the assessment of the riparian health, the ant-based MMI was more sensitive to human disturbance, by also reacting to the effects of the surrounding LULC pressure. This study provides a preliminary approach for an ant-based assessment tool to evaluate the health of riparian corridors although additional research is required to include other river types and a wider stressor gradient before a wider application
A roundtable on Zina Gimpelevich’s The Portrayal of Jews in Modern Biełarusian Literature
Can the habitat Ecological Infrastructure’s Diversity Index predict ant and bat biodiversity in Mediterranean agricultural floodplains? A multi-taxon approach using hierarchical modelling
Ecological Infrastructures (EIs) form a network of natural and semi-natural areas crucial to support biodiversity in human-altered landscapes. Several indices have been proposed to assess the ecological quality of EIs, but these have been seldom tested using animal biodiversity as a response variable. The Habitat Ecological Infrastructure's Diversity Index (HEIDI) was recently developed to assess the potential of EIs in supporting biological communities with distinct dispersal abilities. In this study, we evaluated the strength of the HEIDI as a proxy of ant (short-range dispersers) and bat (long-range dispersers) activity in two Mediterranean agricultural areas. For this, we applied a Hierarchical Modelling of Species Communities (HMSC) approach and modelled the multispecific response of ant and bat communities to the HEIDI values and to the scores of the individual categories that compose it. We additionally adopted a functional methodological approach by selecting as response variables the activity of functional guilds, namely animal community regulators, decomposers, and seed dispersers for the ant community, and the activity of echolocation guilds, such as short-range (BAT_SRE), mid-range (BAT_MRE), and long-range echolocators (BAT_LRE) for the bat community. Besides the HEIDI, we also used physiognomic and structural EI attributes, as well as the percentage of the agricultural matrix in the ecological area of influence as covariates in the HMSC approach. Our results showed that the HEIDI formula was particularly accurate in predicting bat activity (posterior mean estimates, βBAT_SRE = 2.80, βBAT_MRE = 0.61, βBAT_LRE = 2.76), but no significant relation was found between HEIDI values and ant activity. In the context of Mediterranean floodplain management, we recommend that practitioners may use the individual HEIDI categorical scores to identify key habitat features that promote ant and bat activity, such as vegetation and aquatic habitats, whilst final HEIDI values may be broadly used to estimate global bat activity
Soil Arthropods in the Douro Demarcated Region Vineyards: General Characteristics and Ecosystem Services Provided
Viticulture is one of the oldest and most profitable forms of agriculture; it is also one of the most intensive farming systems. As intensive cultivation threatens the environment, there is increasing interest in the concept of sustainability within the wine industry, as well as new business opportunities, as customers begin to pay more attention to environmental and sustainability issues. Recognizing the key role of soil quality in environmentally and economically sustainable viticulture makes it essential to understand better soil arthropod communities, given their crucial functions in maintaining soil quality and health. The ‘Douro Demarcated Region’ (DDR) in northern Portugal offers good potential, in regards to biodiversity, due to its significant areas of non-crop habitats. This work aims to compile information on soil arthropod communities (both soil surface and soil-living) collected in the DDR vineyard agroecosystems. A description of the ecosystem services provided by them, as a basis for the development and implementation of sustainable viticulture systems, is also an objective of this work. An important set of soil arthropods necessary for the delivery of vital ecosystem services for viticulture, with particular reference to supporting and regulating services, occurred in this ecosystem. Eight classes were chiefly represented in a sample of about 167,000 arthropod specimens: Arachnida, Chilopoda, Diplopoda, Entognatha, Insecta, Malacostraca, Pauropoda, and Symphyla. The most representative were Entognatha and Insecta in soil-surface arthropods, and Arachnida and Entognatha in soil-living arthropods. The presence of recognized groups as bioindicators in agroecosystems, such as soil quality indicators, is also revealed. This knowledge is expected to contribute to a more efficient and sustainable management of the viticultural ecosystem