Ground-dwelling arthropods as biodiversity indicators in maize agroecosystems of Northern Italy
Reliable monitoring of arthropod diversity in a given agroecosystem is essential for the conservation of the related ecosystem services, such as biological control. The often daunting complexity of arthropod collection and identification, however, highlights the need for surrogate taxa that can be e...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Ecological Indicators |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X23004946 |
| _version_ | 1827940283070808064 |
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| author | Francesco Lami Giovanni Burgio Serena Magagnoli Daniele Sommaggio Roland Horváth Dávid D. Nagy Antonio Masetti |
| author_facet | Francesco Lami Giovanni Burgio Serena Magagnoli Daniele Sommaggio Roland Horváth Dávid D. Nagy Antonio Masetti |
| author_sort | Francesco Lami |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Reliable monitoring of arthropod diversity in a given agroecosystem is essential for the conservation of the related ecosystem services, such as biological control. The often daunting complexity of arthropod collection and identification, however, highlights the need for surrogate taxa that can be easily sampled and be representative of a number of other taxa in term of diversity, general community features and specific composition.In this study, we used pitfall traps to sample three ground-dwelling arthropod taxa important as biocontrol agents (ground beetles, rove beetles and spiders) in 9 conventionally managed maize agroecosystems of Northern Italy over the course of two years, with the goal of characterizing their assemblages and evaluating their reciprocal potential as indicators of activity density, species richness, community turnover and species co-occurrence.Although dominated by few generalist species, sampled arthropod communities were relatively species-rich, and included the first Italian record of the spider Zelotes metellus (Roewer) (Araneae: Gnaphosidae). Ground beetles as a group were confirmed as promising indicators for the species richness and community composition turnover of rove beetles and spiders. Additionally, several abundant arthropod species acted as indicators of the species richness of their respective groups, and the ground beetle Pterostichus macer (Marsham) also worked as an indicator of overall rove beetle activity density. While the co-occurrence of individual arthropod species was limited for the studied taxa, a few species such as the ground beetle Parophonus maculicornis (Duftschmid) did show promise as species-specific bioindicators. Our results could be useful in improving the monitoring and management of these important natural enemies in maize-growing regions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T09:06:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7969eceb5d6741eeaf6beac11c4dd30c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1470-160X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T09:06:55Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecological Indicators |
| spelling | doaj.art-7969eceb5d6741eeaf6beac11c4dd30c2023-05-28T04:08:45ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2023-08-01152110352Ground-dwelling arthropods as biodiversity indicators in maize agroecosystems of Northern ItalyFrancesco Lami0Giovanni Burgio1Serena Magagnoli2Daniele Sommaggio3Roland Horváth4Dávid D. Nagy5Antonio Masetti6DISTAL-Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy; Corresponding author.DISTAL-Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, ItalyDISTAL-Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, ItalyDISTAL-Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, ItalyDepartment of Ecology, University of Debrecen, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary; ELKH-DE Anthropocene Ecology Research Group, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, HungaryMTA-DE Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Research Group, Debrecen, HungaryDISTAL-Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, ItalyReliable monitoring of arthropod diversity in a given agroecosystem is essential for the conservation of the related ecosystem services, such as biological control. The often daunting complexity of arthropod collection and identification, however, highlights the need for surrogate taxa that can be easily sampled and be representative of a number of other taxa in term of diversity, general community features and specific composition.In this study, we used pitfall traps to sample three ground-dwelling arthropod taxa important as biocontrol agents (ground beetles, rove beetles and spiders) in 9 conventionally managed maize agroecosystems of Northern Italy over the course of two years, with the goal of characterizing their assemblages and evaluating their reciprocal potential as indicators of activity density, species richness, community turnover and species co-occurrence.Although dominated by few generalist species, sampled arthropod communities were relatively species-rich, and included the first Italian record of the spider Zelotes metellus (Roewer) (Araneae: Gnaphosidae). Ground beetles as a group were confirmed as promising indicators for the species richness and community composition turnover of rove beetles and spiders. Additionally, several abundant arthropod species acted as indicators of the species richness of their respective groups, and the ground beetle Pterostichus macer (Marsham) also worked as an indicator of overall rove beetle activity density. While the co-occurrence of individual arthropod species was limited for the studied taxa, a few species such as the ground beetle Parophonus maculicornis (Duftschmid) did show promise as species-specific bioindicators. Our results could be useful in improving the monitoring and management of these important natural enemies in maize-growing regions.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X23004946CarabidaeStaphylinidaeAraneaeSurrogate taxaSpecies turnoverSpecies co-occurrence |
| spellingShingle | Francesco Lami Giovanni Burgio Serena Magagnoli Daniele Sommaggio Roland Horváth Dávid D. Nagy Antonio Masetti Ground-dwelling arthropods as biodiversity indicators in maize agroecosystems of Northern Italy Ecological Indicators Carabidae Staphylinidae Araneae Surrogate taxa Species turnover Species co-occurrence |
| title | Ground-dwelling arthropods as biodiversity indicators in maize agroecosystems of Northern Italy |
| title_full | Ground-dwelling arthropods as biodiversity indicators in maize agroecosystems of Northern Italy |
| title_fullStr | Ground-dwelling arthropods as biodiversity indicators in maize agroecosystems of Northern Italy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ground-dwelling arthropods as biodiversity indicators in maize agroecosystems of Northern Italy |
| title_short | Ground-dwelling arthropods as biodiversity indicators in maize agroecosystems of Northern Italy |
| title_sort | ground dwelling arthropods as biodiversity indicators in maize agroecosystems of northern italy |
| topic | Carabidae Staphylinidae Araneae Surrogate taxa Species turnover Species co-occurrence |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X23004946 |
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