Abstract
Abstract
Context
Agricultural intensification is contributing to a global species decline. Underlying mechanisms include toxic effects of pesticides on non-target organisms and reductions in habitat and food availability. However, the effects of agricultural intensification on body condition, particularly of ecosystem service-providing arthropods, are poorly understood.
Objectives
Here, we investigated whether variations in the body condition of common lady beetle species (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) can be explained by the composition and configuration of the surrounding landscape. Assuming strong seasonal variation in food availability in intensively farmed regions, we included the entire period of lady beetle activity in our study.
Methods
Lady beetles were collected from April to September 2011 in 30 landscapes in southern Wisconsin, USA. We examined how body size, body density, and lipid content of the beetles responded to the percentage of intensive cropland, habitat diversity, and edge density in the surrounding landscape.
Results
The strongest predictor of body condition was the percentage of intensive cropland. For every 10% increase in cropland, body density decreased by about 3.9% and lipid content by 6.4%. Landscape diversity and edge density correlated with body condition of individual species.
Conclusions
In agriculturally intensified landscapes, lady beetles with reduced body condition may produce fewer offspring, have lower survival rates, and exert less effective pest control. Thus, our results suggest a mechanistic link between landscape patterns and observed declines in lady beetle populations. Our results also show that the expansion of monocultures affects even common cropland-associated species such as Harmonia axyridis, suggesting a long-term decline in biocontrol services in simplified agricultural landscapes.
Funder
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Subject
Nature and Landscape Conservation,Ecology,Geography, Planning and Development
Reference99 articles.
1. Alaux C, Allier F, Decourtye A et al (2017) A ‘Landscape physiology’ approach for assessing bee health highlights the benefits of floral landscape enrichment and semi-natural habitats. Sci Rep. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep40568
2. Anderson JME (1981) Seasonal field analyses of fat content, live weight, dry weight and water content of the aphidophagous Scymnodes Lividigaster (Mulsant) and mycophagous Leptothea Galbula (Mulsant) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). Aust J Zool 29:679–689
3. Arrese EL, Soulages JL (2009) Insect fat body: energy, metabolism, and regulation. Annu Rev Entomol 55:207–225
4. Bahlai CA, Colunga-Garcia M, Gage SH, Landis DA (2015) The role of exotic ladybeetles in the decline of native ladybeetle populations: evidence from long-term monitoring. Biol Invasions 17:1005–1024
5. Berkvens N, Bonte J, Berkvens D et al (2008) Influence of diet and photoperiod on development and reproduction of European populations of Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). Biol Control Invasion Ladybird Harmon Axyridis Model Species 53:211–221
Cited by
1 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献