Abstract
Numerous recent studies report an alarming decrease in diversity, biomass, or abundance of arthropods in various habitats. Given that they are important food for other organisms, the ecological consequences of such a decline could be severe. We used data from the Hungarian Forestry Light Trap Network to examine whether the spring caterpillar biomass showed any long term (23–58 years) declining trend in oak-dominated forests. Light trap data for 43 selected macrolepidopteran species (suitable bird food in the larval stage) from six different locations were used for the estimation of the total available caterpillar biomass. Time series analyses showed strong year-to-year fluctuations, and over all locations and time windows there was an increasing rather than decreasing trend. The increase found at some locations may suggest increasing herbivore pressure and negative impacts on forest health. We conclude that foliage-feeding macrolepidopteran species with spring-developing larvae did not show a drastic decrease in recent decades, and food availability in the long term will not negatively influence the breeding success of birds in such forests.
Funder
National Research, Development and Innovation Office
Cited by
3 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