GRASSHOPPER (ACRIDIDAE) — HOST PLANT ASSOCIATIONS: RESPONSE OF GRASSHOPPER POPULATIONS TO CATTLE GRAZING INTENSITY

Abstract

AbstractGrasshopper populations were monitored for 2 years in six differentially grazed pastures of native shortgrass prairie, and correlated with floral biomass in these pastures. Total numbers of grasshoppers were significantly higher in high biomass pastures (ungrazed or lightly grazed by cattle), while numbers of grasshoppers in the subfamily Oedipodinae were significantly higher in low biomass pastures (moderately or heavily grazed). Grasshopper numbers in the phytophilous subfamilies Gomphocerinae and Catantopinae were positively correlated with grass and forb biomass, while numbers of the geophilous Oedipodinae were negatively correlated with all biomass components. It would seem possible to modify grasshopper abundance through regulation of cattle grazing intensity, but changes in abundance would also be accompanied by shifts in the grasshopper species complex.