Landscape composition and vole outbreaks: evidence from an eight year study of Arvicola terrestris

Abstract Background Landscape composition has the potential to foster regulating ecosystem services such as pollination and biocontrol in temperate regions. However, most landscape studies do not take pesticide use into account even though it is the main control strategy worldwide and has negative impacts on beneficial insects. Moreover, few studies have explored these combined effects in smallholder cropping system with diverse landscapes and small cultivated fields. Methods We assessed the effect of semi-natural cover and pesticide use on pollinator and herbivore abundances and functions in 9 fields in the Ecuadorian Andes through participatory experiments with smallholder farmers. We performed a path analysis to quantify the effects of landscape and pesticide use on herbivory, pollination and ultimately yield. Results Pesticide use significantly reduced pollinator abundance but had no significant effect on pest abundance. Similarly, we found non-significant effects of landscape composition on either herbivory and pollination. The study also provides new information on understudied Andean lupine’s pests and pollinators, whose application for small farmers is discussed. Finally, we hypothesize that peculiarities of tropical smallholder cropping systems and landscapes could explain the non-significant landscape effects on insect-based processes, which calls for more research in places outside the well-studied temperate region. Conclusions Landscape composition did not show any significant effect on pest and pollinator while pesticide use decreased the abundance pollinators, but with no significant effect on yield. This study also provides information about Andean lupine reproduction and overcompensation mechanisms that could be of interest for local farmers and researchers of this understudied crop.

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Landscape composition, not connectivity, determines metacommunity structure across multiple scales

Ecography ◽

10.1111/ecog.01321 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 39 (10) ◽

pp. 932-941 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Wade A. Ryberg ◽

Lee A. Fitzgerald

Keyword(s):

Multiple Scales ◽

Landscape Composition ◽

Metacommunity Structure

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Unexpected Effects of Local Management and Landscape Composition on Predatory Mites and Their Food Resources in Vineyards

Insects ◽

10.3390/insects12020180 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 180

Author(s):

Stefan Möth ◽

Andreas Walzer ◽

Markus Redl ◽

Božana Petrović ◽

Christoph Hoffmann ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pest Control ◽

Predatory Mites ◽

Mite Species ◽

Landscape Composition ◽

Pesticide Use ◽

Biological Pest Control ◽

Phytophagous Mites ◽

Spontaneous Vegetation ◽

Important Food Source ◽

Eriophyoid Mite

Viticultural practices and landscape composition are the main drivers influencing biological pest control in vineyards. Predatory mites, mainly phytoseiid (Phytoseiidae) and tydeoid mites (Tydeidae), are important to control phytophagous mites (Tetranychidae and Eriophyidae) on vines. In the absence of arthropod prey, pollen is an important food source for predatory mites. In 32 paired vineyards located in Burgenland/Austria, we examined the effect of landscape composition, management type (organic/integrated), pesticide use, and cover crop diversity of the inter-row on the densities of phytoseiid, tydeoid, and phytophagous mites. In addition, we sampled pollen on vine leaves. Typhlodromus pyri Scheuten was the main phytoseiid mite species and Tydeus goetzi Schruft the main tydeoid species. Interestingly, the area-related acute pesticide toxicity loading was higher in organic than in integrated vineyards. The densities of phytoseiid and tydeoid mites was higher in integrated vineyards and in vineyards with spontaneous vegetation. Their population also profited from an increased viticultural area at the landscape scale. Eriophyoid mite densities were extremely low across all vineyards and spider mites were absent. Biological pest control of phytophagous mites benefits from less intensive pesticide use and spontaneous vegetation cover in vineyard inter-rows, which should be considered in agri-environmental schemes.

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Environmental determinants of haemosporidian parasite prevalence in a declining population of Tree swallows

Parasitology ◽

10.1017/s0031182017002128 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 145 (7) ◽

pp. 961-970 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Audrey Turcotte ◽

Marc Bélisle ◽

Fanie Pelletier ◽

Dany Garant

Keyword(s):

Forest Cover ◽

Agricultural Landscape ◽

Parasite Prevalence ◽

Landscape Composition ◽

Breeding Period ◽

Tree Swallows ◽

Environmental Determinants ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Haemosporidian Parasite ◽

Haemosporidian Parasites

AbstractThe prevalence of vector-borne parasites such as haemosporidian species is influenced by several environmental factors. While the negative effects of parasitism on hosts are well documented, these can also be amplified by interactions with environmental stressors, many of which are anthropogenic. Yet, we know little about the possible effects of anthropogenic perturbations on parasite prevalence. The goals of this study were to assess the prevalence and environmental determinants of haemosporidian parasites in a declining population of Tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) living in an agricultural landscape in southern Québec, Canada. Overall, a low prevalence and a moderate lineage diversity were identified in both adults and nestlings, confirming that transmission can occur during the breeding period. Anthropic areas, extensive cultures (hayfields and pastures) and forest cover within 500 km of nest boxes, as well as daily temperature fluctuations, were all related to infection by haemosporidian parasites. These findings suggest that anthropogenic alterations of landscape composition can modulate the prevalence of haemosporidian parasites in Tree swallows. Our results represent a baseline for future comparative studies assessing haemosporidian parasite prevalence in human-modified landscapes.

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