Foliage and ground spiders respond differently to a seminatural habitat-vineyard gradient

POMPOZZI, GABRIEL; COPPERI, SOFÍA; FERNÁNDEZ CAMPÓN, FLORENCIA; LAGOS SILNIK, SUSANA; ALZUGARAY, BRUNO; ALBRECHT, EDUARDO; ROIG-JUÑENT, SERGIO

ENTOMOLOGIA EXPERIMENTALIS ET APPLICATA

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2023

0013-8703

Natural vegetation in and around crops is an effective approach to increase predators. Semi-natural habitats (non-crop vegetation) surrounding crops provide refuge and resources. However, the function of semi-natural habitats can depend on several factors, and the response of natural predators can vary in different crops and regions. Here, we examined the spider community in semi-natural habitat and at an adjacent vineyard in a semi-arid region of Argentina. We collected spiders in a gradient from an adjacent seminatural habitat (SNH), towards the vineyard at three different distances from the SNH using two different techniques, beating and pit-fall traps. We collected spiders in December and February during two consecutive years at two strata: in vegetation and on the ground. In vegetation, spider abundance significantly decreased from SNH towards the interior of the vineyard at 80 meters. On the ground, spider abundance was also significantly higher in SNH. However, after decreasing at the 5 m and 20 m sites inside 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 the vineyard, the abundance increased at 80 meters. For foliage spiders, species richness followed the same pattern as abundance, while ground spider richness significantly increased from SNH to the interior of the vineyard. Species composition also showed different tendencies between foliage and ground spiders. The foliage spider community was different between SNH and all the vineyard sites. Contrarily, at the ground stratum, SNH was similar in composition to the edge of the vineyard, and they were both different from the other vineyard sites. We found that the adjacent semi-natural habitat influenced the spider community in the vineyard and that this effect was dependent on the distance from that habitat and the association of the community to different strata. These results highlight the importance of studying the whole community of spiders when aiming to increase predator abundance to enhance biological control in this kind of crop. In addition, we have found species that can act as indicators of native region.