Local abundance patterns of noctuid moths in olive orchards: Life-history traits, distribution type and habitat interactions
1Departamento de Ciencias y Recursos Agrícolas y Forestales Área de Entomología Agroforestal.
ETSIAM.Universidad de Córdoba, Edificio Celestino Mutis. Campus Universitario de Rabanales. Crta. Madrid-Cádiz,
km. 396-a, 14071, Córdoba, Spain
2Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Córdoba, Edificio Darwin. Campus Universitario
de Rabanales. Crta. Madrid-Cádiz, km. 396-a, 14071, Córdoba, Spain
3Área de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias del Medio Ambiente, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Avda. Carlos III
s/n. Edificio Sabatini, Despacho 0.26, E-45005 Toledo, Spain
Abstract
Local species abundance is related to range size, habitat characteristics, distribution type, body size, and life-history variables. In general, habitat generalists and polyphagous species are more abundant in broad geographical areas. Underlying this, local abundance may be explained from the interactions between life-history traits, chorological pattern, and the local habitat characteristics. The relationship within taxa between life-history traits, distribution area, habitat characteristics, and local abundance of the noctuid moth (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) assemblage in an olive orchard, one of the most important agro-ecosystems in the Mediterranean basin, was analyzed. A total of 66 species were detected over three years of year-round weekly samplings using the light-trap method. The life-history traits examined and the distribution type were found to be related to the habitat-species association, but none of the biological strategies defined from the association to the different habitats were linked with abundance. In contrast to general patterns, dispersal ability and number of generations per year explained differences in abundance. The relationships were positive, with opportunistic taxa that have high mobility and several generations being locally more abundant. In addition, when the effect of migrant species was removed, the distribution type explained abundance differences, with Mediterranean taxa (whose baricenter is closer to the studied area) being more abundant.
Keywords: agro-ecosystem, dispersal ability, distribution, feeding specificity, phylogenetic comparative methods
Correspondence:
a*ba2pegus@uco.es,
bba1revia@uco.es,
cJoseLuis.Yela@uclm.es, *Corresponding author
Received: 12 January 2010 | Accepted: 3 October 2010 | Published: 18 March 2011
Copyright: This is an open access paper. We use the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license that permits unrestricted use, provided that the paper is properly attributed.
ISSN: 1536-2442 | Volume 11, Number 32
Pérez-Guerrero S, Redondo AJ, Yela JL. 2011. Local abundance patterns of noctuid moths in olive orchards: Lifehistory traits, distribution type and habitat interactions. Journal of Insect Science 11:32 available online: insectscience.org/11.32
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