Enhancing grasshopper (Orthoptera: Acrididae) communities in sown margin strips: the role of plant diversity and identity

Abstract

Grasshoppers are important components of grassland invertebrate communities, particularly as nutrient recyclers and as prey for many bird species. Sown margin strips are key features of agri-environmental schemes in European agricultural landscapes and have been shown to benefit grasshoppers depending on the initial sown seed mixture. Understanding the mechanisms by which the sown mixture impacts grasshoppers in sown margin strips is the aim of our study. Here, we investigated plantgrasshopper interactions in sown margin strips and the respective effects of plant identity and diversity on grasshoppers. We surveyed plants and grasshoppers in 44 sown margin strips located in Western France which were initially established with three sowing mixtures dominated, respectively, by alfalfa, Festuca rubra and Lolium perenne and Festuca arundinacea. Grasshopper species contrasted in their response to plant diversity and to the abundance of sown and non-sown plant species. Some grasshopper species were positively correlated with the abundance of grass and especially of a single sown plant species, F. rubra. In contrast, other grasshopper species benefited from high plant diversity likely due to their high degree of polyphagy. At the community level, these contrasted responses were translated into a positive linear relationship between grass cover and grasshopper abundance and into a quadratic relationship between plant diversity and grasshopper diversity or abundance. Since plant identity and diversity are driven by the initial sown mixture, our study suggests that by optimizing the seed mixture, it is possible to manage grasshopper diversity or abundance in sown margin strips.

Trait‐matching and mass effect determine the functional response of herbivore communities to land‐use intensification

“…They have a considerable importance as primary consumers, nutrient recyclers and constitute the bulk of the diet of many birds in farmlands (Bretagnolle et al 2011). The functional diversity of grasshopper communities is a key driver of their impact on plant communities (Deraison et al 2015b) and is highly sensitive to the composition of local plant communities (van der Plas et al 2012;Badenhausser et al 2015). Strong matching between the strength of grasshopper mandibles (i.e.…”

Ground dwelling pygmy grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Tetrigidae) in Southeast Asian tropical freshwater swamp forest prefer wet microhabitats

“…These grasshoppers are known to prefer moist areas and semi-aquatic habitats like marshes, margins of waterbodies and floodplains. Amédégnato and Devriese (2008) considered most species of pygmy grasshoppers as limno-terrestrial that require an aqueous matrix (moist areas) in strictly terrestrial habitats while some are more dependent on water (such as for egg laying and nymphal development). They appear to be good swimmers and/ or divers (Paranjape et al 1987, Gröning et al 2007, Amédégnato and Devriese 2008.…”

“…Amédégnato and Devriese (2008) considered most species of pygmy grasshoppers as limno-terrestrial that require an aqueous matrix (moist areas) in strictly terrestrial habitats while some are more dependent on water (such as for egg laying and nymphal development). They appear to be good swimmers and/ or divers (Paranjape et al 1987, Gröning et al 2007, Amédégnato and Devriese 2008. Different levels of dependency on water correspond to varying degrees of adaptations to swimming, including expanded hind tibia with reduced spines in more water dependent species (Amédégnato and Devriese 2008).…”

“…They appear to be good swimmers and/ or divers (Paranjape et al 1987, Gröning et al 2007, Amédégnato and Devriese 2008. Different levels of dependency on water correspond to varying degrees of adaptations to swimming, including expanded hind tibia with reduced spines in more water dependent species (Amédégnato and Devriese 2008). Being a group of terrestrial invertebrates which are associated with water, they thus provide an important trophic exchange between aquatic and terrestrial food webs (Bastow et al 2002, Balian et al 2008.…”

Long‐term fertilizer regimes have both direct and indirect effects on arthropod community composition and feeding guilds

“…The plant species composition has been shown to affect the species richness and abundance of arthropods (cf. Altieri, ; Badenhausser, Gross, Cordeau, Bruneteau, & Vandier, ; Dassou et al., ; Ebeling, Klein, Weisser, & Tscharntke, ; Huelber, Haider, Hager, Dullinger, & Fiedler, ; Woodcock & Pywell, ). Schaffers, Raemakers, Sykora, and Ter Braak () reported that plant species composition was the best predictor for an assemblage of different arthropod taxonomic groups and families.…”