TY - JOUR
T1 - Response of lepidopteran herbivore communities to crop management in coffee plantations
AU - Sosa-Aranda, Inari
AU - del-Val, Ek
AU - Hernández-Martínez, Gerardo
AU - Arroyo-Lambaer, Denise
AU - Uscanga, Adriana
AU - Boege, Karina
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2018/10/1
Y1 - 2018/10/1
N2 - Although the conservation potential of low input coffee plantations has been widely proved, the effect of management intensity on insect herbivores and particularly caterpillar communities has been scarcely studied. We used a management intensity quantitative index to assess changes in leaf damage, abundance of all herbivores and caterpillar species richness, abundance, evenness and community species composition along a management intensity gradient in coffee plantations. There was no correlation between management intensity and the abundance of all herbivore guilds, but there was a negative relationship between management intensity and caterpillar abundance and species richness. Management intensity was positively related to caterpillar species evenness but did not influence species composition, which was rather influenced by climatic seasonality. We found 202 lepidopteran morphospecies, of which 128 fed on coffee plants. Despite a greater caterpillar abundance and richness, mean leaf damage to coffee plants was lower in plantations with a low management intensity index. Overall, we suggest that low and intermediate management intensity and the preservation of a diverse shade canopy can contribute to the conservation of Lepidoptera, without representing significant amounts of leaf damage to coffee plants.
AB - Although the conservation potential of low input coffee plantations has been widely proved, the effect of management intensity on insect herbivores and particularly caterpillar communities has been scarcely studied. We used a management intensity quantitative index to assess changes in leaf damage, abundance of all herbivores and caterpillar species richness, abundance, evenness and community species composition along a management intensity gradient in coffee plantations. There was no correlation between management intensity and the abundance of all herbivore guilds, but there was a negative relationship between management intensity and caterpillar abundance and species richness. Management intensity was positively related to caterpillar species evenness but did not influence species composition, which was rather influenced by climatic seasonality. We found 202 lepidopteran morphospecies, of which 128 fed on coffee plants. Despite a greater caterpillar abundance and richness, mean leaf damage to coffee plants was lower in plantations with a low management intensity index. Overall, we suggest that low and intermediate management intensity and the preservation of a diverse shade canopy can contribute to the conservation of Lepidoptera, without representing significant amounts of leaf damage to coffee plants.
KW - Agroecology
KW - Caterpillar community
KW - Coffee
KW - Leaf damage
KW - Management intensity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85048510132&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85048510132&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.agee.2018.05.018
DO - 10.1016/j.agee.2018.05.018
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85048510132
SN - 0167-8809
VL - 265
SP - 37
EP - 44
JO - Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment
JF - Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment
ER -