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Cursorial spiders retard initial aphid population growth at low densities in winter wheat

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 April 2008

K. Birkhofer ,
E. Gavish-Regev ,
K. Endlweber ,
Y.D. Lubin ,
K. von Berg ,
D.H. Wise  and
S. Scheu
K. Birkhofer*
Affiliation:
Zoological Institute, Darmstadt University of Technology, Schnittspahnstrasse 3, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
E. Gavish-Regev
Affiliation:
Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 84990 Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel
K. Endlweber
Affiliation:
Zoological Institute, Darmstadt University of Technology, Schnittspahnstrasse 3, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
Y.D. Lubin
Affiliation:
Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 84990 Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel
K. von Berg
Affiliation:
Zoological Institute, Darmstadt University of Technology, Schnittspahnstrasse 3, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
D.H. Wise
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences and Institute for Environmental Science and Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago, 845 West Taylor Street, Chicago, IL 60607-7060USA
S. Scheu
Affiliation:
Zoological Institute, Darmstadt University of Technology, Schnittspahnstrasse 3, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
*
*Author for correspondence: Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen, Institut für Tierökologie, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26–32, 35392 Giessen, Germany Fax: (+61) 3 6226 2745 E-mail: Birkhofer@uni-giessen.de
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Abstract

Generalist predators contribute to pest suppression in agroecosystems. Spider communities, which form a substantial fraction of the generalist predator fauna in arable land, are characterized by two functional groups: web-building and cursorial (non-web-building) species. We investigated the relative impact of these two functional groups on a common pest (Sitobion avenae, Aphididae) in wheat by combining a molecular technique that revealed species-specific aphid consumption rates with a factorial field experiment that analyzed the impact, separately and together, of equal densities of these two spider functional groups on aphid population growth. Only cursorial spiders retarded aphid population growth in our cage experiment, but this effect was limited to the initial aphid-population growth period and low-to-intermediate aphid densities. The molecular analysis, which used aphid-specific primers to detect aphid DNA in predator species, detected the highest proportion of aphid-consuming individuals in two cursorial spiders: the foliage-dwelling Xysticus cristatus (Thomisidae) and the ground-active Pardosa palustris (Lycosidae). The results suggest that manipulating the community composition in favour of pest-consuming functional groups may be more important for improving biological control than fostering predator biodiversity per se. Agricultural management practices that specifically foster effective species or functional groups (e.g. mulching for cursorial spiders) should receive more attention in low-pesticide farming systems.

Keywords

aphidsAraneaebiological controlgeneralist predatorsfunctional group diversityDNA-based gut content analysisnatural enemiesSitobion avenae
Type
Research Paper
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 98 , Issue 3 , June 2008 , pp. 249 - 255
Copyright
Copyright © 2008 Cambridge University Press

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