Landscape structure affects activity density, body size and fecundity of Pardosa wolf spiders (Araneae: Lycosidae) in winter oilseed rape

Title:

Landscape structure affects activity density, body size and fecundity of Pardosa wolf spiders (Araneae: Lycosidae) in winter oilseed rape

Creator:

Drapela, Thomas, Frank, Thomas, Heer, Xaver, Moser, Dietmar, and Zaller, Johann G.

Identifier:

https://cdk.lib.cas.cz/client/handle/uuid:028cae6b-818a-41b7-ad58-f19ab271f96a
uuid:028cae6b-818a-41b7-ad58-f19ab271f96a

Subject:

Zoologie, entomologie, agroecology, Araneae, Lycosidae, Pardosa agrestis, generalist predator, Brassica napus, oilseed rape, landscape, multiple spatial scales, 2, and 59

Type:

article, články, model:article, and TEXT

Description:

In large parts of Europe Pardosa spp. (Lycosidae) are among the most abundant wolf spiders in arable fields and potentially important natural control agents of pests. We studied the influence of landscape factors on activity density, adult body size and fecundity of P. agrestis in 29 winter oilseed rape fields (Brassica napus L.) in Eastern Austria using pitfall traps. Landscape data were obtained for eight circular landscape sections around each field (radii 250-2000 m). Multivariate regression models were used to analyze the data. Activity density was highest when the length of strips of grassy road-sides in the surroundings was highest and distance to the next grassy fallow lowest. Body size was negatively related to activity density and to the length of road-side strips and positively to woody areas in the vicinity of the fields. Clutch size was unrelated to any of the landscape factors tested but was positively correlated with female body size. Woody areas and grassy fallow in the close vicinity of the fields had a positive influence on number of offspring per female and total number of offspring. These results indicate that various non-crop components in the landscape surrounding oilseed rape fields can specifically influence the activity density and fitness-related traits of P. agrestis in crops. The possible role of Pardosa spp. in natural pest control is discussed. and Thomas Drapela, Thomas Frank, Xaver Heer, Dietmar Moser, Johann G. Zaller.

Language:

English

Rights:

http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/
policy:public

Source:

European Journal of Entomology | 2011 Volume:108 | Number:4

Harvested from:

CDK

Metadata only:

false