Bloom evenness modulates the influence of bloom abundance on insect community structure in suburban gardens

PeerJ

Lily T. Maynard¹  Zachariah J. Gezon¹  Jonathan S. Bremer²  Elizabeth Y. Braatz²  Marissa A. Streifel²  Geena M. Hill³  Kristin Rossetti³  Jaret C. Daniels³ 

[1] Conservation Department, Disney’s Animals, Science and Environment, Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA;Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA;McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, FL, USA;

关键词: Pollinators;    Conservation;    Evenness;    Biodiversity;    Floral abundance;    Urban ecology;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.11132

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

As land use change drives global insect declines, the value of enhancing habitat in urban and suburban landscapes has become increasingly important for flower-visiting insects. In order to help identify best landscaping practices, we conducted plant surveys and insect bowl-trap surveys in 34 suburban yards for 21 months in Gainesville, FL, USA, which resulted in 274 paired days of plant and insect survey data. We assessed the impact of nearest greenspace size, distance to greenspace, yard area, plant richness, plant type, bloom abundance, bloom richness and bloom evenness on insect abundance and richness. Our samples include 34,972 insects captured, 485,827 blooms counted and 774 species of plants recorded. We found that bloom evenness had a modulating effect on bloom abundance—a more even sample of the same number of blooms would have a disproportionately greater positive impact on flower visitor richness, insect richness and insect abundance. Bloom abundance was also highly significant and positively associated with flower visitor abundance, but nearest greenspace size, distance to greenspace, plant type (native vs. non-native vs. Florida Friendly), and yard area were not found to be important factors. Plant richness was a highly significant factor, but its effect size was very small.

【 授权许可】

Unknown