Natural Vs Managed Habitat: Effect Over the Seed-Predator Pachymerus nucleorum and Its Natural Enemies

Natural Vs Managed Habitat: Effect Over the Seed-Predator Pachymerus nucleorum and Its Natural Enemies

The licuri palm, Syagrus coronata (Martius) Beccari (Arecaceae), is widely distributed throughout the Brazilian Caatinga and has high cultural, socioeconomical, and ecological importance. The palm tree logging is prohibited by the Brazilian law, and thus isolated individuals are a common sight on ma...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neotropical entomology Vol. 49; no. 1; pp. 131 - 138
Main Authors: Silva, J O S, Costa, M L E, Paixão, B S, Macêdo, J D B, Rodrigues, P M S, Lins-Neto, E M F
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: New York Springer US 01-02-2020
Subjects:
Agriculture
Animals
Arecaceae
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Brazil
Coleoptera
Conservation of Natural Resources
Ecosystem
Entomology
Fruit
Herbivory
Life Sciences
Pest Management
Population Dynamics
Seeds
Brazil
palm tree
parasitoid
Caatinga
tritrophic interaction
sustainability
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Summary:The licuri palm, Syagrus coronata (Martius) Beccari (Arecaceae), is widely distributed throughout the Brazilian Caatinga and has high cultural, socioeconomical, and ecological importance. The palm tree logging is prohibited by the Brazilian law, and thus isolated individuals are a common sight on managed pastures in the Brazilian semi-arid region. We aimed to compare the insect seed-predator Pachymerus nucleorum (Fabricius) (Bruchinae) abundance and its predation levels on S. coronata seeds between managed (pasture) and natural (Caatinga vegetation) habitats. We also monitored the parasitoid Heterospilus prosopodis (Viereck) (Braconidae) abundance and other P. nucleorum potential natural enemies (generalist predators and microhymenopterans). We tested the hypothesis that more complex and heterogenous habitats (i.e., with higher plant diversity) support higher abundance of potential P. nucleorum natural enemies. For such, we collected 600 fruits from each habitat and evaluated the seed predation level by P. nucleorum , as well as the P. nucleorum parasitism by H. prosopodis . The P. nucleorum abundance and its potential natural enemies were estimated using 122 sticky traps placed on the S. coronata individuals’ crown. Neither the P. nucleorum and generalist predators abundance differed between habitats, whereas the H. prosopodis and microhymenopterans abundance was higher in the natural habitat. Consequently, P. nucleorum parasitism levels by H. prosopodis were also higher in the natural habitat. Our study indicated that habitat with higher plant diversity supported more natural enemies, thus confirming that increased habitat homogenization leads to decreased parasitism levels by the less parasitoids number in managed habitats. Our results may subsidize conservationist management practices in the managed habitats aiming to improve fruit exploitation techniques sustainability and land-use practices, which would thereafter allow for the S. coronata population conservation in the Brazilian Caatinga.
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ISSN:1519-566X
1678-8052
DOI:10.1007/s13744-019-00727-z