Landscape configuration modulates the presence of leaf-cutting ants in eucalypt plantations

Pest responses to landscape complexity show variable patterns globally, primarily related to species traits and specific managed habitats. Leaf-cutting ants (LCAs) are native insects and important pests of plantation forests in South America. We evaluated the responses of LCA nests in young Eucalypt...

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Autores principales: Cavigliasso, Pablo, González, Ezequiel, Scherf, Abel Nicolás, Villacide, Jose Maria
Formato: Artículo
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Springer Nature 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/15232
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-40426-9
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-40426-9
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author Cavigliasso, Pablo
González, Ezequiel
Scherf, Abel Nicolás
Villacide, Jose Maria
author_browse Cavigliasso, Pablo
González, Ezequiel
Scherf, Abel Nicolás
Villacide, Jose Maria
author_facet Cavigliasso, Pablo
González, Ezequiel
Scherf, Abel Nicolás
Villacide, Jose Maria
author_sort Cavigliasso, Pablo
collection INTA Digital
description Pest responses to landscape complexity show variable patterns globally, primarily related to species traits and specific managed habitats. Leaf-cutting ants (LCAs) are native insects and important pests of plantation forests in South America. We evaluated the responses of LCA nests in young Eucalyptus plantations to different spatial contexts: land uses, interfaces (adjacent land use pairs), agroecosystems, and landscapes. We selected 30 sites in the littoral region of Argentina representing three types of land uses neighboring Eucalyptus plantations: adult eucalypt plantations, citrus plantations, and semi-natural habitats. At each site, we quantified and identified LCA nests and characterized landscape composition and configuration in circles of 250 m radius. LCA nest abundance and presence were similar across different land uses, interfaces, and agroecosystems. Nest presence decreased in landscapes with increasing mean perimeter/area ratio and citrus coverage, whereas LCA abundance showed a similar trend. This indicates that heterogeneous landscapes and those with greater citrus plantation coverage were less likely to have LCA nests. Our findings suggest that landscape configuration was the main predictor of the LCA presence. Understanding the dynamics of LCAs populations and their complex associations with landscape components will contribute to developing successful environmental pest management strategies for plantation forests.
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spelling INTA152322023-09-15T16:13:17Z Landscape configuration modulates the presence of leaf-cutting ants in eucalypt plantations Cavigliasso, Pablo González, Ezequiel Scherf, Abel Nicolás Villacide, Jose Maria Formicidae Landscape Eucalyptus Biodiversity Ecology Forest Pests Paisaje Biodiversidad Ecología Plagas Forestales Hormigas Ants Pest responses to landscape complexity show variable patterns globally, primarily related to species traits and specific managed habitats. Leaf-cutting ants (LCAs) are native insects and important pests of plantation forests in South America. We evaluated the responses of LCA nests in young Eucalyptus plantations to different spatial contexts: land uses, interfaces (adjacent land use pairs), agroecosystems, and landscapes. We selected 30 sites in the littoral region of Argentina representing three types of land uses neighboring Eucalyptus plantations: adult eucalypt plantations, citrus plantations, and semi-natural habitats. At each site, we quantified and identified LCA nests and characterized landscape composition and configuration in circles of 250 m radius. LCA nest abundance and presence were similar across different land uses, interfaces, and agroecosystems. Nest presence decreased in landscapes with increasing mean perimeter/area ratio and citrus coverage, whereas LCA abundance showed a similar trend. This indicates that heterogeneous landscapes and those with greater citrus plantation coverage were less likely to have LCA nests. Our findings suggest that landscape configuration was the main predictor of the LCA presence. Understanding the dynamics of LCAs populations and their complex associations with landscape components will contribute to developing successful environmental pest management strategies for plantation forests. EEA Concordia Fil: Cavigliasso, Pablo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Concordia; Argentina Fil: Cavigliasso, Pablo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Marcos Juárez; Argentina Fil: González, Ezequiel. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina Fil: González, Ezequiel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina Fil: Scherf, Abel Nicolás. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Montecarlo; Argentina Fil: Villacide, Jose Maria. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche (IFAB). Grupo de Ecología de Poblaciones de Insectos; Argentina Fil: Villacide, Jose Maria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche (IFAB). Grupo de Ecología de Poblaciones de Insectos; Argentina 2023-09-15T16:09:34Z 2023-09-15T16:09:34Z 2023-08 info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/15232 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-40426-9 2045-2322 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-40426-9 eng info:eu-repograntAgreement/INTA/2019-PD-E1-I600-001, Bioecología y estrategias de manejo de organismos perjudiciales y benéficos en escenarios de intensificación sustentable de cultivos info:eu-repograntAgreement/INTA/2023-PD-L01-I074, Bases ecológicas y epidemiológicas para el diseño de estrategias de manejo de plagas agrícolas y forestales info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) application/pdf Springer Nature Scientific Reports 13 : Article number: 13130 (2023)
spellingShingle Formicidae
Landscape
Eucalyptus
Biodiversity
Ecology
Forest Pests
Paisaje
Biodiversidad
Ecología
Plagas Forestales
Hormigas
Ants
Cavigliasso, Pablo
González, Ezequiel
Scherf, Abel Nicolás
Villacide, Jose Maria
Landscape configuration modulates the presence of leaf-cutting ants in eucalypt plantations
title Landscape configuration modulates the presence of leaf-cutting ants in eucalypt plantations
title_full Landscape configuration modulates the presence of leaf-cutting ants in eucalypt plantations
title_fullStr Landscape configuration modulates the presence of leaf-cutting ants in eucalypt plantations
title_full_unstemmed Landscape configuration modulates the presence of leaf-cutting ants in eucalypt plantations
title_short Landscape configuration modulates the presence of leaf-cutting ants in eucalypt plantations
title_sort landscape configuration modulates the presence of leaf cutting ants in eucalypt plantations
topic Formicidae
Landscape
Eucalyptus
Biodiversity
Ecology
Forest Pests
Paisaje
Biodiversidad
Ecología
Plagas Forestales
Hormigas
Ants
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/15232
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-40426-9
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-40426-9
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AT villacidejosemaria landscapeconfigurationmodulatesthepresenceofleafcuttingantsineucalyptplantations