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Samu F, Szita É, Botos E, Simon J, Gallé-Szpisjak N, Gallé R. Agricultural spider decline: long-term trends under constant management conditions. Sci Rep 2023; 13:2305. [PMID: 36759542 PMCID: PMC9911793 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-29003-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2022] [Accepted: 01/27/2023] [Indexed: 02/11/2023] Open
Abstract
There is widespread evidence for a worldwide trend of insect decline, but we have much fewer data about recent temporal trends in other arthropod groups, including spiders. Spiders can be hypothesised to similarly decline because of trophic dependence on insects and being equally sensitive to local and global environmental changes. Background trends in arthropod populations can be verified if we decouple large-scale environmental transitions, such as climate change, from local factors. To provide a case study on baseline spider community trends, we observed changes in the spider community of an unsprayed alfalfa field and its margin 23 years apart under largely unchanged local conditions. We aimed to determine whether there are changes in spider abundance, species richness and mean species characteristics. Spider abundance per unit effort decreased dramatically, by 45% in alfalfa and by 59% in the margin, but species richness and most characteristics remained unchanged. Community composition in both habitats shifted and became more similar by the current study period. The population decline was especially marked in certain farmland species. We propose that in the absence of local causative factors, spider abundance decline in our study indicates a reduction of spider populations at landscape and regional scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Samu
- Plant Protection Institute, Centre of Agricultural Research, ELKH, Herman Ottó Street 15, 1022, Budapest, Hungary
| | - É Szita
- Plant Protection Institute, Centre of Agricultural Research, ELKH, Herman Ottó Street 15, 1022, Budapest, Hungary.
| | - E Botos
- Plant Protection Institute, Centre of Agricultural Research, ELKH, Herman Ottó Street 15, 1022, Budapest, Hungary
| | - J Simon
- Plant Protection Institute, Centre of Agricultural Research, ELKH, Herman Ottó Street 15, 1022, Budapest, Hungary
| | - N Gallé-Szpisjak
- 'Lendület' Landscape and Conservation Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Centre for Ecological Research, 2163, Vácrátót, Hungary
| | - R Gallé
- 'Lendület' Landscape and Conservation Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Centre for Ecological Research, 2163, Vácrátót, Hungary.,MTA-SZTE 'Momentum' Applied Ecology Research Group, Közép Fasor 52, 6726, Szeged, Hungary
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Tholt G, Kis A, Medzihradszky A, Szita É, Tóth Z, Havelda Z, Samu F. Could vectors' fear of predators reduce the spread of plant diseases? Sci Rep 2018; 8:8705. [PMID: 29880845 PMCID: PMC5992157 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-27103-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2017] [Accepted: 05/29/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Predators influence the behaviour of prey and by doing so they potentially reduce pathogen transmission by a vector. Arthropod predators have been shown to reduce the consumption of plant biomass by pest herbivores, but their cascading non-consumptive effect on vector insects' feeding behaviour and subsequent pathogen transmission has not been investigated experimentally before. Here we experimentally examined predator-mediated pathogen transmission mechanisms using the plant pathogen Wheat Dwarf Virus that is transmitted by the leafhopper, Psammotettix alienus. We applied in situ hybridization to localize which leaf tissues were infected with transmitted virus DNA in barley host plants, proving that virus occurrence is restricted to phloem tissues. In the presence of the spider predator, Tibellus oblongus, we recorded the within leaf feeding behaviour of the herbivore using electrical penetration graph. The leafhopper altered its feeding behaviour in response to predation risk. Phloem ingestion, the feeding phase when virus acquisition occurs, was delayed and was less frequent. The phase when pathogen inoculation takes place, via the secretion of virus infected vector saliva, was shorter when predator was present. Our study thus provides experimental evidence that predators can potentially limit the spread of plant pathogens solely through influencing the feeding behaviour of vector organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Tholt
- Plant Protection Institute, Centre for Agricultural Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Herman Ottó út 15, Budapest, H-1022, Hungary.,Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Faculty of Science, Institute of Biology, Eötvös Loránd University, 1/C Pázmány Péter Sétány, Budapest, H-1117, Hungary
| | - A Kis
- National Agricultural Research and Innovation Centre, Agricultural Biotechnology Institute, Szent-Györgyi A. út 4, Gödöllő, H-2100, Hungary
| | - A Medzihradszky
- National Agricultural Research and Innovation Centre, Agricultural Biotechnology Institute, Szent-Györgyi A. út 4, Gödöllő, H-2100, Hungary
| | - É Szita
- Plant Protection Institute, Centre for Agricultural Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Herman Ottó út 15, Budapest, H-1022, Hungary
| | - Z Tóth
- Plant Protection Institute, Centre for Agricultural Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Herman Ottó út 15, Budapest, H-1022, Hungary
| | - Z Havelda
- National Agricultural Research and Innovation Centre, Agricultural Biotechnology Institute, Szent-Györgyi A. út 4, Gödöllő, H-2100, Hungary
| | - F Samu
- Plant Protection Institute, Centre for Agricultural Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Herman Ottó út 15, Budapest, H-1022, Hungary.
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Samu F, Szabóky C, Horváth A, Neidert D, Tóth M. Traits in Lepidoptera assemblages are differently influenced by local and landscape scale factors in farmland habitat islands. COMMUNITY ECOL 2016. [DOI: 10.1556/168.2016.17.1.5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Samu F, Kádár F, Ónodi G, Kertész M, Szirányi A, Szita É, Fetykó K, Neidert D, Botos E, Altbäcker V. Differential ecological responses of two generalist arthropod groups, spiders and carabid beetles (Araneae, Carabidae), to the effects of wildfire. COMMUNITY ECOL 2010. [DOI: 10.1556/comec.11.2010.2.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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