Basic and Applied Ecology最新文献

{"title":"Human disturbances explain the small-island effect of large and medium-sized mammals in the largest archipelago of China","authors":"Chengxiu Zhan ,&nbsp;Bicheng Li ,&nbsp;Yanping Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.10.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.10.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The small-island effect (SIE) is a widely accepted pattern in island biogeography where species richness varies independently of island area below an area threshold. Three main ecological mechanisms (the disturbance hypothesis, habitat hypothesis, and subsidized island biogeography hypothesis) have been proposed to explain the SIE resulting from natural drivers. However, extensive human disturbances have led to considerable changes in insular species richness worldwide. Here, we incorporated human disturbances into the disturbance hypothesis and explored the mechanism to explain the SIE of large and medium-sized mammals in the Zhoushan Archipelago, China. We used the camera trapping method to survey large and medium-sized mammals on 50 islands from May 2020 to April 2024. We used piecewise regression, path analysis, and null models to determine the existence of the SIE. We then applied iterative partial regressions to assess the relative importance of island area and other island characteristics (human disturbances, variability of normalized difference vegetation index (VNDVI), habitat diversity, rocky shoreline proportion, and isolation) in determining species richness. We found strong evidence for the existence of SIE when using the island area, but we did not detect it when using the available habitat area (excluding uninhabited island area). Additionally, the fraction of variance in species richness explained exclusively by human disturbances (human population density and land use intensity) was high on small islands and decreased as island size increased, while that explained by island area was low and increased as island size increased. Overall, our findings supported the human-driven disturbance hypothesis, which provides a new explanation for the SIE. For effective conservation of large and medium-sized mammals in this region, we should protect large islands beyond the larger area threshold of the SIE, and conservation priorities for small islands should focus on those islands where human disturbances are weak.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"89 ","pages":"Pages 13-25"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145323627","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The impact of climate, local habitat, surrounding landscape and management on coffee wilt disease and Armillaria root rot on Arabica coffee in its native range","authors":"Biruk Ayalew ,&nbsp;Kristoffer Hylander ,&nbsp;Beyene Zewdie ,&nbsp;Francesco Zignol ,&nbsp;Ayco J.M. Tack","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.10.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.10.005","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Climate change is predicted to lower yields through increased disease pressure. Yet, we often lack insights into how climate affects disease dynamics, and how we can manage the environment to reduce the impact of climate change. This knowledge gap is especially prominent for stem and root diseases that concern smallholder farmers in low-income countries. To provide insights into the patterns and drivers of stem and root diseases, and how they will be affected by climate change, we surveyed the prevalence and incidence of a major stem (coffee wilt disease; <em>Gibberella xylarioides</em>) and root disease (Armillaria root rot; <em>Armillaria mellea</em>) attacking Arabica coffee in 58 sites in southwestern Ethiopia, and simultaneously recorded climatic, habitat, spatial and management variables. Coffee wilt disease was found in all but four sites, and the incidence of coffee wilt disease was positively affected by temperature and soil moisture, negatively affected by coffee density and lower in sites with a more forest-like shade tree species composition. Armillaria root rot was found in 29 out of 58 sites. While none of the factors explained the prevalence of Armillaria root rot, Armillaria root rot incidence was, in contrast to coffee wilt disease, negatively affected by temperature. Armillaria root rot was positively affected by soil moisture and surrounding forest cover. Canopy cover affected the two diseases through opposing direct and indirect pathways, resulting in non-significant total effects. Neither of the two diseases was affected by coffee structure index (reflecting e.g. pruning), the proportion of coffee berry disease resistant cultivars, or each other’s presence. Overall, our findings shed light on the patterns and drivers of stem and root diseases, and provide management guidelines to reduce the devastating impact of these diseases for smallholder farmers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"89 ","pages":"Pages 59-70"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145360474","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Bird and bat diversity, herbivory and trade-offs with yield in coffee agroforests in Arabica coffee’s native range","authors":"A.J.M. Tack ,&nbsp;H.F. Burger ,&nbsp;H. Wood ,&nbsp;B. Zewdie ,&nbsp;T. Shimales ,&nbsp;B. Ayalew ,&nbsp;E. Mendesil ,&nbsp;K. Hylander","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.09.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.09.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Agroforestry systems have the potential to provide benefits for conservation, natural pest control and farmer livelihoods. Yet, we need a clearer understanding of how environmental drivers shape different components of biodiversity, how these biodiversity components contribute to suppressing pest levels, and how biodiversity trades off with yield. We focused on the diversity and role of birds and bats across different types of coffee farms in Arabica coffee’s native range in southwestern Ethiopia. While elevation, canopy cover, shade tree community composition and surrounding forest cover did not explain bird and bat species richness, the composition of the bird and bat community was significantly influenced by the composition of the shade tree community. Herbivory was unrelated to the species richness and community composition of insectivorous birds and bats. We found no trade-off between bird and bat species richness and coffee yield, but the composition of the bird, but not bat, community changed with increasing yield, where forest specialist birds rapidly declined in abundance from low to mid-yielding sites. Overall, we suggest that the similar levels of bird and bat species richness and an absence of a relationship with herbivory across different types of agroforests are due to the diverse mosaic agricultural landscape and lack of agroforests with very high management intensities (which are common in other parts of the world). From a conservation point of view, intensification of coffee management in the lowest-yielding sites would threaten biodiversity in terms of forest specialist birds. However, is it also important to learn more on the potential positive roles of biodiversity in those parts of the landscape where coffee is managed for high yields. From both a conservation and sustainable management point of view we urgently need more insights into the taxonomy, life-history, habitat preferences and foraging ranges of East African bats.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"89 ","pages":"Pages 71-80"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145414287","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Native and alien plant species respond differently to landscape and local factors shaping spontaneous herbaceous vegetation in villages","authors":"Katalin Szitár ,&nbsp;Balázs Deák ,&nbsp;Erzsébet Domokos ,&nbsp;Róbert Gallé ,&nbsp;Dávid Korányi ,&nbsp;Tamás Lakatos ,&nbsp;Zoltán László ,&nbsp;Attila Mátis ,&nbsp;Zsombor Miholcsa ,&nbsp;Katalin Molnár ,&nbsp;Dragica Purger ,&nbsp;Dorottya Sándor ,&nbsp;László Somay ,&nbsp;Gabriella Süle ,&nbsp;Edina Török ,&nbsp;István Urák ,&nbsp;Orsolya Valkó ,&nbsp;Péter Batáry","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.10.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.10.006","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Most urban ecological research focuses on large cities, while smaller settlements remain understudied despite hosting a significant share of both human population and biodiversity. Their unique characteristics, such as lower sealed surface ratio and stronger ties to rural landscapes – highlighting the importance of the wider landscape-scale context – may lead to different ecological dynamics and require tailored planning and management. Here, we investigated how species composition of spontaneous herbaceous vegetation in villages is influenced by landscape-scale and local factors, with particular focus on native, archaeophyte and neophyte species. In 2022, we surveyed vegetation in 64 villages in the Carpathian Basin (Hungary and Romania), sampling public green areas at village centres and edges in contrasting landscape contexts (villages in city agglomeration vs. far from cities, and in semi-natural forested vs. agricultural landscapes). We recorded species richness and relative cover, along with local factors like shading, disturbance, mowing, green area shape, solar radiation, and built-up age. Native species richness was highest at village edges in semi-natural landscapes, whereas archaeophyte cover peaked in villages embedded in agricultural landscapes. Neophyte richness was consistently higher at village edges, regardless of landscape context. Locally, shading increased both neophyte richness and cover. Older settlements promoted higher native richness and cover but resulted in lower archaeophyte cover. Conversely, disturbance reduced native cover while enhancing archaeophyte cover. The divergent responses of the three species groups to landscape and local-scale factors underscore the importance of integrating both landscape-scale planning and local management in managing native and alien species in village green areas.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"89 ","pages":"Pages 50-58"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145360433","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Towards precision grazing: Spatio-temporal dynamics of the relation between cattle, vegetation, and arthropods","authors":"Frank Jauker ,&nbsp;Dina Hamidi ,&nbsp;Christoph Hütt ,&nbsp;Kevin Baumann ,&nbsp;Martin Komainda ,&nbsp;Andreas Bolten ,&nbsp;Georg Bareth ,&nbsp;Johannes Isselstein ,&nbsp;Volkmar Wolters","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.10.011","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.10.011","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Domestic livestock has largely replaced native mega-herbivores in shaping and maintaining grassland ecosystems and their function in temperate Europe. Because livestock grazing affects grassland biodiversity and functioning differently compared to free roaming large grazers, management adjustments are required to approximate natural processes as closely as possible without causing major economic losses. The spatiotemporal precision of remote sensing technology available today opens up opportunities to align agronomic and environmental interests. We evaluate the spatiotemporal scales at which cattle presence modulates vegetation biomass and the abundance of various arthropod taxa. We relate arthropod abundances and vegetation biomass to both static (stocking density at the field level) and dynamic (cattle presence in consecutive days before sampling at sub-field levels) grazing intensity in an extensive grazing system in central Germany. Grazing intensity at the field scale was a poor predictor of arthropod abundance, indicating a weak link to small-scale spatial heterogeneity, i.e. the major driver of local arthropod biodiversity. In contrast, most arthropod taxa responded more strongly to the presence of cattle than to the vegetation status across all spatiotemporal scales. This relationship was positive throughout. The relevance of temporal heterogeneity in the presence of cattle as a key driver of spatial heterogeneity makes a striking point for cattle ecosystem engineering. Accounting for temporal variability opens a promising approach to precision grazing that balances economic and environmental interests.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"89 ","pages":"Pages 106-112"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145463279","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessing the vitality of Norway maple trees in an urban setting near streets within pits and strips using morphological and ecophysiological methods","authors":"Tamalika Chakraborty ,&nbsp;Diana Kramer ,&nbsp;Ferdinand Betting ,&nbsp;Somidh Saha","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.11.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.11.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Climate change-related stressors are leading to early tree deaths in cities worldwide, often before they reach their expected sizes. This study assessed the health of Norway maples (<em>Acer platanoides</em> L.), the most common urban tree in central Europe, in Karlsruhe, Germany. We combined observational and experimental methods at several street sites, comparing tree vitality in different site types (pits vs. strips) near streets. We also explored how various biotic and abiotic factors impacted tree health. During the 2022 growing season, we collected data on morphology, eco-physiology, and environmental conditions from 235 randomly chosen trees across two site types. For each tree, we calculated leaf area index (LAI), building index (reflecting neighboring building competition), and Hegyi’s competition index (indicating competition from nearby trees). Using generalized linear models and linear mixed-effects models, we analyzed the influence of factors such as pit vs. strip location, crown height, distance to roads, light exposure, vegetation cover, competition indices, crown volume, pruning, and others on traits including leaf area, crown projection, crown openness, crown loss, dieback, discoloration, sun scald, epicormic shoots, stomatal conductance, and electron transport rate. Trees in strips had, on average, five times more open surface area than those in pits. Site types (pits vs. strips) had a statistically significant impact on variables such as crown dieback, discoloration, and sun scald. Dieback, leaf discoloration, and crown openness were notably higher in pits. Neighborhood tree competition reduced crown projection and density, increased crown loss, and prevented sun scalding. Vegetation cover reduced crown loss and stomatal conductance. High light exposure negatively impacted most measured variables. Overall, the study highlights the need for a comprehensive arboricultural approach to understand and manage urban trees. It seeks to balance canopy size and density to optimize cooling and shading benefits while maintaining tree health.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"89 ","pages":"Pages 136-154"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145614638","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Testing the intermediate-disturbance hypothesis – managed roe deer populations are not disrupting forest faunal communities","authors":"Sebastian Schwegmann ,&nbsp;João M. Cordeiro Pereira ,&nbsp;Marco Basile ,&nbsp;Marlotte Jonker ,&nbsp;Nolan J. Rappa ,&nbsp;Riko Fardiansah ,&nbsp;Ilse Storch ,&nbsp;Manisha Bhardwaj","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.10.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.10.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Large herbivores, such as deer, are keystone species in forest ecosystems due to their diverse effects on forest structure, as well as plant and faunal communities. While in production forests deer are often considered pest species due to the browsing impact on woody vegetation, deer are disturbance agents for forest ecosystems as a whole, as their presence and density can influence other trophic levels, while also providing ecosystem services. The effects of deer on ecosystems can be expected to follow the intermediate-disturbance hypothesis (IDH), whereby there is a positive influence on biodiversity up to intermediate deer densities, turning negative at higher densities. To date, most field studies tend to explore either linear effects of deer on the environment, or populations that have extremely high densities, thus ignoring the potential non-linear relationship between deer species and the forest ecosystem. This may lead to the notion that deer are problematic for the conservation of forest biodiversity. To address this gap, we explore the non-linear effect of roe deer densities on the abundance and diversity of multiple faunistic groups including invertebrates, birds, bats and hares, in managed forests of the Black Forest, Germany. Our findings partly support the IDH, as most taxa were either positively related to intermediate roe deer abundances in our system or did not respond to deer abundances. In contrast to the prevalent image of deer as a threat to forest biodiversity, we find few taxa that are negatively affected by roe deer. Conversely, we find that roe deer at low to intermediate population densities may contribute to maintaining forest communities, as with hymenopterans, birds and spiders.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"89 ","pages":"Pages 1-12"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145323127","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Introducing fwtraits – an R package for obtaining freshwater biodiversity trait information","authors":"Anthony Basooma ,&nbsp;Florian Borgwardt ,&nbsp;Sami Domisch ,&nbsp;Merret Buurman ,&nbsp;Vanessa Bremerich ,&nbsp;Sonia Steffany Recinos Brizuela ,&nbsp;Martin Tschikof ,&nbsp;Thomas Hein ,&nbsp;Astrid Schmidt-Kloiber","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.10.010","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.10.010","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Species ecological parameters are crucial for understanding the functional responses to environmental perturbations, aiding in informing conservation strategies and formulating robust environmental policies. However, obtaining standardized species ecological parameters across various freshwater organism groups remains challenging for ecologists. The <span><span>www.freshwaterecology.info</span><svg><path></path></svg></span> database (hereafter referred to as “FWE”) provides an extensive repository of approximately 200 parameters, including biological traits, ecological preferences, and indicators for five freshwater organism groups: fishes, macroinvertebrates, macrophytes, phytoplankton, and phytobenthos. While the database represents an invaluable resource for ecological research, integrating these manifold parameters into analysis workflows still requires users to manually search, download, and organize data. This process is time-intensive and error-prone.</div><div>To address these challenges, we present <strong>fwtraits</strong>, an R package that supports the integration of freshwater ecological parameters from FWE into analysis workflows. We demonstrate the package's usability by assessing the influence of climatic indicators on lotic fish species assemblages using community weighted means (CWMs). We selected four ecological parameters (habitat (rheophily), feeding habitat, feeding diet for adult fish, and temperature tolerance) and assessed spatial variation in these modalities across European river catchments. We observed high CWMs on less resilient modalities, such as stenothermal and rheophilic taxa (which thrive in fast-flowing waters) in the northern river basins. This enables the identification of critical habitats for threatened species, which in turn helps in conserving freshwater biodiversity. fwtraits can be used to access ecological parameters in a simple and reproducible way. To support users, we have integrated detailed vignettes—available on GitHub—that illustrate the data retrieval process for each of the five organism groups and integration in biogeographical analysis workflows.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"89 ","pages":"Pages 81-91"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145414335","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Landscape and grazing management affect dung beetle communities in California","authors":"Suzanne Lipton ,&nbsp;Paul E. Skelley ,&nbsp;Stacy M. Philpott","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.10.012","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.10.012","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Agroecosystem management can have large impacts on arthropod communities, with downstream consequences for ecosystem function. In grazed agroecosystems, dung beetle nesting and consumption activities contribute to critical ecosystem services such as aerating soils, dispersing seeds, suppressing pathogens, decreasing fly eggs, decreasing dung greenhouse gas emissions, and increasing nutrients in the soil. Grassland grazing management as well as the landscape cover surrounding a grassland can impact dung beetle abundance and diversity with implications for downstream ecosystem function. One third of California is grazed by livestock, however, there are few studies of dung beetles in these agroecosystems. Our study examines the effect of grazing management, including the time spent grazing and animal density (the number of days grazed and number of animals), as well as how landscape cover, including surrounding grasslands, forests, and wetlands, affect dung beetle abundance and richness. We also examined how seasonality or temperature and the year in which we sampled affect dung beetle communities. We found that grazing management affects richness. While increases in the number of days grazed was associated with higher dung beetle species richness, we found that increased grazing density was associated with lower dung beetle species richness, showing that increasing grazing density may have a detrimental effect on richness. We also found that the amount of wetland cover in the landscape was positively associated with abundance and species richness, and grassland cover was positively associated with species richness. Dung beetle abundance did not shift by year, but did shift with sample time, while dung beetle richness shifted with year and sample time. Our results differed by beetle functional type and species. The results demonstrate the importance of both local disturbances and more permanent landscape surroundings for arthropod communities in agroecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"89 ","pages":"Pages 120-127"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145463280","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Floral availability outweighs aphid presence in supporting coccinellid abundance across life stages and promotes aphid predation","authors":"Ana C. da Silva ,&nbsp;Luiza C. Oliveira ,&nbsp;João G. Costa ,&nbsp;Madelaine Venzon ,&nbsp;Marina R. Frizzas ,&nbsp;Edison R. Sujii ,&nbsp;Pedro H.B. Togni","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.10.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.10.008","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The nature of the prevalent interactions within communities influences biodiversity–ecosystem service relationships, which could be strengthened as habitat and resource diversity promote species coexistence. When species share similar resources, their coexistence can enhance complementarity among predatory species in providing biological control in agroecosystems, depending on how different life stages of predatory insects use crop and non-crop habitats. To test these predictions, we assessed how different aphidophagous coccinellid life stages use crop and non-crop habitats and their consequences for aphid predation in organic tropical agroecosystems. We sampled all coccinellid life stages (abundance, species and diversity) and estimated aphid predation through a predator exclusion experiment in Brassica organic farms in Brazil. The use of both crop and non-crop plants (notably Asteraceae) by coccinellids increased their overall abundance within farms. We found no significant differences in the numbers of coccinellid eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults between crop and non-crop plants. However, our findings suggest that crops and non-crop habitats may play distinct roles for each life stage: crops might primarily provide prey, while non-crop plants could offer shelter and supplementary food. Indeed, coccinellid abundance was higher when flowers were present in non-crop plants, regardless of aphid presence. We found a positive relationship between coccinellid abundance and aphid predation only when coccinellid diversity was high. When diversity was low, the high dominance of a single species limited aphid predation. Therefore, species complementarity resulting from habitat partitioning across coccinellids’ life stages may emerge as a central mechanism influencing the positive biodiversity-ecosystem service relationships in tropical agroecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"89 ","pages":"Pages 92-97"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145463277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}