Diversity of Herbivorous Communities in Blueberry Crops of Different Regions of Argentina

Abstract

When a crop is introduced into a new region the herbivorous insect communities are structured from the regional pool of species, and the spatioÐtemporal heterogeneity of the landscape and the spatial arrangement of habitat elements are essential for species diversity. The blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum L., is a crop native to the northern hemisphere and was introduced in Argentina in the 1990s. We have analyzed the richness and diversity of insect herbivore communities in several blueberry crops located in different agricultural landscapes of Buenos Aires and Entre Rõ ´os, in Argentina. In total, the number of families recorded throughout the study period was 31. The richness and the diversity showed signiÞcant differences among phenological stages and years, although the sites had an effect on the richness, in Buenos Aires. Aphidae was the most abundant family in all sites, followed by different families depending on the surrounding crops and their more common herbivores. The highest values of cumulative alpha diversity were in crops located in more changing landscapes. There were high values of temporal beta diversity everywhere. Spatial beta diversity was higher in Buenos Aires than in Entre Rõ ´os, probably because the crops of the latter are located in similar landscapes. Gamma diversity was 29 families for communities of Buenos Aires and it was 15 families in Entre Rõ ´os. The herbivorous communities in blueberry crops of Argentina are shaped by ectophagous generalist (South American and cosmopolitan) from the regional pool of species, characteristic of the landscape where the crops were introduced.

Lowbush blueberry plantation age influences natural biodiversity on an abandoned extracted peatland

“…In our study, we found few insects which are important pests (stink bugs, leafrollers, grasshoppers, etc.) of blueberry in different countries like in USA, Canada, Australia, Argentina and China (Adamczyk et al, 2012;Drummond and Groden, 2000;Macdonald, 1997;McGregor et al, 1998;Rocca and Greco, 2011). According to different studies, stink bugs feed on the fruit of a wide range of plants including blueberries (Adamczyk et al, 2012;Coneva, 2010).…”

Entomofauna Associated to Different Phenological Stages on Blueberry Crop

“…The cultivation stages (E 1 , E 2 and E 3 ) did not differ in terms of time. Rocca and Greco (2011) observed that the location of the orchards and the phenological stages, in the province of Buenos Aires influenced the richness of families found, which was higher for the vegetative and fruiting stages. However, no differences were observed in orchards, in the province of Entre Rios.…”

“…Fourty one families were identified, being 59% of the insect total corresponding to Apidae family, followed by 11% in Chrysomelidae and Formicidae (Table 1). Rocca and Greco (2011) carried out works in Argentina and observed that the orders with highest abundance in three regions were Hemiptera (52%) and Lepidoptera (19%), followed by Coleoptera (17%), Orthoptera (7%), Thysanoptera (3%) and Hymenoptera (3%), showing difference in composition of the insect fauna associated with blueberry, in the studied areas in that country. The number of families found by these authors was lower (31) than that observed in the region of Pelotas, RS, with emphasis to Apidae.…”

Sampling plans for aphids and their parasitoids in blueberry fields in Argentina

“…In Chile, Aphis gossypii Glover, Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Thomas) and Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) are occasional pests of blueberries (Larraı´n et al 2007). In blueberry fields in Argentina, A. gossypii Glover and A. spiraecola Patch are the most common aphid species (Rocca and Greco 2011). These two species are closely related and morphologically similar (Vanlerbergue-Masutti and Chavigny 1998).…”