Partial mowing of urban lawns supports higher abundances and diversities of insects

Wintergerst, Jennifer; Kästner, Tommy; Bartel, Manuela; Schmidt, Christian; Nuß, Matthias

doi:10.1007/s10841-021-00331-w

Cited by 19 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…For example, a plan of management of the grass lawns, with less intensive mowing, is recommended to maintain viable populations of invertebrates throughout the year, resulting in higher abundance and diversity in these groups (e.g. Lerman et al 2018;Wintergerst et al 2021), a pattern also reported for grazing systems (Schtickzelle et al 2007). Such a result could be especially important considering that similar decreases in insect richness and abundances are mirrored by other invertebrates (Gibson et al 1992;Ausden et al 2005), especially during the dry season, affecting the available food supply for local populations of birds, small mammals, lizards and frogs in the study area.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Population Biology of Three Satyrine Species (Nymphalidae: Satyrinae) in a Suburban Habitat

Dutra,

Lucci Freitas

2024

The Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society

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Decades after the publication of the rst population studies on Neotropical butter ies, knowledge of their population biology remains scarce in the literature. Inconspicuous groups like the nymphalid subfamily Satyrinae are often overlooked, and studies that examine the demographics of these neglected groups are paramount for a more comprehensive understanding of insect population dynamics. The present paper addresses this dearth of information by describing the population biology of three common species of Euptychiina (Nymphalidae: Satyrinae) butter ies, Hermeuptychia atalanta, Cissia eous and Malaveria a nis, in a suburban area. A 13-month mark-release-recapture study was carried out in the grass lawns of the University of Campinas, São Paulo State Southeastern Brazil. The results showed that population parameters differ among the three studied species. For example, the population of H. atalanta is about ve times that of of C. eous, which is four times larger than that of M. a nis. Sex ratios were male-biased in H. atalanta and C. eous, but not in M. a nis (whose sex ratio was 1:1). Hermeuptychia atalanta and C. eous had mean adult lifespans of approximately one week, with no variation between sexes. Malaveria a nis, however, had a lifespan of approximately 11 days for males and just 5 days for females. Age structures were similar in all three species, with no recruitment peaks detected throughout the year. Sexual dimorphism, based on wing size, was not observed in H. atalanta, but a clear pattern of dimorphism with larger females was observed for the other two species. The present study is the rst to describe population parameters for Euptychiina in detail, and one of the few focusing on population biology of butter ies in suburban areas. Indeed, the present results could help to de ne strategies of lawn management for the campus, aiming to increase local biodiversity and consequently improve ecosystem services. Main textThe rst population biology studies for Neotropical butter ies are ve decades old (Turner 1971;Ehrlich & Gilbert 1973). Although some progress in the eld has been made, our knowledge on population dynamics for most Neotropical butter y species remains low and many groups of butter ies are understudied or completely ignored (but see Torres et al. 2009;Seixas et al. 2017; Uehara-Prado and Freitas 2019). One such group is the subtribe Euptychiina (Nymphalidae: Satyrinae); with more than 440 described species, the group is distributed from Canada to Argentina, reaching its maximum diversity in the forests and savannas of South America (DeVries 1987;Marín et al. 2011;Espeland et al. 2019). The group has remained overlooked for decades and thorough studies in taxonomy and systematics in this subtribe are very recent. Apart for taxonomy and systematics, the euptychiines are mostly unknown in terms of host-plants and immature stages, natural history, behavior and ecology (Marín et al. 2011).Moreover, only a few, short-term, studies of population biology of any species of Euptychiina have been published ...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Population Biology of Three Satyrine Species (Nymphalidae: Satyrinae) in a Suburban Habitat

Dutra,

Lucci Freitas

2024

The Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society

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“…Beyond these direct effects, mowing also reduces the availability and diversity of plant species, so that feeding specialists can no longer find suitable host plants for reproduction and adults are subjected to reduced nectar availability (Halbritter et al, 2015). While some mowing or other management is necessary for grassland insects to prevent succession into woodland, high mowing intensity consistently reduces the abundance and species richness of moths and other insects and leads to changes in community composition such as reduction of habitat specialists (Chisté et al, 2016; Mangels et al, 2017; Wintergerst et al, 2021). However, once grasslands and green spaces are mown less often, plant and insect diversity increases (Chollet et al, 2018; Sehrt et al, 2020; Wastian et al, 2016), which is why reducing mowing intensity is a promising strategy for promoting urban insect diversity, including Lepidoptera (Proske et al, 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mortality due to mowing can be high and mowing reduces the availability of suitable sites for larval development in many insects. Thus, only a few species can reproduce in intensively mown urban green spaces (Wintergerst et al, 2021). Furthermore, urban areas tend to be more affected by air pollution and light pollution than surrounding habitats adjacent to cities (Knop et al, 2017; van Langevelde et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disentangling how urbanisation influences moth diversity in grasslands

Sanetra,

Berger,

Hartlieb

et al. 2024

Insect Conserv Diversity

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Urban areas have profound impacts on local species diversity and composition through a set of intertwined changes in the environment. As the world is rapidly urbanising while simultaneously facing a biodiversity crisis, a better understanding of how urbanisation influences biodiversity is necessary. To test if and how urbanisation influences moth diversity and whether urbanisation is acting directly or indirectly via urbanisation‐induced increased habitat isolation, smaller habitat area, higher light pollution and increased mowing intensity, we sampled moths with light trapping in 20 grasslands in the urban core of the city of Darmstadt (southwestern Germany) and 20 grasslands in the surrounding area. Moth abundance and diversity decreased with increasing urbanisation. Smaller habitat area and high mowing intensity reduced moth abundance, while other environmental variables including isolation and light pollution had only indirect effects. High levels of urbanisation were associated with reduced moth abundance, which in turn drove declines in diversity. Urbanised sites favoured generalist species and differed in species composition compared to sites in the surrounding. The results show that urbanisation is directly reducing moth abundance and diversity in cities. The negative effect of urbanisation is further attenuated by habitat fragmentation and high mowing intensity, which are both known drivers of biodiversity decline in urban areas and beyond. While urbanisation itself is often irreversible, reducing mowing intensity and preserving larger grassland areas could facilitate moths and other taxa in and around cities.

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“…Habitat, resource or management attributes that support insect diversity are not always suitable for, or desirable in, human‐used spaces. Weedy floral resources may be ideal for insects but can be perceived as messy by people (Lowenstein et al, 2019), and this impedes the many benefits of reduced mowing frequency (Wintergerst et al, 2021). Elements such as carrion are an even greater challenge in urban areas (Barton et al, 2013).…”

Section: Priorities For Urban Insect Ecology Research and Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insect ecology and conservation in urban areas: An overview of knowledge and needs

Collins,

Audusseau,

Hassall

et al. 2024

Insect Conserv Diversity

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Urban expansion across the globe profoundly impacts local biodiversity. The growing body of urban ecology research on animals has largely focused on mammals and birds, whereas knowledge of insect ecology and conservation in urban areas remains limited. To anchor this Special Issue (SI), we have taken a broad approach to editorial and conducted a structured literature search to set the scene. We provide here an overview of existing literature reviews on urban insect ecology and conservation, indicate where the articles included in this SI contribute to developing our understanding and point to priority areas for further investigation. Key themes in the growing literature (at individual, species, and/or community level) include the influence of habitat quality, quantity and land use type on insect diversity; the impacts of anthropogenic pollution (for instance, heat, noise, light and chemicals); habitat connectivity and changes in habitat structure and impacts of urban density on genetic diversity. Insect diversity and abundance broadly decline with urban density and loss of habitat. Beyond this, variation in responses of different taxa, or in different regions, and methodological limitations of individual studies make it challenging to identify general patterns. Insect ecology and conservation research in urban environments should focus on applying ecological theory to understand variation in diversity patterns; investigating interactions between climate change and urban contexts; identifying impacts of novel environments on insect biodiversity; addressing methodological limitations and harmonising methodological approaches; and exploring the influence of social and historical factors on urban insect biodiversity. Insect conservation must also consider research into how best to communicate the value of urban insects to urban humans.

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Partial mowing of urban lawns supports higher abundances and diversities of insects

Cited by 19 publications

References 38 publications

Population Biology of Three Satyrine Species (Nymphalidae: Satyrinae) in a Suburban Habitat

Population Biology of Three Satyrine Species (Nymphalidae: Satyrinae) in a Suburban Habitat

Disentangling how urbanisation influences moth diversity in grasslands

Insect ecology and conservation in urban areas: An overview of knowledge and needs

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