Spring evaluation of three sampling methods to estimate family richness and abundance of arthropods in olive groves

Abstract

Spring evaluation of three sampling methods to estimate family richness and abundance of arthropods in olive groves.-The intensification and expansion of agriculture is currently one of the greatest threats to biodiversity worldwide. Olive groves are one of the most extensive and diverse agroecosystems in the Mediterranean region. However, the efficiency of the methods used to sample arthropods in olive crops remains unclear. We compared the effectiveness of pan traps, sweep net and bait traps used to sample arthropods in olive groves. The pan traps collected 19 orders and 182 families, with an abundance that was 76% and 86% higher than that of sweep nets and bait traps, respectively. The composition of families differed significantly according to the method used; from a total of 234 families, 23% were sampled only by pan traps, 16% only by sweep net and 5% only by bait traps. The sampling method was the best predictor of arthropod abundance and number of families, followed by the vegetation and landscape diversity indexes. As pan trap, sweep net and bait trap methods do not obtain the same results when sampling arthropods, we recommend a combination of pan traps and a sweep net, depending on the goal of the studies and the arthropod groups targeted.

Yellow or transparent? Comparison of sticky traps for monitoring functional arthropod diversity in an olive agroecosystem

“…The differences in catches between YST and TST were evident in our study for almost all taxa captured over the two-year study period. Significant differences were observed in both seasons for several orders, indicating a natural preference towards yellow for taxa such as Diptera (Bekker et al, 2017), Homoptera (Castro et al, 2017), Hymenoptera (Thomson et al, 2004;Gullan and Cranston, 2005) and Thysanoptera (Thomson et al, 2004).…”

Arthropod biodiversity in olive groves under two soil management systems: presence versus absence of herbaceous cover crop

“…Previous studies have shown that sampling methods may result in a strong bias towards certain taxa, highlighting the importance of combining various sampling methods, and three sampling methods (pan traps, bait traps and sweep net) were therefore combined in accordance with the methodology of Castro et al . (). Pan traps and bait traps were deployed along each 90‐m transect in the orchard lanes (under the canopy), during three consecutive days.…”

“…Pan and bait traps were checked and cleared of captures daily and the specimens were stored in 70% ethanol. In total, 840 pan traps and 840 bait traps were deployed (for more details, see Castro et al ., ).…”

“…The arthropods were caught using nets and plastic containers, and they were then subsequently transferred into 5‐mL vials for transportation. A total of 3 h per study plot were spent on net sampling (for more details, see Castro et al ., ).…”

“…The study plots sampled in the present study are the same as those reported by Castro et al . (); however, two of the study plots in the previous work were not included in the present study and, additionally, three other study plot were included here. These changes were performed to achieve the objectives of each of the respective studies.…”