TY - GEN A1 - Djoudi, El Aziz A1 - Amossé, Ewen A1 - Aviron, Stéphanie A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus A1 - Libereau, Benjamin A1 - Plantegenest, Manuel A1 - Pétillon, Julien T1 - Multi‑trophic arthropod communities modulated by local farming system and landscape heterogeneity T2 - Landscape ecology N2 - Context Organic farming is increasingly used worldwide in recent decades, but the role of this farming system in shaping the trophic structure of arthropod communities remains poorly understood, especially at different spatial scales. Therefore, the contribution of landscape heterogeneity in shaping arthropod’s trophic guilds remain understudied. Objectives In this study, we assessed how the evenness, the abundance and the taxonomic richness of arthropod trophic groups were shaped by the local farming system, landscape heterogeneity (including the percentage of semi-natural habitats and organic fields), and their interaction. Methods Arthropod’s trophic guilds (ground and vegetation-dwelling) were sampled in 20 spatial independent pairs of conventional (CF) and organic (OF) fields located in Brittany (Western France) by using pitfall traps and sweep nets replicated in time and space. Results A total of 95,822 arthropods belonging to 197 taxonomic groups were sampled. Farming system has a strong overall positive effect on the community structure of both ground- and vegetation-dwelling arthropods. Landscape heterogeneity, alone and in interaction with farming systems, affected positively the diversity and abundance of most trophic groups for both ground- and vegetation-dwelling arthropods. Organic farming therefore affected the trophic composition of arthropod communities not only locally, but also at the landscape scale. Conclusions Our study highlights the strong positive effect of farming system and the landscape heterogeneity on arthropod communities and more importantly the interconnection between different spatial scales in this process. Taking these aspects into account is therefore crucial in understanding arthropod community dynamics in agroecosystems. KW - Trophic guilds KW - Winter wheat KW - Western France KW - Pitfall trap KW - Sweep net Y1 - 2026 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-026-02298-y SN - 1572-9761 VL - 41 SP - 1 EP - 14 PB - Springer Nature CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - GEN A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus A1 - Wätzold, Frank A1 - Remelgado, Ruben A1 - Addison, Pia A1 - Aigbedion-Atalor, Pascal A1 - Cord, Anna F. A1 - Ekesi, Sunday A1 - Mutamiswa, Reyard A1 - Rwomushana, Ivan T1 - A framework for multidimensional management of invasive alien insect pests in sub-Saharan Africa T2 - Journal of applied entomology N2 - Invasive alien insect pests pose a significant threat to achieving sustainable food systems in sub-Saharan Africa, where reliance on synthetic pesticides has led to unsustainable practices due to high costs and health and environmental risks. This article presents a multidimensional framework for managing invasive alien insect pests in sub-Saharan Africa, specifically directed at researchers, policymakers, non-governmental organisations and other institutions responsible for invasive pest management as well as extension services for farmers. Invasive pests, such as the Oriental fruit fly and the fall armyworm, and a highly damaging native species for comparison are central to the framework. The framework considers the environmental, socio-economic, and regulatory dimensions of pest management decisions. It reviews different control strategies used against invasive alien pests, highlighting their limitations and environmental impacts. By considering farmer characteristics, institutional support, market demands, and regulatory policies, the article emphasises the need for integrated pest management approaches. The aim is to contribute to the development of sustainable, effective pest management strategies that will ensure long-term agricultural productivity and food security in sub-Saharan Africa. KW - Agriculture KW - Biological control KW - Ecosystem health KW - Food security KW - Socio-economy Y1 - 2026 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/jen.70060 SN - 0931-2048 SP - 1 EP - 10 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - GEN A1 - Alfeus, Martha A1 - Hering, Robert A1 - Djoudi, El Aziz A1 - Angombe, Simon A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus T1 - Encroaching shrub species alter arthropod community composition and trophic structure in southern African rangeland ecosystems T2 - Agriculture, ecosystems & environment N2 - Bush encroachment is rapidly transforming savannah and grassland ecosystems in southern Africa, altering vegetation structure and ecosystem functioning, while reducing rangeland productivity. Despite these shifts, its effects on local biodiversity, particularly arthropod communities remain understudied. This study evaluated the arthropod communities within areas dominated by three major encroaching shrub species in southern Africa: Dichrostachys cinerea, Senegalia mellifera and Terminalia sericea. Arthropods were sampled in northcentral Namibia using pitfall traps (ground-dwelling), pan traps (flying), and shrub beating (canopy-dwelling) during both wet and dry seasons. Arthropod community composition differed significantly among encroaching species, primarily driven by canopy-dwelling arthropods. Senegalia mellifera supported distinct communities distinguished by the exclusive presence of woodlice (Isopoda), while, D. cinerea and T. sericea plots hosted distinct taxa, including Caelifera, Mantodea and Strepsiptera. Also the trophic composition differed among shrubs, with omnivores dominating S. mellifera and phytophagous arthropods dominating D. cinerea plots. Formicidae and Collembola were numerically dominant across all plots. Brachycera, Curculionidae and Collembola were highly sensitive to local environmental variation, indicating their potential as bio-indicators for monitoring shrub encroachment and effectiveness of management interventions. Overall arthropod abundance positively correlated with ground cover, while taxonomic diversity showed a negative relationship. Therefore, conservation efforts in bush encroached areas should promote vegetation management strategies that enhance structural heterogeneity to support greater arthropod diversity. Our findings provide a key baseline on how encroaching shrub species affect arthropods, highlighting the need to consider invertebrate biodiversity in de-bushing efforts in southern Africa, which have traditionally focused on rangeland productivity over ecological impacts. KW - Biodiversity KW - Bush encroachment KW - Rangeland ecosystems KW - Insect communities Y1 - 2026 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2025.110016 SN - 1873-2305 VL - 396 SP - 1 EP - 10 PB - Elsevier BV CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - GEN A1 - Arvidsson, Fredrik A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus T1 - The value of public databases for our knowledge of national spider biodiversity compared to a long-term scientific monitoring project. T2 - Insect conservation and diversity N2 - Citizen science can be a valuable tool for monitoring changes in biodiversity, especially for less frequently studied taxonomic groups such as spiders. These collaborative projects between scientists and private citizens can provide a cost‐effective means of collecting large data sets, while also raising awareness of environmental and sustainability issues. A comparison of two public databases ( iNaturalist and the Swedish biodiversity database Artportalen ) with a national scientific study using malaise traps (Swedish Malaise Trap Project, SMTP) sheds light on their individual and combined contribution to our understanding of spider biodiversity and geographical distribution in Sweden. iNaturalist is an important global platform for mobilising public participation in biodiversity research. While widely used internationally, its coverage in Sweden is relatively limited and tends to over‐represent species that are easy to spot and often observed in densely populated areas. Artportalen includes a large body of observations contributed through citizen science. It offers wide species coverage, supported by higher expert input. Nevertheless, it exhibits sampling bias towards species that are diurnal and common in more populated areas. Projects based on large‐scale sampling schemes such as SMTP therefore make essential contributions to our understanding of the occurrence of species, especially for rare and uncommon species or species with cryptic life histories. Records are, however, limited in distribution to the pre‐defined sample locations. Given the more resource‐intensive nature of traditional scientific surveys, a combined approach that integrates citizen science data with scientific sampling offers the most robust and comprehensive means of assessing biodiversity. KW - Araneae KW - Artportalen KW - Citizen science KW - Completeness KW - iNaturalist KW - Malaise trap KW - Recognition KW - SMTP KW - Species distribution KW - Schweden Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/icad.70024 SN - 1752-4598 VL - 19 IS - 1 SP - 228 EP - 239 PB - Wiley ER - TY - GEN A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus A1 - Ekroos, Johan A1 - Mader, Viktoria A1 - Tschumi, Matthias A1 - Wu, Ai-ping A1 - Smith, Henrik G. T1 - Taxonomy, habitat and conservation status explain the diet composition of insectivorous birds in Europe T2 - Biological conservation N2 - Populations of European birds and insects are declining, with consequences for trophic interactions. Insectivorous birds are particularly vulnerable to losses of arthropods, yet the factors shaping their diet composition remain insufficiently understood. We conducted a quantitative review of the arthropod diets of 94 European insectivorous bird species and assessed how diet richness and composition relate to taxonomy, developmental stage, climate, conservation status, habitat, migration status, sampling intensity, and methodological approach. Taxonomy, habitat and conservation status (both population trend over time and current status) were the primary predictors of diet richness and composition. Species of population concern in Europe relied more on Coleoptera and Orthoptera prey, while species with declining population trends and species in agricultural, artificial and semi-natural habitats showed strong dependence on Coleoptera prey. Species in forests and of global population concern had a higher percentage of Arachnida prey, while birds in inland water habitats relied on Diptera prey. Anthropogenic activities such as the use of insecticides and changes in land use in agricultural and forest habitats negatively impact the abundance and diversity of arthropods, including Coleoptera and Arachnida. These declines will cascade up the food chain, ultimately diminishing both common and threatened bird species by limiting their prey. Species of global conservation concern may be particularly at risk, as they exhibit the lowest prey taxonomic richness. It is therefore crucial that future legislation and policy interventions consider these indirect impacts on bird diets, as these vulnerable species are at high risk of further losses in arthropod prey. KW - Foraging KW - Arthropod KW - Biodiversity loss KW - Prey KW - Insect Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111566 SN - 0006-3207 VL - 313 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - Elsevier BV CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - GEN A1 - Schnerch, Benjamin A1 - Bucher, Roman A1 - Djoudi, El Aziz A1 - Hossain, Mohammad A1 - Bapfubusa Niyibizi, Ingrid Aline A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus T1 - Growth stage, management and habitat influence the taxonomic and functional composition of arthropod communities in apple orchards T2 - Agriculture, ecosystems & environment N2 - Apples are the most cultivated fruits in temperate regions, and their production relies on heavy use of synthetic pesticides, causing major environmental problems and the loss of biodiversity. Pests in tree canopies are commonly controlled by the use of synthetic pesticides, but habitat manipulations in orchard alleys are an alternative practice to promote natural pest control services. Integrated pest management (IPM) and organic production methods are considered to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly than conventional production, but the knowledge of the differences between arthropod communities in IPM and organic apple orchards differ from each other is limited. Therefore, we sampled alley and canopy arthropod communities in eight orchards under IPM and eight organic apple orchards, respectively, during three sampling dates in the apple growing season. Our results show that seasonal effects predominantly shape the taxonomic composition and abundance of arthropod community, especially within canopy habitats, while management effects are context-dependent for several taxonomic groups. The species composition of spider communities in canopy habitats differed significantly between management systems depending on dates, with some common species being more abundant in IPM than in organic orchards later in the season. The functional diversity of spider communities was significantly lower in the orchard alleys than in tree canopies, and increased in alley, but decreased in canopy habitats over time. Communities in IPM orchards had a higher proportion of spiders with ballooning ability, indicating that aerial dispersal is more common for spiders in IPM compared to organic orchards. The results of this study highlight the context dependency of management effects on the taxonomic and functional composition of arthropod communities, as these are likely to be most pronounced at certain times of the growing season and in certain habitats. Functional diversity and trait composition were more sensitive to management differences than taxonomic composition. Our results therefore emphasise the need to consider both taxonomic and functional metrics, and to incorporate seasonal and habitat considerations, when assessing the effects of sustainable management practices on arthropod communities in the future KW - Community composition KW - Insects KW - Integrated pest management (IPM) KW - Organic farming KW - Spiders KW - Functional traits KW - Araneae Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2025.109901 VL - 394 SP - 1 EP - 13 PB - Elsevier BV CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - GEN A1 - Bucher, Roman A1 - Masson, Aline M. T1 - Black garden ants reduce aphid predation by native and invasive ladybirds T2 - Ecological entomology N2 - 1. Intraguild interference between predators can hamper top-down regulation. For example, aphid-tending ants often defend their mutualistic partners against antagonists. Greater ant aggression against native ladybirds compared to non-native ladybirds might benefit the non-native predator, due to predator–predator naïveté. As a consequence, non-native ladybirds are expected to consume more aphids and might thus outcompete native ladybirds. 2. We established microcosms with a bean plant (Vicia faba) infested with black bean aphids (Aphis fabae). The microcosms were divided into the following treatments: no ants, aphids tended by common red ants (Myrmica rubra) and aphids tended by black garden ants (Lasius niger). We added either a native ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata) or an invasive ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) to the microcosms. We compared deterrence of ladybirds from plant-based aphids by ants and the number of aphids remaining at the end of the experiment. 3. Our results indicate that L. niger, but not M. rubra, deterred ladybirds from the plant and strongly increased the number of remaining aphids in the presence of both ladybird species. In contrast to our expectation, more aphids tended to remain in the presence of H. axyridis and M. rubra compared to the C. septempunctata and M. rubra combination. 4. We conclude that intraguild interference can weaken top-down control and depends on the aggressiveness and potentially prey consumption of competing species. However, we found no support for the predator–predator naïveté hypothesis suggesting that non-native predators would be released from intraguild interference and thus consume more prey. KW - Harmonia axyridis KW - Intraguild interference KW - Invasive species KW - Pest control KW - Predator–predator-naïveté KW - Trophic interactions Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/een.70033 SN - 1365-2311 SP - 1 EP - 4 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken, NJ ER - TY - GEN A1 - Michalko, Radek A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus A1 - Traugott, Michael A1 - Jonsson, Mattias T1 - Negative intraguild interactions drive niche variation in arthropod predators T2 - Entomologia generalis N2 - The niche variation hypothesis states that the population niche width expands with increasing interindividual differences in prey utilization (i.e., individual dietary specialization). The main ecological drivers forming this relationship include a) ecological opportunity, b) food limitation and exploitative competition, and c) intraguild interference. Only a limited number of empirical studies have tested the impact of these drivers on the niche variation–width relationship and focused only on vertebrates. Using molecular gut content analysis, we investigated how prey diversity (proxy for ecological opportunity), prey abundance (proxy for exploitative competition / food-limitation), and activity density of guild members (proxy for intraguild interference) affect the short-term individual dietary specialization and consequently the population niche width in local communities of 13 species of predatory beetles and spiders. The study took place in 10 spring barley fields in Sweden in 2011. We found that the niche variation and consequently the average population niche width of the spe- cies in the predator community decreased with prey abundance but increased with activity density of guild members. The results indicate that intraguild interference and exploitative competition / food limitation increased dietary variation. The increased diet variation led to the observed population diet expansion. Our results support the niche variation hypothesis and, in contrast to the traditional view, show that negative intraguild interactions may act as a diversifying force. KW - Araneae KW - Carabidae KW - Coccinellidae KW - Ecological opportunity KW - Individual specialization Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1127/entomologia/2024/2282 SN - 2363-7102 VL - 44 IS - 3 SP - 525 EP - 534 PB - Schweizerbart CY - Stuttgart ER - TY - GEN A1 - Gavín-Centol, María Pilar A1 - Serrano-Carnero, Diego A1 - Montserrat, Marta A1 - Balanzategui, Iñaki A1 - Scheu, Stefan A1 - Truu, Jaak A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus A1 - Sánchez-Moreno, Sara A1 - Moya-Laraño, Jordi T1 - Drought impairs detritivore feeding activity more strongly in northern than in southern European latitudes T2 - Soil biology and biochemistry N2 - Soil detritivores play key roles in decomposition processes closely related to ecosystem services. Drought and soil organic carbon depletion due to agricultural management are detrimental to soil biodiversity, but their interactive effects on soil biota and associated processes have not been thoroughly investigated. In 2018, we used rain-out shelters to experimentally induce drought in wheat fields of contrasting levels of organic carbon in Sweden, Germany and Spain. That year Europe experienced a climatic dipole, with exceptionally severe droughts in northern latitudes. We assessed the feeding activity of soil detritivores by bait-lamina tests, and measured several abiotic and biotic soil parameters. In the peak of the dipole drought (summer) southern fields had the driest soils. Nonetheless, detritivore feeding activity responded to the experimental drought by shifting to deeper soil layers there. Low soil organic carbon (SOC) levels exacerbated the latter effect. However, in this same period, feeding activity in northern and central Europe was two orders of magnitude lower than in the south, and failed to respond to either the experimental treatment and/or SOC levels. Using mixed-effects longitudinal random forests, we detected various candidate drivers of detritivore feeding activity: soil moisture, phosphorus content, bacteria and nematodes. Different bacterial taxa were associated to detritivory in each country, but their potential influence was pervasive. Thus, our results suggest that drought had adverse effects on detritivore feeding, which were exacerbated northwards due to the climatic dipole. Increased SOC levels mitigated drought effects only in southern soils. Regional adaptation of soil biota to aridity could explain the response of detritivores in southern Europe to drought. Machine learning algorithms arise as useful tools for exploring potential drivers relating biodiversity to soil processes. Overall, future research on the effects of drought on soil biodiversity and processes will be key for tackling climate change impacts in terrestrial ecosystems. KW - Agroecosystems KW - Ecosystem functioning KW - Climatic dipole KW - Soil biota KW - Invertebrate detritivores KW - Bait-lamina test Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109594 SN - 0038-0717 VL - 199 SP - 1 EP - 15 PB - Elsevier BV CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - GEN A1 - Bapfubusa Niyibizi, Ingrid Aline A1 - Schnerch, Benjamin A1 - Djoudi, El Aziz A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus T1 - Aphid proliferation in orchard alleys and canopy predator aggregation in eastern German apple orchards T2 - Agricultural and forest entomology N2 - 1. European apple (Malus domestica) orchards face persistent threats from aphid infestations, which can severely compromise fruit yields. 2. In this study, we compared aphid communities in two microhabitats (tree canopy and orchard alley) in commercial apple orchards under organic and integrated pest management (IPM), in relation to aphidophagous predator abundance at three stages of the growing season: early fruit development, fruit maturity and post-harvest. 3. We sampled eight organic and eight IPM apple orchards in eastern Germany using standardised canopy beating of apple trees and suction sampling in the orchard alleys. 4. Our results indicate no significant differences in aphid infestation between organic and IPM orchards, regardless of the sampled microhabitat. However, aphid communities in the tree canopy of organic orchards exhibited greater evenness across species than those of IPM orchards. Eriosoma lanigerum consistently dominated canopy aphid communities across both management systems, highlighting the need for targeted management practices for this pest. Additionally, aphidophagous predator abundance in the tree canopy increased over time and showed a positive association with aphid abundance. Aphid community structure varied significantly across sampling periods and microhabitats. Differences between organic and IPM orchards were observed during the early fruit development phase in orchard alleys, with higher levels of infestation in organic orchards. Aphid taxa such as Macrosiphum euphorbiae, Dysaphis spp., Aphis spiraecola and Rhopalosiphum insertum contributed to these differences. 5. Our findings provide a better understanding of the temporal dynamics of aphid communities in apple orchards in eastern Germany, highlighting the importance of microhabitats and host plant phenology. KW - Aphidoidea KW - Agricultural pest KW - IPM KW - Organic KW - Phenology KW - Species composition Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/afe.12699 SN - 1461-9563 VL - 27 IS - 4 SP - 742 EP - 754 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken, NJ ER - TY - GEN A1 - Kocsis, Timea A1 - de Groot, Arjen A1 - van Beersum, Femke A1 - Boer, Jolinka A1 - Dimmers, Wim A1 - Laros, Ivo A1 - Lammertsma, Dennis A1 - Polling, Marcel A1 - Schnerch, Benjamin T1 - Mixed plant and arthropod biodiversity responses to solar park establishment on former agricultural lands T2 - Journal of applied ecology N2 - Ground‐mounted solar parks in Europe are often implemented in agricultural landscapes on fields with agricultural history. The subsequent decrease in management intensity presents opportunities for biodiversity development, which might especially be interesting for arthropods and their resources, given their ongoing biodiversity losses in agricultural landscapes. While several studies suggest that solar parks have the potential to enhance pollinator biodiversity, impacts on other arthropods remain unclear and there is limited knowledge on how these shifts compare to pre‐conversion biodiversity and the potential of solar parks to contribute to biodiversity conservation. In this study, we used field surveys and insect trapping to compare flower resources, vascular plant diversity, pollinator diversity and soil‐emergent arthropod diversity in Dutch solar parks to previous land use (i.e. intensive agricultural grasslands) and semi‐natural conditions (i.e. extensively managed grasslands). Flower and nectar plant availability, wild bee and hoverfly abundance, but not butterfly abundance, were significantly higher in solar parks than in intensive grasslands. Vascular plant diversity was similar in solar parks and extensive grasslands, and higher than in intensive grasslands. Overall soil‐emergent arthropod richness was similar across all habitat types, yet biomass and abundance were lower in solar parks than in the other habitats. Community composition differed between habitat types across all studied arthropod groups. Synthesis and applications. Our results suggest that while biodiversity can increase in solar parks post‐conversion compared to previous land use, not all taxonomic groups benefit from the land use change. Potential benefits for certain groups (particularly for butterflies and soil‐emergent arthropods) are likely lost due to disturbance during land conversion and solar panel presence. As a result, our study indicates that solar parks have the potential to combine biodiversity conservation on the surfaces not covered by solar panels, but that more insight is needed in the solar park design (e.g. conversion process and row width) and management, particularly to improve butterfly and soil‐emergent arthropod biodiversity. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.70170 SP - 1 EP - 14 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken, NJ ER - TY - GEN A1 - Agunbiade, Michael Bode A1 - Menares, Esteban A1 - Fotang, Chefor A1 - Jallow, Mawdo A1 - Camara, Fagimba A1 - Enoguanbhor, Evidence Chinedu A1 - Shittu, Wakil Adebola A1 - Ogada, Darcy A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus T1 - Amount of organic waste affects the composition and interactions of vertebrate scavengers at Gambian slaughterhouses T2 - African journal of ecology N2 - Slaughterhouses in The Gambia serve as critical feeding sites for diverse vertebrate scavenger communities, including hooded vultures, domestic dogs, pigs and avian species such as pied crows, black kites and cattle egrets. This study investigated how the quantity and type of organic waste influence the composition and competitive interactions of scavengers across five slaughterhouses. Using multivariate statistical models, we found that waste quantity was the strongest predictor of scavenger community composition, explaining 32.7% of the variation, with hooded vultures being most abundant at high‐waste sites. Specific waste types influenced feeding behaviour, suggesting niche differentiation among species; for instance, cattle egrets focused on blood and insects, while vultures dominated meat‐based resources. Competitive interactions varied by species, with domestic dogs frequently displacing vultures without physical conflict, whereas hooded vultures dominated interactions against other birds. Activity patterns revealed temporal separation, with vultures and dogs active primarily in the morning, and other avian scavengers more active in the afternoon, reducing interspecific competition. The study highlights the essential role of hooded vultures in waste management and disease mitigation but also emphasises how poor fencing facilitates mammalian access, intensifying competition and potentially threatening obligate scavengers. Improving fencing, controlling feeding, and incorporating targeted waste management strategies are recommended to support scavenger conservation and enhance ecosystem services in urbanised environments. KW - Conservation strategies KW - Hooded vultures KW - Organic waste removal KW - Scavenger communities KW - Waste management Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/aje.70045 SN - 0141-6707 SN - 1365-2028 VL - 63 IS - 4 SP - 1 EP - 13 PB - Wiley CY - Oxford ER - TY - GEN A1 - Menares-Barraza, Esteban A1 - Markova-Nenova, Nonka A1 - Sturm, Astrid A1 - Wätzold, Frank A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus T1 - Cost-effective conservation of multiple goals in grasslands : synergies and trade-offs T2 - Biological conservation N2 - Permanent grasslands in Europe are essential for biodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services, but are increasingly threatened by land-use intensification. In the past, grassland conservation has mainly focused on “traditional” conservation goals such as species richness and endangered species, but has rarely considered alternative goals that address trophic interactions, ecosystem services, or ecosystem resilience. Using data from the research platform Biodiversity Exploratories, we adapted an existing optimization procedure to optimize single and joint conservation goals for butterfly and plant communities in grasslands in two regions in Germany. For all grassland sites, we assessed the costs associated with each management measure and the ecological state measured by multiple attributes. For each region, we ran three optimizations: one ecological (budget-unconstrained), and two cost-effectiveness optimizations with a low and a medium budget (budget-constrained). We compared selected grassland management measures, their costs, and ecological effects for different goals between optimizations and between different goals within the same optimization. Cost-effectiveness optimization can achieve high levels of conservation goals with low budgets, reaching up to 80% of the maximum achievable in the ecological optimizations while requiring only 30% of the budget. Trade-offs with other goals were inevitable but were minimized by jointly optimizing over multiple goals. Optimization results and trade-offs varied between regions, highlighting the need to design and implement region-specific management measures. Our study shows that promoting multiple conservation goals simultaneously across taxonomic boundaries is an ecologically and economically viable option. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111401 SN - 0006-3207 VL - 311 SP - 1 EP - 13 PB - Elsevier BV CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - GEN A1 - Melcher, Anja Carina A1 - Krehenwinkel, Henrik A1 - Harms, Danilo A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus T1 - Estimating required sample sizes for gut content metabarcoding studies of dietary diversity in spiders T2 - Journal of applied entomology N2 - Spiders are dominant predators in terrestrial ecosystems, regulating invertebrate biomass, diversity and abundance through predation. However, analysing predation patterns in the field is challenging, especially as spiders are extra-intestinal liquid feeders and often active at night. Gut content metabarcoding (GCM) provides a cost-effective method to study the prey composition of spiders. In this study, we determine the minimum sample size of spider specimens required to obtain representative estimates of local prey composition. Six common spider species were studied using GCM, and we show that the number of analysed individuals per spider species influenced the sampling completeness for prey at different taxonomic levels. To achieve 90% sampling completeness at the prey species level, between 50 and over 150 individuals per spider species had to be analysed, which is challenging for ecological multi-site studies. Hence, we argue for consideration of coarser taxonomic levels, such as family or order, which often provide sufficient ecological information to understand predator–prey interactions. At these levels, sampling completeness can be achieved with much smaller sample sizes of four to eight individuals per species, making ecological GCM studies more cost-effective. These results highlight the benefits of considering the taxonomic resolution in metabarcoding studies to address ecological research questions. We further provide information that will facilitate future investigations of predator–prey dynamics, not just in spiders but also in other extra-intestinal liquid feeders like, for example, ground beetles. KW - Araneae KW - Dietary specialisation KW - Taxonomic resolution KW - Predation dynamics KW - Sampling completeness KW - Predator-prey interaction Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/jen.13433 SN - 1439-0418 VL - 149 IS - 7 SP - 1034 EP - 1039 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Oxford ER - TY - GEN A1 - Bode Agunbiade, Michael A1 - Mawdo, Jallow A1 - Camara, Fagimba A1 - Fotang, Chefor A1 - Tangwa, Elvis A1 - Amos Oladosu, Olayinka A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus T1 - Mapping suitable habitat for hooded vultures necrosyrtes monachus in one of the last West African strongholds for the species, The Gambia. T2 - The Ostrich : journal of African ornithology N2 - Hooded Vultures Necrosyrtes monachus are Critically Endangered, with numbers decreasing due to illegal poisoning, hunting for belief-based use and food, and habitat loss. In The Gambia, human activities currently benefit commensalism between humans and Hooded Vultures, as these birds primarily feed on carcasses and organic waste found around human settlements. This study aimed to identify suitable habitats for Hooded Vultures in The Gambia and assess the importance of environmental variables for habitat suitability. We surveyed 791 km of roads by car in 2017 and 2021 for signs of vulture occurrence (n = 179). Occurrence data were combined with 15 environmental variables using the Maximum Entropy species distribution model (MaxEnt) to predict suitable habitats. We found that 43.7% of the country is unsuitable as habitat for Hooded Vultures, 27.1% is of low suitability, 17.6% is of moderate suitability, and 11.6% is of high suitability. Highly suitable vulture habitats were identified in the western region and the greater Banjul area. The likelihood of vulture occurrence increased with the density of built-up areas and proximity to roads but decreased with the density of water bodies. Vulture habitats are limited across the country and are constrained to certain climatic conditions in areas of intense human settlement, such as arid and semi-arid regions with low rainfall and high temperatures. Although the commensal relationship with humans brings benefits to the vultures, it also exposes them to human-caused threats that can reduce their survival. Our results suggest that urban planning, waste management, and climate impacts should be considered in their long-term conservation planning. KW - MaxEnt KW - West Africa KW - Vulture conservation KW - Species distribution model Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.2989/00306525.2025.2474919 SN - 1727-947X VL - 96 IS - 1 SP - 24 EP - 35 PB - NISC CY - Grahamstown ER - TY - GEN A1 - Bapfubusa Niyibizi, Ingrid Aline A1 - Addison, Pia A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus T1 - Effect of pest control strategies on arthropod pests of apple in Europe : a meta‐analysis. T2 - Journal of applied entomology N2 - Apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) is a major fruit crop in Europe. More than 200 phytophagous arthropod species thrive in European apple orchards, several of which are economically important pests. Due to the pest pressure on apple production, consumer demand for residue-free products and current policies to make food production in the European Union more sustainable, pest management has become an important issue in meeting the high cosmetic standards expected for apples on the fresh fruit market. The aim of this study was to determine the most effective management strategy to reduce the abundance of arthropod pests of apples in Europe. We conducted a Europe-wide meta-analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of integrated pest management (IPM) and organic management in reducing the abundance of arthropod pests. We also examined the differences between synthetic and organic pesticides in terms of pest reduction as a core element of the difference between IPM and organic apple production systems in Europe. We found an overall nonsignificant effect of IPM compared to organic management. However, when comparing synthetic pesticides with organic pesticides, we found that synthetic pesticides were significantly more effective. On the other hand, organic pesticides showed a significant positive effect in controlling pest populations when compared to an absence of treatment. This analysis highlights the effectiveness of synthetic pesticides over organic pesticides, while accounting for the inherent heterogeneity within each group, and suggests that factors beyond insecticide use play an important role in pest reduction in organic and IPM apple production systems in Europe. KW - Apple pests KW - Apple production KW - IPM in Europe KW - Synthetic pesticides KW - Pest management KW - Organic agriculture Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/jen.13416 SN - 1439-0418 VL - 2025 SP - 1 EP - 31 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken, New Jersey ER - TY - GEN A1 - Saito, Ryota A1 - Yamanobe, Hiroki A1 - Yabuki, Kazuma A1 - Suzuki, Tomohiro A1 - Saito, Takeru A1 - Hakozaki, Shuntaro A1 - Wanner, Manfred T1 - Salinity tolerance in resting cysts of colpodid ciliates : comparative transcriptomics analysis and chemical analysis of cyst walls to investigate their tolerance capability. T2 - Current research in microbial sciences N2 - The formation of resting cysts is a strategy for survival in unfavorable environments by single cell organisms such as protists. Here, we show that Colpoda resting cysts have high salinity tolerance and investigate the changes in gene expression that underpin this effect. Colpoda resting cysts can tolerate saline conditions up to 3.5 % NaCl. A comparative transcriptome analysis of vegetative cells and resting cysts showed that the relative levels of expression of genes associated with membrane function increased in resting cysts. These changes in gene expression suggest that reconstruction of the plasma membrane is associated with salinity tolerance. The resting cyst forms cyst-specific cellular structure known as the cyst wall. The outer shell-like layer, called the ectocyst, while the inner multiple layers, known as the endocyst. The chemical analysis showed ectocyst contains chitin and endocyst contains several proteins. These structures can protect cells by acting as a biological armor or protective materials. The results of this study offer a possible scenario in which salinity tolerance enables the widespread dispersal of protists. KW - Protist KW - Chitin KW - Biodiversity KW - Actin KW - Cryptobiosis KW - NGS KW - NGS Dormancy Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crmicr.2025.100371 SN - 2666-5174 VL - 8 SP - 1 EP - 15 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - GEN A1 - Feng, Lanya A1 - Arvidsson, Fredrik A1 - Djoudi, El Aziz A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus T1 - Terrestrial generalist predators have larger isotopic niches but rely less on aquatic prey at a natural compared to a post-mining lakeshore T2 - Food webs N2 - The flooded pits from former opencast mining (post-mining lakes) are young aquatic ecosystems often with low primary productivity due to the high acidity. The limited availability of nutrients and simplified aquatic food webs in these artificial lakes may affect the matter fluxes towards food webs in adjacent terrestrial habitats. To understand the impact of emerging prey from a post-mining lake on terrestrial food webs and associated arthropod communities, we compared the emergence and activity of arthropods as well as the isotopic niches of generalist predators and their potential prey between lakeshores of a post-mining and a natural lake. We used aquatic and terrestrial emergence tents to sample potential prey that emerged locally (Collembola and Diptera) and pitfall traps to sample terrestrial arthropod predators (Carabidae and Araneae) from lakeshores. Community and stable isotope (δ13C and δ15N) analyses were performed to compare diversity and isotopic niches of generalist arthropod predators between the natural and post-mining lakeshores. The number of emerging aquatic and terrestrial prey did not differ significantly between lakes, but the δ15N values of aquatic emerging dipterans differed between the two lakes. Predator community diversity did not differ significantly between lakeshores, but generalist predator species from the natural lakeshore generally had larger isotopic niche sizes than the same species at the post-mining lakeshore indicating a more diverse diet. Additional estimates of diet composition suggest that predators at the natural lakeshore utilized aquatic prey to a lesser degree than at the post-mining lake, but still had a more diverse diet. KW - Carabids KW - Food web KW - Post-mining lake KW - Spiders KW - Stable isotopes KW - Subsidies Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fooweb.2024.e00368 SN - 2352-2496 VL - 41 SP - 1 EP - 9 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - GEN A1 - Kinga, Harriet A1 - Damptey, Frederick Gyasi A1 - Harms, Danilo A1 - Jocqué, Rudy A1 - Henrard, Arnaud A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus T1 - Active restoration of post-mining forest benefits the activity density, but not the diversity of spider communities across the seasons in Ghana T2 - African invertebrates N2 - Forest restoration often involves monitoring programmes to determine whether biodiversity levels and ecosystem services have changed over time. This study investigated changes in ground-hunting spider communities (families Ctenidae, Lycosidae and Zodariidae) in an actively restored forest, an unrestored gravel mine, and two alternative land-use types (agroforestry system and an arable field) to assess whether a two-decade post-mine restoration programme has been successful in restoring biodiversity to levels of a reference natural forest. The overall activity density of ground-hunting spiders (based on both juveniles and adult specimens) was highest in the natural and the restored forest in the dry season and lowest in the arable field and agroforestry system in the wet season. The inverse Simpson index was highest at the gravel site in the wet season, followed by natural forest in both seasons and lower values in the restored forest. The community composition of spiders differed significantly between land-use types (open versus forest habitats) and the interaction between land use and season also differed significantly. The species Pardosa injucunda and Trochosa gentilis dominated the communities in the restored forest, but Africactenus monitor dominated the natural forest and Hogna gratiosa dominated communities in the gravel site. Surprisingly, active forest restoration promoted the activity density of ground-hunting spiders displaced by mining activities to levels even higher than in the reference natural forest after two decades. However, the community composition of the restored forest was more similar to the agroforestry system than to the natural forest. These results highlight the benefits of restoring former mining sites but also show the trade-offs in terms of restoration goals, as natural forest biodiversity of spiders was not achieved after 20 years. KW - Mining KW - Deforestation KW - Community composition KW - Agroforestry system KW - Biodiversity conservation KW - Araneae Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3897/AfrInvertebr.66.138662 SN - 2305-2562 IS - 66 SP - 1 EP - 18 PB - Pensoft CY - Sofia ER - TY - GEN A1 - Cardoso, Pedro A1 - Pekar, Stano A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus T1 - Ecosystem services provided by spiders T2 - Biological reviews N2 - Spiders, ubiquitous and abundant predators in terrestrial ecosystems, often bear the weight of an unjust negative perception. However, these remarkable creatures stand as unsung heroes within our ecosystems, wielding significant influence by contributing a multitude of ecosystem services critical to both the planet's future and human well-being. Here, we delve into the diverse spectrum of ecosystem services offered by spiders and their potential to inspire or directly provide nature-based solutions. Provisioning services include the versatile uses of silk-like materials, inspiration for biomimetic technology, medicines derived from venom, bio-insecticides that offer eco-friendly alternatives to synthetic chemicals, food sources for various communities worldwide, and even becoming unconventional yet increasingly valued pets. Regulating services provided by spiders extend to vital roles in pest suppression across diverse agricultural settings, mitigating diseases by curbing insectmediated pathogen dispersal, and controlling invasive species. Supporting services offered by spiders are equally extensive, involving nutrient cycling through the breakdown of organic matter, acting as food sources, or creating habitats for other organisms. Beyond their tangible contributions, spiders hold a significant cultural and spiritual heritage globally and are integral to many traditional medicine practices. They inspire contemporary culture, provide educational value, offer models for scientific discovery, contribute to mental health improvement, evoke a sense of place, and are commonly employed for monitoring biodiversity and ecosystem health. To pave the way for future research, we present a roadmap for exploring ecosystem services by spiders. While many of these services are wellestablished and studied from various perspectives, others harbour untapped potential. Leveraging what nature inherently provides, these nature-based solutions offer avenues to address challenges such as biodiversity erosion and societal needs. By restoring, preserving, or mimicking natural processes of spiders, we can enhance or provide essential ecosystem services, harnessing the full potential of spiders and the intricate web of benefits they bring to our world. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.70044 SP - 1 EP - 20 PB - Wiley CY - Weinheim ER - TY - GEN A1 - Bucher, Roman A1 - Batary, Peter A1 - Baudry, Julia A1 - Beaumelle, Lea A1 - Cerevkova, Andrea A1 - Garcia de la Riva, Enrique A1 - Djoudi, El Aziz A1 - Dirilgen, Tara A1 - Galle, Robert A1 - Kesse-Guyot, Emmanuelle A1 - O´Reilly, Alison A1 - Rembialkowska, Ewa A1 - Rusch, Adrien A1 - Smith, Henrik G. A1 - Stanley, Dara A. A1 - Roberts, Stuart P.M. A1 - Ulrich, Werner A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus T1 - Land-use impacts on crop yield : direct and indirect roles of arthropods and associated ecosystem services in European farmland T2 - Landscape ecology N2 - Context Land-use intensification to increase yields is often detrimental to biodiversity undermining the provision of ecosystem services. However, it is questionable if ecosystem service providers contribute to ecological intensification by achieving the same or higher yields than conventional high-intensity agriculture. Objectives In this study, we aimed to disentangle the effects of local and landscape-scale land-use intensification on arthropod communities and their contribution to ecosystem services and crop yield. A set of meta-analytic structural equation models allowed us to assess direct and indirect relationships in the cascade from land use to yield. Methods We selected 37 datasets containing information on land use, community composition, levels of pollination and natural pest control services, and crop yield. We quantified functional diversity of communities by collecting trait information for three exemplary groups of service-providers: bees, ground beetles, and spiders. Results Local land-use intensification reduced the abundance of all arthropod groups. Spiders were the only group whose species richness was negatively related to a higher percentage of arable land in the landscape. High abundance of bees related positively to oilseed rape pollination and crop yields. In the models for the two predator groups, crop yield was strongly determined by land use, independent of the pest control services provided by natural enemies. Conclusions Our results suggest a potential for ecological intensification mediated by land-use change in crops where pollination benefits yield, but suggest more nuanced effects for pest control. Our study also calls for experiments on multiple taxonomic groups and ecosystem services that apply comparable methods at similar scales. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-025-02117-w SN - 1572-9761 VL - 40 IS - 97 SP - 1 EP - 19 PB - Springer Science + Business Media B.V ER - TY - GEN A1 - Wanner, Manfred A1 - Siemensma, Ferry A1 - Prasad Acharja, Indra A1 - Tshering, Jigme A1 - Khandu, Pema A1 - Lal Gajmer, Santa A1 - Gyeltshen, Choki A1 - Dorji, Tshering A1 - Tenzin, Kinley A1 - Shimano, Satoshi D. T1 - Testate amoebae from the wetlands of the Phobjikha Valley of Bhutan, the Eastern Himalayas T2 - European Journal of Protistology N2 - The Kingdom of Bhutan in the Eastern Himalayas harbors a rich biodiversity. However, its detailed documentation still needs to be created, including not only macroorganisms but also protists. In the present study, as many as 105 taxa of testate amoebae were identified and directly counted in soil suspension samples collected from the wetlands of the Gangtey-Phobji Valley (generally Phobjikha), Wangdue Phodrang district. The most dominant were cosmopolitan species, e.g., Euglypha rotunda, Trinema lineare, T. complanatum, T. enchelys, Phryganella acropodia, and Plagiopyxis declivis. However, some taxa such as Centropyxis deflandriana, C. stenodeflandriana, Hoogenraadia cf. humicola, Pareuglypha reticulata, and Sphenoderia chardezi have a geographically restricted distribution and/or are considered rare. Some specimens could not be assigned to already described species (Centropyxis dentata sp. nov. and Difflugia fusiforma sp. nov.) or were highly similar to known species but differed in size or other taxonomically important characteristics (e.g., Hoogenraadia cf. humicola and Planhoogenraadia sp.). To our knowledge, this study is the first to present a comprehensive list of testate amoebae from Bhutan, including some new and rare species. The discovery of a remarkable diversity of testate amoebae in only a few soil samples suggests that this remote and largely unexplored region likely harbors many more intriguing species. KW - Testate amoebae KW - Soil habitats KW - Biodiversity KW - Taxonomy KW - New species Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejop.2024.126125 SN - 0932-4739 IS - 96 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Aigbedion Atalor, Pascal Aigbedion Atalor A1 - Heiduk, Annemarie A1 - Upfold, Jennifer A1 - Shuttleworth, Adam A1 - Moore, Sean A1 - Hill, Martin A1 - Coombes, Candice T1 - Geographic variation in genetic composition, sexual communication and mating compatibility of the False Codling Moth, Thaumatotibia leucotreta for optimisation of area-wide control T2 - Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution N2 - Intraspecific variation in sex pheromones is a driver of reproductive isolation and speciation in insects. The False Codling Moth (FCM) Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) is a quarantine pest endemic to sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The currently available precision control measures for FCM use female sex pheromone components to lure males into traps. However, the existing data on the composition of the female sex pheromone, especially the isomer ratios of the main pheromone component (E/Z)-8-dodecenyl acetate, are inconsistent for populations in SSA. This inconsistency led to speculation about possible reproductive isolation between geographically separated FCM populations and the potential need for local adjustment of pheromone-based FCM control tools. This, however, requires a comparative evaluation of geographic variation in FCM sexual communication and inter-population mating compatibility. We therefore investigated genetic isolation and mating compatibility between five geographically isolated FCM populations in South Africa and analysed the ratio of (E)- and (Z)-8-dodecenyl acetate in females from these populations. The five studied populations were found to form three genetically distinct groups with high genetic distances between each other. Mating compatibility tests showed that mating is possible across these groups, however, males preferred females of their own population when given choices; without a choice, males successfully mated with and transferred spermatophores to females from all other populations. The ratio of (E)- and (Z)-8-dodecenyl acetate was similar (c. 4:1) across the populations, indicating that this main female pheromone component does not cause the observed intra-population mating preferences. It remains to be investigated if qualitative/quantitative variation in other sex pheromone components influences intra-population recognition in South African FCM, providing a base for the development of regionally-specific lures for area-wide control programmes. KW - (E/Z)-8-dodecyl acetate, KW - geographic isolation KW - insect sex pheromone KW - intraspecific variation KW - mating choice KW - phytosanitary pest KW - reproductive behaviour Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1360395 SN - 2296-701X VL - 12 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Kober, Klarissa A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus A1 - Glemnitz, Michael T1 - High soil moisture promotes the emergence of ground beetles and spiders from soils in wheat fields T2 - Basic and Applied Ecology N2 - Promoting arthropods in agricultural landscapes can contribute substantially to stop their decline and enhance pest control. Higher soil moisture and the presence of field margins can increase the abundance of arthropods in agricultural landscapes and influence their distribution within crop fields. However, little is known about the influence of soil moisture and distance from field margins on the overwintering of arthropods in arable fields. We investigated the influence of soil moisture and distance from a field margin on the numbers of arthropods, ground beetles and spiders emerging from soil in winter wheat fields. We established transects in winter wheat fields away from two different types of field margins: (i) around small standing water bodies (kettle holes) to capture a wide range of soil moisture values and (ii) other semi-natural landscape elements. At three distances (1 m, 20 m, 50 m), we sampled arthropods with emergence traps and measured soil moisture between March and June. We found that soil moisture had a positive effect on the emergence numbers of arthropods in general and ground beetles and spiders in particular. Distance from field margins generally had negative effects on the emergence numbers of ground beetles, but positive effects on the emergence numbers of spiders. Emergence numbers and soil moisture content did not differ significantly between the two types of field margins. The high emergence numbers inside the fields indicate that arable fields are important overwintering habitats for beneficial arthropods. Proper management of arable soils to promote soil water holding capacity and soil moisture content may have the added benefit of promoting the production of beneficial natural enemies from local soils. KW - Araneae KW - Carabidae KW - Crop edge KW - Distance gradient KW - Field boundaries KW - Generalist predators KW - Ponds KW - Potholes KW - Soil properties Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2024.09.001 SN - 1439-1791 IS - 80 SP - 72 EP - 80 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Alfeus, Martha A1 - Irish, John A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus T1 - Recognition and completeness metrics from iNaturalist and GBIF can inform future citizen science and research projects : a case study on arthropods in Namibia T2 - Biodiversity and conservation N2 - Arthropods are the most diverse animal phylum and play crucial roles in ecosystem functioning through their contributions to ecosystem processes. Accurate knowledge about their distribution and diversity is essential for effective ecosystem management and biodiversity conservation. Public biodiversity databases and citizen science records could contribute to our understanding of arthropod diversity. To test this assumption, we extracted arthropod observations in Namibia from iNaturalist (iNat) and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and compared these data to the records in the Namibian Biodiversity Database (NBD). We assessed the proportion of observations identified to species level in each arthropod order in iNat and GBIF (“recognition” metric) and compared the number of species from the two biodiversity networks (iNat and GBIF) to the known species richness in each arthropod order in NBD (“completeness” metric). Only 54.4% of iNat and 63.1% of GBIF arthropod observations in Namibia are recorded at species level. Scorpions (Scorpiones) and dragonflies (Odonata) are the most recognised orders in both GBIF and iNat, with high completeness rates (> 60%). However, overall recognition and completeness for all arthropod orders were generally below 50% in both databases. The high recognition and completeness for certain orders could be attributed to species traits that make them recognizable (e.g. large body size, colouration), a low species richness and the taxonomic familiarity of the public. While global biodiversity networks provide valuable data, science-based databases like NBD remain essential for comprehensive biodiversity understanding. Global biodiversity networks provide insights into public perception and the suitability of taxonomic groups for citizen-involved biodiversity projects. KW - Biodiversity KW - Conservation KW - Insects KW - Invertebrates KW - Namibian Biodiversity Database (NBD) Y1 - 2024 UR - https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10531-024-02981-z.pdf UR - https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10531-024-02981-z U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-024-02981-z SN - 1572-9710 VL - 34 SP - 467 EP - 480 PB - Springer Netherlands CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - GEN A1 - Melcher, Anja Carina A1 - Weber, Sven A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus A1 - Harms, Danilo A1 - Krehenwinkel, Henrik T1 - To pool or not to pool : pooled metabarcoding does not affect estimates of prey diversity in spider gut content analysis T2 - Ecological Entomology N2 - 1. Gut content metabarcoding has provided important insights into the food web ecology of spiders, the most dominant terrestrial arthropod predators. In small invertebrates, like spiders, gut content analysis is often performed on whole body DNA extracts of individual predators, from which prey sequences are selectively enriched and sequenced. 2. Since many spider species are generalist predators, large numbers of samples comprising individual spider specimens must be analysed to recover an exhaustive image of a spider species' prey spectrum, which is costly and time-consuming. 3. Pooled processing of bulk samples of multiple specimens has been suggested to reduce the necessary workload and cost while still recovering a representative estimate of the prey diversity. However, it is still unclear if pooling approaches lead to bias in recovering the prey spectrum and if the results are comparable with data from individually processed spiders. 4. Here, we test the effects of metabarcoding pooled spider gut content on the recovered taxonomic diversity and composition of prey. Using a newly adapted primer pair, which efficiently enriches COI barcode sequences of diverse arthropod prey groups while suppressing spider amplification, we test if pooling leads to reduced taxonomic diversity or skewed estimates of prey composition. 5. Our results show that pooling and individual processing recover highly correlated taxonomic diversity and composition of prey. The only exception are very rare prey items which were less well recovered by pooling. Our results support pooling as a cost-effective and time-efficient approach to recover the diet of generalist predators for population-level studies of spider trophic interactions. KW - Araneae KW - gut content analysis KW - metabarcoding KW - pooling KW - predator–prey interaction KW - primer Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/een.13382 SN - 0307-6946 SN - 1365-2311 VL - 49 IS - 6 SP - 768 EP - 778 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Menares, Esteban A1 - Saíz, Hugo A1 - Schenk, Noëlle V. A1 - Garcia de la Riva, Enrique A1 - Krauss, Jochen A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus T1 - Co-occurrence patterns do not predict mutualistic interactions between plant and butterfly species T2 - Ecology and Evolution N2 - Biotic interactions are crucial for determining the structure and dynamics of communities; however, direct measurement of these interactions can be challenging in terms of time and resources, especially when numerous species are involved. Inferring species interactions from species co-occurrence patterns is increasingly being used; however, recent studies have highlighted some limitations. To our knowledge, no attempt has been made to test the accuracy of the existing methods for detecting mutualistic interactions in terrestrial ecosystems. In this study, we compiled two literature-based, long-term datasets of interactions between butterflies and herbaceous plant species in two regions of Germany and compared them with observational abundance and presence/absence data collected within a year in the same regions. We tested how well the species associations generated by three different co-occurrence analysis methods matched those of empirically measured mutualistic associations using sensitivity and specificity analyses and compared the strength of associations. We also checked whether flower abundance data (instead of plant abundance data) increased the accuracy of the co-occurrence models and validated our results using empirical flower visitation data. The results revealed that, although all methods exhibited low sensitivity, our implementation of the Relative Interaction Intensity index with pairwise null models performed the best, followed by the probabilistic method and Spearman's rank correlation method. However, empirical data showed a significant number of interactions that were not detected using co-occurrence methods. Incorporating flower abundance data did not improve sensitivity but enhanced specificity in one region. Further analysis demonstrated incongruence between the predicted co-occurrence associations and actual interaction strengths, with many pairs exhibiting high interaction strength but low co-occurrence or vice versa. These findings underscore the complexity of ecological dynamics and highlight the limitations of current co-occurrence methods for accurately capturing species interactions. KW - Biodiversity Exploratories KW - co- occurrence analysis | KW - flower visitations KW - mutualistic interactions KW - resence/absence data KW - species associations Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70498 SN - 2045-7758 VL - 14 IS - 11 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Bucher, Roman A1 - Batary, Péter A1 - Baudry, Julia A1 - Beaumelle, Léa A1 - Čerevková, Andrea A1 - Garcia de la Riva, Enrique A1 - Dirilgen, Tara A1 - Gallé, Robert A1 - Kesse-Guyot, Emmanuelle A1 - Rembiałkowska, Ewa A1 - Rusch, Adrien A1 - Stanley, Dara A. A1 - Ulrich, Werner A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus T1 - Functional diversity of ground beetles improved aphid control but did not increase crop yields on European farms T2 - Ecological Applications N2 - Land-use intensification is often associated with a decline in functional diversity, potentially undermining the provision of ecosystem services. However, how changes in traits affect ecosystem processes remains poorly understood. Variation in trait values among species in a community may drive ecosystem processes. Alternatively, the mass ratio hypothesis proposes that trait values of the dominant species in a local community are related to ecosystem processes. Using data from 159 farms in six European countries, we quantified the impact of local and landscape-level land-use intensity on ground beetles as pest control agents. We then assessed the extent to which functional diversity and community-weighted mean trait values relate to pest control and cereal yield. In addition, we assessed how the responses to land use and the effects of different species on pest control and yield varied with their traits to compare the relative impact of the traits studied. Functional diversity of ground beetles improved aphid removal, but did not translate into higher crop yields. Pest control of aphids was enhanced by a higher proportion of smaller, mobile ground beetles with a preference for the vegetation layer. Smaller, predatory ground beetles in communities improved crop yield. The magnitude of responses to land-use intensification and the effects on pest control and yield were more strongly influenced by body size than other traits. Our study provides evidence that reduced management intensity can improve pest control by supporting small-sized, macropterous ground beetles. In contrast to the claims of ecological intensification, our joint analysis of the direct effects of land use on yield and indirect effects via functional diversity of ground beetles and pest control suggests that ecosystem services by ground beetles cannot compensate for the yield gap due to a reduction in land-use intensity. KW - predation KW - ecological intensification KW - landscape composition KW - land-use intensity KW - pest control KW - traits Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.3035 SN - 1051-0761 SN - 1939-5582 VL - 2024 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Heinken, Thilo A1 - Blumröder, Jeanette S. A1 - Adhikari, Yojana A1 - Balthasar, Cathrina A1 - Binder, Anja A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus A1 - Bischoff, Antje A1 - Brosinsky, Arlena A1 - Bubner, Ben A1 - Clerc, Danica A1 - Djoudi, El Aziz A1 - Dobkowitz, Sophia A1 - Francke, Till A1 - Gerwin, Werner A1 - Hartong, Heinrich A1 - Hess, Carsten A1 - Jarling, René A1 - Jouy, Florent A1 - Leinen, Loretta A1 - Meißner, Andreas A1 - Raab, Thomas A1 - Repmann, Frank A1 - Rönnefarth, Susanne A1 - Schaaf, Wolfgang A1 - Schirrmacher, Marina A1 - Schmehl, Marie-Therese A1 - Schmitt, Thomas A1 - Schröder, Jens A1 - Schüle, Maren A1 - Sturm, Knut A1 - Welle, Torsten A1 - Ibisch, Pierre L. T1 - PYROPHOB – A post-fire ecosystem research project to inform management for resilient forest development BT - PYROPHOB – Ein Ökosystemforschungsprojekt auf Waldbrandflächen als Grundlage für das Management einer resilienten Waldentwicklung T2 - Tuexenia N2 - PYROPHOB (fire-resistant) is the name of an interdisciplinary research project that is running for five years from 2020 to 2025. In this project, eight institutions are investigating the ecological effects of wildfires and subsequent forest management strategies in pine forests (plantations) in Brandenburg (NE Germany), with the aim of formulating practical recommendations for managing fire-prone forests and the effective restoration of post-fire forest areas. We provide a brief overview of what is known about the effects of wildfire on abiotic and biotic parameters in temperate pine forests, as well as the effects of silvicultural treatments. To date, we know little about how different components of biodiversity are linked in post-fire forest ecosystems and how management affects their functioning. By describing the project, we illustrate the requirements for the implementation of such an applied research project. We emphasize the importance of the study design for dealing with interdisciplinary questions and for the quantitative synthesis of research results. The project comprises a set of standardised field plots in two wildfire areas covering different post-fire management options. Fifteen study sites were established, including two reference sites in unburned pine stands, each with ten study plots as replicates. In situ nitrogen mineralisation, litter decomposition tests and soil biological activity are used for soil biological characterisation. Microclimate data is measured continuously. Standing and lying dead wood and tree regeneration are recorded as key indicators of the success of forestry treatments. Further methods com-prise terrestrial laser scanning, remote sensing techniques as well as surveys of vegetation and above and below ground biomass. Identification of fruiting body-forming fungi, phytoparasites and ectomycorrhizal fungi is supported by marker gene sequencing. Faunistic indicators comprise predatory soil arthropods (pairs of emergence tents and soil traps), saproxylic beetles (flight traps and funnel traps), moths (automated window traps), mammals (camera traps), and breeding birds (visual and acoustic observation). We discuss the strengths and limitations of the project design. We are able to systematically capture short-term temporal shifts in parameters and trends in post-fire ecosystem development. Research in a real landscape with ongoing environmental changes and interventions pres-ents challenges for experimental design, data analysis and interpretation. The drivers of ecosystem development are rarely completely independent or perfectly balanced, and lack of replication is ine-vitable. The two fires did not occur in the same year and season, resulting in different initial conditions for the colonisation of the burned areas. Finally, a large part of one study area was again affected by a fire in 2022, which destroyed direct comparability with the other sites. Despite these obstacles the project has started to generate valuable results to address management and conservation challenges. Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.14471/2024.44.004 SN - 0722-494X SN - 2748-3452 VL - 44 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Aigbedion-Atalor, Pascal A1 - Fening, Ken Okwae A1 - Adeyemi, Akinyemi O. A1 - Idemudia, Itohan A1 - Ojukwu, Kenechukwu Chukwuemeka A1 - Nwobodo, Maureen Amuche A1 - Sunday, Oghenetega A1 - Isiogu, Nnenna Chinyelu A1 - Oke, Abiola O. T1 - Regenerative edible insects for food, feed, and sustainable livelihoods in Nigeria: Consumption, potential and prospects T2 - Future Foods KW - Food Science Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fufo.2024.100309 SN - 2666-8335 VL - 9 SP - 1 EP - 13 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Preußer, Daniel A1 - Fischer, Thomas A1 - Juretzek, Thomas T1 - Effects of antibiotics ceftriaxone and levofloxacin on the growth of Lucilia sericata (Diptera: Calliphoridae) T2 - Medical and Veterinary Entomology N2 - Lucilia sericata is one of the most studied species in forensic entomology due to its widespread distribution, forensic importance as well as medical use. The growth and development stage of maggots is often used to determine the post-mortem interval in forensic cases. L. sericata can cause myiasis in humans who are not able to maintain personal hygiene due to age or medical condition and can therefore be used to determine the time period of neglect. The influence of the temperature on the maggot development has been examined in various studies. Different examinations on the effects of toxic substances on the maggot development and survival have been conducted in order to test the influence and resulting deviations. In this study, the effects of different therapeutical doses of the antibiotics ceftriaxone and levofloxacin were examined on L. sericata in order to determine and compare deviations in maggot development and survival. The used antibiotics did not significantly influence the maggot weight and length. A significant delay in the time of pupation has been determined in the treatments with high concentrations of levofloxacin. The mortality was significantly increased in all treatments with antibiotics compared to the control, whereby the survivability of all treatments remained over 80%. Because of the high doses needed to produce an effect, we concluded that an overestimation of the post-mortem interval is unlikely but higher antibiotic concentrations or possible interactions with other medications could increase the maggot development time. KW - antibiotics KW - blow flies KW - entomotoxicology KW - myiasis KW - post‐mortem interval Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/mve.12685 SN - 0269-283X SN - 1365-2915 VL - 37 IS - 4 SP - 805 EP - 815 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Idemudia, Itohan A1 - Fening, Ken Okwae A1 - Agboyi, Lakpo Koku A1 - Wilson, David A1 - Clottey, Victor Attuquaye A1 - Beseh, Patrick A1 - Aigbedion-Atalor, Pascal T1 - First report of the predatory potential and functional response of the red flower assassin bug Rhynocoris segmentarius (Germar), a natural enemy of Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) T2 - Biological Control KW - Insect Science KW - Agronomy and Crop Science Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2024.105465 SN - 1049-9644 VL - 191 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Neyret, Margot A1 - Le Provost, Gaëtane A1 - Boesing, Andrea Larissa A1 - Schneider, Florian D. A1 - Baulechner, Dennis A1 - Bergmann, Joana A1 - Vries, Franciska T. de A1 - Fiore-Donno, Anna Maria A1 - Geisen, Stefan A1 - Goldmann, Kezia A1 - Merges, Anna A1 - Saifutdinov, Ruslan A. A1 - Simons, Nadja K. A1 - Tobias, Joseph A. A1 - Zaitsev, Andrey S. A1 - Gossner, Martin M. A1 - Jung, Kirsten A1 - Kandeler, Ellen A1 - Krauss, Jochen A1 - Penone, Caterina A1 - Schloter, Michael A1 - Schulz, Stefanie A1 - Staab, Michael A1 - Wolters, Volkmar A1 - Apostolakis, Antonios A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus A1 - Boch, Steffen A1 - Boeddinghaus, Runa S. A1 - Bolliger, Ralph A1 - Bonkowski, Michael A1 - Buscot, François A1 - Dumack, Kenneth A1 - Fischer, Markus A1 - Gan, Huei Ying A1 - Heinze, Johannes A1 - Hölzel, Norbert A1 - John, Katharina A1 - Klaus, Valentin H. A1 - Kleinebecker, Till A1 - Marhan, Sven A1 - Müller, Jörg A1 - Renner, Swen C. A1 - Rillig, Matthias C. A1 - Schenk, Noëlle V. A1 - Schöning, Ingo A1 - Schrumpf, Marion A1 - Seibold, Sebastian A1 - Socher, Stephanie A. A1 - Solly, Emily F. A1 - Teuscher, Miriam A1 - Kleunen, Mark van A1 - Wubet, Tesfaye A1 - Manning, Peter T1 - A slow-fast trait continuum at the whole community level in relation to land-use intensification T2 - Nature Communications N2 - AbstractOrganismal functional strategies form a continuum from slow- to fast-growing organisms, in response to common drivers such as resource availability and disturbance. However, whether there is synchronisation of these strategies at the entire community level is unclear. Here, we combine trait data for 2800 above- and belowground taxa from 14 trophic guilds spanning a disturbance and resource availability gradient in German grasslands. The results indicate that most guilds consistently respond to these drivers through both direct and trophically mediated effects, resulting in a ‘slow-fast’ axis at the level of the entire community. Using 15 indicators of carbon and nutrient fluxes, biomass production and decomposition, we also show that fast trait communities are associated with faster rates of ecosystem functioning. These findings demonstrate that ‘slow’ and ‘fast’ strategies can be manifested at the level of whole communities, opening new avenues of ecosystem-level functional classification. KW - General Physics and Astronomy KW - General Biochemistry KW - General Chemistry KW - Multidisciplinary KW - Genetics and Molecular Biology Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45113-5 SN - 2041-1723 VL - 15 IS - 1 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Preußer, Daniel A1 - Fischer, Thomas A1 - Juretzek, Thomas T1 - Effects of antibiotics ceftriaxone and levofloxacin on the growth of Protophormia terraenovae (Diptera: Calliphoridae) T2 - Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology N2 - AbstractProtophormia terraenovae is a colonizer of decomposing bodies and is known to cause pre-mortem myiasis as the female flies lay eggs in uncleaned wounds. In this study the effects of different concentrations of antibiotics levofloxacin and ceftriaxone on maggot development, weight, length, and mortality were examined. The maggot length and weight were significantly increased by therapeutical doses of levofloxacin and ceftriaxone. The maggot development time was significantly decreased in every levofloxacin treatment compared to the control. The time to start pupation was significantly increased in the control compared to the antibiotic treatments. Levofloxacin significantly increased the survivability of the maggots. Every levofloxacin treatment significantly improved the rearing conditions for the maggots. Reaching the third instar was delayed by 24 h in the control compared to the Levo 3.57 treatment. The Pupation in the control was delayed by an average of 48 h compared to the Levo 3.57 treatment. The significantly reduced development time of the maggots in the antibiotic treatments might lead to an overestimation of the post-mortem interval and therefore an incorrect time of death determination. The improved rearing conditions may be an indication of the potential of a combined application of antibiotics and maggot therapy. KW - General Medicine KW - Pathology and Forensic Medicine Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-024-00804-9 SN - 1556-2891 SP - 1 EP - 13 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Aigbedion-Atalor, Pascal A1 - Upfold, Jennifer A1 - Coombes, Candice A1 - Moore, Sean A1 - Hill, Martin T1 - Sexual selection in Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Meyrick) is shaped by contrasting geographic adaptations, but does it matter for area-wide sex pheromone control tools? T2 - Annals of Applied Biology N2 - AbstractThaumatotibia leucotreta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) is a quarantine pest for certain export markets due to its phytosanitary status in affected crops in sub‐Saharan Africa, including citrus. Consequently, there is a zero‐tolerance policy for T. leucotreta in export markets. In South Africa, an integrated pest management strategy, incorporating a systems approach is used to achieve complete control of T. leucotreta. Preharvest management is multi‐faceted, including reliance on sex pheromone tools such as monitoring, attract‐and‐kill, mating disruptions, and sterile insect technique (SIT). Geographically isolated populations of T. leucotreta occur in South Africa, and there is speculation concerning the possible loss of sexual communication between these isolated populations, thereby compromising the efficiency of sex pheromone tools. To investigate this possibility, we collected samples from five geographically isolated populations of T. leucotreta and a population used for SIT in South Africa. These were subjected to sexual attraction trials under choice and no‐choice scenarios in a semi‐natural environment. Results of the choice tests revealed that males of each population preferred their corresponding population females, except irradiated males. However, when we deprived males of their preferred females, these preferences dissipated, and they were equally attracted to females from all populations. These results indicate that local adaptation and other selection forces in contrasting environments are important in sexual communication and selection in T. leucotreta but do not necessarily prevent recognition of sexual signals and attraction between geographically isolated populations. These findings are crucial for area‐wide IPM and precision control of T. leucotreta. KW - Agronomy and Crop Science Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/aab.12898 SN - 0003-4746 SP - 1 EP - 11 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Boetzl, Fabian A1 - Sponsler, Douglas A1 - Albrecht, Matthias A1 - Batáry, Péter A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus A1 - Knapp, Michal A1 - Krauss, Jochen A1 - Maas, Bea A1 - Martin, Emily A. A1 - Sirami, Clélia A1 - Sutter, Louis A1 - Bertrand, Colette A1 - Baillod, Aliette A1 - Bota, Gerard A1 - Bretagnolle, Vincent A1 - Brotons, Lluís A1 - Frank, Thomas A1 - Fusser, Moritz A1 - Giralt, David A1 - González, Ezequiel A1 - Hof, Anouschka A1 - Luka, Henryk A1 - Marrec, Ronan A1 - Nash, Michael A1 - Ng, Katherina A1 - Plantegenest, Manuel A1 - Poulin, Brigitte A1 - Siriwardena, Gavin A1 - Zubair-Anjum, Muhammad A1 - Entling, Martin A1 - Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf A1 - Schirmel, Jens T1 - Distance functions of carabids in crop fields depend on functional traits, crop type and adjacent habitat: a synthesis T2 - Proceedings Royal Society. Series B, Biological sciences Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.2383 SN - 1471-2954 VL - Vol. 291 SP - 1 EP - 10 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus A1 - Bird, Tharina A1 - Alfeus, Martha A1 - Arvidsson, Fredrik A1 - Buxton, Mmabaledi A1 - Djoudi, El Aziz A1 - Fabiano, Ezequiel Chimbioputo A1 - Kasinda, Eva A1 - Machekano, Honest A1 - Mpofu, Precious A1 - Nghipunya, Esther N. A1 - Segaiso, Bame Alice A1 - Nyamukondiwa, Casper T1 - Smallholder agriculture in African dryland agroecosystems has limited impact on trophic group composition, but affects arthropod provision of ecosystem services T2 - Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment N2 - Agricultural intensification is a major driver of biodiversity loss, but the majority of studies highlighting these threats come from industrialised agriculture in temperate countries of the global North. However, more than 30% of global food production is produced by smallholder farmers, particularly in Africa. We know very little about the impact of these farming practices on arthropod communities and associated ecosystems in dryland agroecosystems. We investigated the trophic group composition of arthropod communities (detritivorous, herbivorous, predatory & mixed feeders) and levels of associated ecosystem functions in replicated maize fields, paired adjacent natural bushveld habitats and the edge habitats between them in north-eastern Namibia and central-eastern Botswana during the dry and wet seasons. Predator activity densities differed significantly between habitats depending on the season, with higher numbers in natural habitats in the wet season but lower numbers in the dry season compared to maize fields. In general, edge habitats had higher numbers of predators than the other habitats. Predator attack rates on artificial caterpillars in both seasons and dung removal in the wet season were higher in habitats with natural vegetation (natural and edge). However, dung removal in the dry season and herbivory in the wet season were highest in the maize fields, the latter due to high level of fall armyworm infestation. Wet season multifunctionality was higher in natural habitats in Botswana, and to a lesser extent in Namibia, than in maize fields. Smallholder agriculture is not detrimental to decomposers, herbivores and mixed feeders compared to adjacent natural habitats, but may be detrimental to the provision of some ecosystem services. These results highlight the challenge of sustainably managing dryland agricultural land that is marginal for crop production, while providing smallholders with an optimal environment to benefit from the ecosystem services associated with arthropod communities. New conservation agriculture practices need to support the production of higher and more stable yields over time, while maintaining the limited impact of smallholder agriculture on biotic communities. KW - Artificial caterpillars; Biological control; Dung removal; Herbivory; Multifunctionality; Seed predation Y1 - 2024 UR - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167880923005194 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2023.108860 SN - 0167-8809 VL - 363 ER - TY - GEN A1 - De Tomás Marin, Sergio A1 - Galán Díaz, Javier A1 - Rodriguez-Calcerrada, Jesus A1 - Prieto, Ivan A1 - Garcia de la Riva, Enrique T1 - Linking functional composition moments of the sub-Mediterranean ecotone with environmental drivers T2 - Frontiers in Plant Science Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1303022 SN - 1664-462X VL - 14 ER - TY - GEN A1 - De Tomás Marín, Sergio A1 - Rodríguez-Calcerrada, Jesús A1 - Arenas-Castro, Salvador A1 - Prieto, Iván A1 - González, Guillermo A1 - Gil, Luis A1 - Garcia de la Riva, Enrique T1 - Fagus sylvatica and Quercus pyrenaica: Two neighbors with few things in common T2 - Forest Ecosystems KW - Environmental niche KW - European beech KW - Forest dynamics KW - Functional niche KW - Hypervolume KW - Pyrenean oak KW - Species coexistence KW - Sub-Mediterranean community Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fecs.2023.100097 SN - 2197-5620 VL - 10 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Tölgyesi, Csaba A1 - Bátori, Zoltán A1 - Pascarella, John A1 - Erdős, László A1 - Török, Péter A1 - Batáry, Péter A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus A1 - Scherer, Laura A1 - Michalko, Radek A1 - Košulič, Ondřej A1 - Zaller, Johann G. A1 - Gallé, Robert T1 - Ecovoltaics: Framework and future research directions to reconcile land-based solar power development with ecosystem conservation T2 - Biological Conservation N2 - Renewable energy production is gaining momentum globally as a way to combat climate change without drastically reducing human energy consumption. Solar energy offers the fastest developing solution. However, ground-mounted solar panels have a high land requirement, which leads to conflicts with other land use types, particularly agriculture and biodiversity conservation. The dual land use of agrivoltaics, i.e., continuing agricultural production under and between solar panels, may alleviate farmers' concerns, but less effort has been made to reconcile solar development with biodiversity conservation. Here we provide a framework for creating a win-win situation for this growing challenge using recent literature on solar park habitats complemented with ecological theories. We also highlight important knowledge gaps that future research should address. Our framework uses a unique land-sharing approach and is based on five pillars that cover key aspects of solar park planning and maintenance: (1) eco-smart siting in the landscape, which considers ecological interactions with the landscape matrix and trade-offs between multiple small vs. fewer large solar parks; (2) eco-smart park layout to address the ecological aspects of the spatial configuration of solar park infrastructure; (3) creation of diverse, novel grassland ecosystems with high ecosystem service provisioning capacity using a trait-based ecosystem design approach; (4) management of the novel ecosystem throughout the lifespan of the solar parks; and (5) ensuring stakeholder engagement to integrate this in a viable business model with high community acceptance. With this framework, we open the way for a new multifunctional land use type: the ecovoltaic park. Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2023.110242 SN - 0006-3207 VL - 285 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Gavín‐Centol, María Pilar A1 - Serrano-Carnero, Diego A1 - Montserrat, Marta A1 - Meyer, Svenja A1 - Scheu, Stefan A1 - Kundel, Dominika A1 - Fliessbach, Andreas A1 - Truu, Jaak A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus A1 - Sánchez-Moreno, Sara A1 - Moya-Laraño, Jordi T1 - Severe drought and conventional farming affect detritivore feeding activity and its vertical distribution T2 - Basic and Applied Ecology N2 - Soil invertebrates are key to decomposition, a central ecosystem process related to soil health. In many temperate areas climate change will decrease soil water content, which strongly modulates biological activity. However, data are lacking on how shifts in rainfall patterns affect soil biota and the ecosystem processes they provide. Here, we used the bait-lamina test to experimentally assess how a severe drought event influenced detritivore feeding activity, during a wheat growing season, in soils under long-term organic or conventional farming. Additionally, biotic and abiotic soil parameters were measured. Feeding activity was reduced under extreme drought and conventional management, although no climate-management synergies were found. Vertical migrations of Collembola and Oribatida partially explained the unexpectedly higher bait consumption at shallower depths in response to drought. Exploratory mixed-effects longitudinal random forests (a novel machine learning technique) were used to explore whether the relative abundances of meso‑, microfauna and microbes of the decomposer food web, or abiotic soil parameters, affected the feeding activity of detritivores. The model including meso‑ and microfauna selected four Nematoda taxa and explained higher variance than the model with only microbiota, indicating that detritivore feeding is closely associated with nematodes but not with microbes. Additionally, the model combining fauna and microbiota explained less variance than the faunal model, suggesting that microbe-fauna synergies barely affected detritivore feeding. Moreover, soil water and mineral nitrogen contents were found to strongly determine detritivore feeding, in a positive and negative way, respectively. Hence, our results suggest that severe drought and conventional farming impair the feeding activity of soil detritivores and thus, probably, decomposition and nutrient mineralization in soils. Furthermore, machine learning algorithms arise as a powerful technique to explore the identity of potential key drivers relating biodiversity to ecosystem functioning. Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2023.03.006 SN - 1439-1791 VL - 69 SP - 49 EP - 59 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Tluste, Claudia A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus T1 - The Roman snail (Gastropoda: Helicidae) is not a generalist herbivore, but shows food preferences for Urtica dioica and plant litter T2 - Journal of Natural History Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2023.2203335 SN - 1464-5262 VL - 57 IS - 13-16 SP - 758 EP - 770 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Gül Ünlü, Ayse A1 - Obrycki, John J. A1 - Menzel, Florian A1 - Bucher, Roman T1 - The role of chemical cue similarity in interactions between ants and native versus non-native lady beetles in North America T2 - Animal Behaviour Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2023.06.005 SN - 0003-3472 SN - 1095-8282 VL - 203 SP - 21 EP - 28 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Ulrich, Werner A1 - Batáry, Péter A1 - Baudry, Julia A1 - Beaumelle, Léa A1 - Bucher, Roman A1 - Čerevková, Andrea A1 - Garcia de la Riva, Enrique A1 - Felipe-Lucia, Maria R. A1 - Gallé, Robert A1 - Kesse-Guyot, Emmanuelle A1 - Rembiałkowska, Ewa A1 - Rusch, Adrien A1 - Stanley, Dara A. A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus T1 - From biodiversity to health: Quantifying the impact of diverse ecosystems on human well-being T2 - People and Nature Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10421 SN - 2575-8314 VL - 5 IS - 1 SP - 69 EP - 83 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Damptey, Frederick Gyasi A1 - Djoudi, El Aziz A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus T1 - Effects of post-mining forest restoration and alternative land uses on ground-dwelling arthropods in Ghana T2 - Community Ecology Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s42974-023-00144-8 SN - 1588-2756 VL - 24 SP - 215 EP - 228 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Garcia de la Riva, Enrique A1 - Ulrich, Werner A1 - Batáry, Péter A1 - Baudry, Julia A1 - Beaumelle, Léa A1 - Bucher, Roman A1 - Čerevková, Andrea A1 - Felipe-Lucia, Maria R. A1 - Gallé, Robert A1 - Kesse-Guyot, Emmanuelle A1 - Rembiałkowska, Ewa A1 - Rusch, Adrien A1 - Seufert, Verena A1 - Stanley, Dara A. A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus T1 - From functional diversity to human well-being: A conceptual framework for agroecosystem sustainability T2 - Agricultural Systems Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2023.103659 SN - 1873-2267 SN - 0308-521X VL - 208 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Khum, Warbota A1 - Košulič, Ondřej A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus A1 - Michalko, Radek T1 - The invasive pathogenic fungus Hymenoscyphus fraxineus alters predator–herbivore–ash food webs. T2 - Biological Invasions Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-022-02900-9 SN - 1573-1464 SN - 1387-3547 IS - 25 SP - 125 EP - 131 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Gerwin, Werner A1 - Raab, Thomas A1 - Hinz, Christoph A1 - Letmathe, Peter A1 - Leuchner, Michael A1 - Roß-Nickoll, Martina A1 - Rüde, Thomas A1 - Trachte, Katja A1 - Wätzold, Frank A1 - Lehmkuhl, Frank T1 - Perspectives of lignite post‑mining landscapes under changing environmental conditions: what can we learn from a comparison between the Rhenish and Lusatian region in Germany? T2 - Environmental Sciences Europe N2 - Background The decision of the German federal government to cease lignite mining until 2038 or—if possible— already earlier until 2030, will cause manifold transition processes in the remaining lignite mining districts of Germany. The two largest districts are located in geographically opposite regions: The Rhineland in the western part and Lusatia in the east of Germany. As particularly these two mining districts will experience severe changes in their socioeconomic as well environmental conditions, the federal government has adopted comprehensive economic support measures. However, the environmental changes will also cause altered ecosystem functions and services to be provided by the future post-mining landscapes. Results In this paper, the two main lignite-producing regions of Germany are compared with regard to their natural and cultural settings. The economic situation and its history are reflected and differences are outlined. Part of the disparities in the cultural development can be explained by very different natural conditions, especially edaphic factors and climatic situation. Because of dissimilar geological settings, different mining technologies were developed and are in use in the two regions with distinct effects on the resulting post-mining landscapes. Conclusion The long-standing and manifold lignite mining activities have radically restructured the landscapes in Lusatia and the Rhineland. With the ongoing decline of the mining industry and its complete cessation, presumably within the next decade, both regions will alter their faces significantly. These changes offer both challenges but also opportunities with respect to the post-mining landscapes and their ecosystem services they are going to provide. The prerequisites for a positive socioeconomic development and for sustainable land-use concepts that also consider ecological aspects are different for both regions. However, or especially because of these differences, the knowledge exchange and experience transfer between both mining regions are pivotal for the success of this extensive transformation process. KW - Lignite mining KW - Ecosystem services KW - Post-mining landscapes KW - Transformation processes Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-023-00738-z SN - 2190-4715 VL - 35 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Bapfubusa Niyibizi, Ingrid Aline A1 - Hanna, Rachid A1 - Kekeunou, Sévilor A1 - Membang, Gertrude A1 - Fiaboe, Komi A1 - Mahot, Hermine C. A1 - Abang, Albert Fomumbod A1 - Kumar, P. Lava A1 - Kuate, Appolin Fotso T1 - Potential of Cameroon-indigenous isolates of the entomopathogenic fungi Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae as microbial control agents of the flea beetle Nisotra uniformis T2 - Biocontrol Science and Technology N2 - The flea beetle Nisotra uniformis Jacoby is a widespread pest of malvaceous crops for which synthetic chemical insecticides remain the principal control tool, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. With the ultimate aim of developing a microbial alternative for N. uniformis control, we conducted laboratory experiments (25 ± 1°C; 70 - 80% RH) to evaluate the biological attributes of three Cameroonian isolates of the entomopathogenic fungi Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo-Crivelli) Vuillemin and Metarhizium anisopliae sensu lato (Metchnikoff) Sorokin. Spore germination rates of the isolates varied from 0.5% after 4 hrs to 100% after 24 hrs on PDA medium, with MIITAC11.3.4 spores germinating fastest. Pathogenicity tests consisted of dipping adult beetles in conidial suspensions. All isolates were pathogenic to N. uniformis, with corrected mortalities varying between 23.3 - 86.7%. BIITAC-O-2 had the lowest LC50 at 5.17 × 106 conidia/ml, while MIITAC11.3.4 and BIITAC6.2.2 had LC50 at 4.11 × 107 conidia/ml, and 2.00 × 108 conidia/ml, respectively. BIITAC6.2.2 produced the shortest time to the highest mortality rate (1.17 days) and the shortest LT50 of 1.64 days but only at the highest concentration, followed by the two highest concentrations of MIITAC11.3.4 (LT50 at 3.43 and 5.70 days). The c parameter in the Weibull model showed that BIITAC-O-2 caused the highest rate of increase in mortality (2.42) at the highest concentration, followed by MIITAC11.3.4 (1.09) and BIITAC6.2.2 (0.50). The results of our study provide the basis for including N. uniformis in the ongoing development of BIITAC6.2.2 and MIITAC11.3.4 into biopesticide while continuing with further laboratory studies on BIITAC-O-2. KW - Weibull model‌ KW - spore germination KW - pathogenicity KW - Okra KW - Biocontrol KW - LC50 Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/09583157.2023.2175784 SN - 1360-0478 SN - 0958-3157 VL - 33 IS - 3 SP - 226 EP - 240 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Fotang, Chefor A1 - Dutton, Paul A1 - Bröring, Udo A1 - Roos, Christian A1 - Willie, Jacob A1 - Angwafo, Tsi Evaristus A1 - Chuo, Mvo Denis A1 - Kamgang, Serge Alexis A1 - Enoguanbhor, Evidence Chinedu A1 - Schierack, Peter A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus T1 - Tool use by Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees for driver ant predation in Kom-Wum Forest Reserve, North-West Region Cameroon T2 - Folia Primatologica N2 - Chimpanzees feed on driver ants (Dorylus sp.) using different tools and predation techniques that vary among populations and can be affected by availability of ant species as well as ecological and social-learning factors. At the Kom-Wum Forest Reserve (KWFR) in Cameroon, we investigated tool use behavior in Nigerian-Cameroon chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes ellioti), examining the characteristics of tools used in driver ant predation, looking for possible seasonal patterns and comparing our results to those from other study sites. We recovered 83 tools along line transects and recces (reconnaissance) during two seasons. We found that chimpanzees used tools with blunting and dirty ends (possible digging and probing tools) and tools without (dipping tools), in driver ant predation. Tools with dirty ends tended to be thicker (N = 52), and thinner tools were less likely to have dirt (N = 31). Tools recovered in the wet season (N = 62), were significantly shorter and thicker than those recovered in the dry season (N = 21). Furthermore, driver ant tools recovered at KWFR are on average the longest yet recorded insect dipping tools for chimpanzees comparable to those used in North Uele. We found no evidence of nut-cracking, tool use for honey bee nor termite consumption and did not observe the potential prey remains in chimpanzee faeces despite their presence in the reserve. Our results suggest that seasonality significantly contributes to a divergence in the form of tools selected for driver ant predation. KW - ant dip KW - driver ants KW - insectivory KW - tool use Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1163/14219980-bja10006 SN - 1421-9980 SN - 0015-5713 VL - 94 IS - 1 SP - 73 EP - 85 ER -