Abstract
Hoverflies are frequently used as biodiversity indicators and are targets of ecological studies across Europe. How hoverfly diversity responds to ecological variables is essential for species and habitat conservation. The present study is a first attempt to assess the hoverfly diversity of deciduous woodlands of Pyrenean oak (Quercus pyrenaica) in La Vera (Central-Western Spain), a habitat in need of conservation and a region that is poorly known in terms of hoverflies. Hoverflies were sampled with hand net in a mature-woodland site, a young-woodland site, and two close-by grassland sites. A higher number of species and individuals was recorded in woodland sites than in grassland sites, with only two species exclusive to the grasslands and thus, suggesting that woodland sites might be acting as a hoverfly reservoir and source. The proportion of species with phytophagous and saprophagous larvae in woodland sites was higher than outside the woodlands, probably due to a higher availability of resources in woodland sites for phytophagous and saprophagous species. The mature woodland was found to have a higher number of species and individuals than the young woodland, possibly due to the presence of grassy clearings and rotting materials in the trees of the mature woodland. The highest number of species was found in the predatory guild (Syrphinae), and smaller-bodied species within this guild were found to be more frequent in grassland than in woodland sites; possible explanations for this result are discussed. Further investigation is required to confirm and expand the results and conclusions found in this initial study on the hoverfly community of the poorly studied Q. pyrenaica woodlands of Central-Western Spain.
Highlights
Hoverflies are important bioindicators (Sommaggio 1999; Monteil 2010; Speight et al 2010), with over 970 species present in a wide range of European habitats (Speight 2018)
All three functional groups were represented at each woodland site, as well as in the close-by grasslands, with one species with phytophagous larva, four with saprophagous larvae, and 18 with predatory larvae
In the two studied sites of Pyrenean oak, 21 hoverfly species were collected after 7.5 months of fortnight samplings with hand net
Summary
Hoverflies are important bioindicators (Sommaggio 1999; Monteil 2010; Speight et al 2010), with over 970 species present in a wide range of European habitats (Speight 2018). They participate in pollination, herbivory, predation, decomposition and other ecosystem processes. Phytophagous larvae feed on underground and aerial parts of live plants as borers or miners (Stuke 2000; Ricarte et al 2017). Zoophagous larvae prey on a wide range of insects, both in the undergrowth and in the aerial parts of plants (Rojo et al 2003; Reemer 2012). Saprophagous larvae are filter-feeders of bacteria and/or detritus found in decaying materials both of animal and vegetal origins (Rotheray 2019); within saprophagous, those larvae depending on dead wood or decaying materials associated with woody parts of trees are saproxylic (Speight 1989; Rotheray et al 2001)
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