Abstract
Spring and summer composition and species richness of bruchid pre-dispersal seed predator assemblages associated with species of leguminous plants were monitored in a four-year non-experimental survey of 32 service areas along five highways in Hungary. The vegetation bands along highways (delimited by fences) were considered a special type of ecotone where herbaceous plants are exposed to regular mowing and therefore the composition of the vegetation there is very different from the adjacent vegetation. Altogether 57 herbaceous and woody species of leguminous plants were recorded at these sites, harbouring 20 autochthonous, 3 allochthonous, but established, and 4 recently introduced species of bruchid seed predators (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae). The species of leguminous plants recorded along highway verges during this project make up approximately one fourth of the Fabaceae in Hungary and of the bruchids ca. 80 % (!) of the species known to occur in Hungary. At half of the service areas, mowing decreased the species richness of leguminous plants compared to that recorded prior to mowing, but not that of their bruchid seed predators. However, the species composition of the bruchid assemblages before and after mowing changed substantially. Null-model analyses indicated a random organization of spring assemblages and a deterministic one of summer assemblages of bruchids; very likely a result of host-specificity constraints. Calculations of host specificity confirmed the narrow host range recorded for bruchids that emerged from the samples of plants, in spite of new host records, such as three and two Trifolium species for Bruchidius picipes and Bi. sp. prope varius sensu Anton, respectively, Oxytropis pilosa for Bi. marginalis and Vicia cracca for Bruchus brachialis. Our results show that a surprisingly high number of species of bruchids occur in highway margins, however, the management of the vegetation there prevents a substantial portion of the native bruchid fauna establishing permanent populations.
Highlights
Community ecologists have long recognized the importance of gradual or abrupt changes in vegetation (Peters et al, 2009) for the distribution, diversity and trophic interactions of animal species
A total of 57 native and naturalized herbaceous and woody species of leguminous plants were recorded, which is approximately 1/4th of the species of the Fabaceae occurring in Hungary
Sixteen species of plants were recorded at 50% of the localities (Table 1). These were either species frequently occurring at disturbed sites (Medicago sativa, M. lupulina, Trifolium pratense, T. repens), fugitive annuals (Vicia grandiflora, V. sativa ssp. nigra, V. villosa, Trifolium aureum/campestre, T. arvense, etc.), or species that tend to grow horizontally and as consequence are little affected by mowing, e.g. Astragalus austriacus, Medicago minima, T. hybridum and Vicia lathyroides
Summary
Community ecologists have long recognized the importance of gradual or abrupt changes in vegetation (ecotones) (Peters et al, 2009) for the distribution, diversity and trophic interactions of animal species. Sudden changes in vegetation structure at boundaries influence animal behaviour (Haddad, 1999; Schultz et al, 2012), alter mutualistic insect-plant interactions (Christianini & Oliveira, 2013), may increase predation (Marini et al, 1995; Cantrell et al, 2002), modify decomposition rates vital to nutrient cycles (Didham, 1998) and affect abundance and community composition (Ewers & Didham, 2008), etc. Roads with their accompanying vegetation are a special type of artificial ecotone and frequent migratory or transportation routes of non-indigenous species. Road construction is one of the most conspicuous human contributions to
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