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The assemblage of beetles in the olive grove and surrounding mediterranean shrublands in Portugal

Publication . Kubiak, Ketrin; Pereira, J.A.; Tessaro, Dinéia; Santos, Sónia A.P.; Benhadi-Marín, Jacinto

The olive tree is perfectly adapted to the Mediterranean region, where it represents high economic, social, and landscape importance, olive orchards being an important repository of biodi- versity. The order Coleoptera encompasses families that provide important ecosystem services, such as pest limitation. The objective of this work was to compare the assemblage of families of Beetles between the olive grove and their surrounding semi-natural landscape in Trás-os-Montes. The ground beetles on four olive groves and their adjacent shrubland areas were sampled using pitfall traps near Mirandela (Northeastern Portugal) in May and June of 2015 and 2016. Anthicidae, Staphylinidae, and Scarabaeidae dominated the community. The richness of the families was significantly greater in the olive grove in both years of study. On the contrary, the overall diversity did not significantly differ. In both years, the complementarity between the areas was low, reflecting similar communities in terms of families. Predators were dominant in both habitats; therefore, the surrounding landscape could act as shelter and provide alternative resources to the community of Coleoptera inhabiting the olive grove during disturbances derived from agricultural management.

2022Journal article

Open access

Functional diversity of epigeal spiders in the olive grove agroecosystem in northeastern Portugal: a comparison between crop and surrounding semi‐natural habitats

Publication . Kubiak, Ketrin; Pereira, J.A.; Tessaro, Dinéia; Santos, Sónia A.P.; Benhadi-Marín, Jacinto

The olive grove agroecosystem (Olea europaea L., Oleaceae) is very important in terms of economy and culture throughout the Mediterranean region. In Trás-os- Montes (Portugal), olive groves are commonly surrounded by semi-natural areas consisting of Mediterranean shrublands. Understanding the role of potential predators of olive pests is crucial to enhancing biological control in sustainable agriculture. This study aimed to investigate the community structure of ground-inhabiting spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) in the olive grove and their surrounding shrublands in Trás-os- Montes. We found that the community of spiders was dominated by ground hunters such as Lycosidae and Gnaphosidae. Lycosidae were more abundant in olive groves than in surrounding shrublands in 2015 only, whereas Gnaphosidae were more abundant in olive groves in both years of the study (2015 and 2016). Hence, the two habitats displayed a low complementarity of spider families. The Mediterranean shrubland areas could act as a reservoir and refuge for potential pest biocontrol agents. Conservation of surrounding semi-natural areas may contribute to the natural limitation of pests exerted by spiders in the olive grove agroecosystem. Nevertheless, further long-time and species-level studies are needed to provide insights into the role of spiders as natural enemies.

2022Journal article

Open access