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Landscape matrix and substrate jointly shape the trait composition of true bug (Heteroptera) communities in drainage ditches

Šeat, Jelena and Torma, Attila and Bátori, Zoltán and Popović, M. and Tölgyesi, Csaba (2024) Landscape matrix and substrate jointly shape the trait composition of true bug (Heteroptera) communities in drainage ditches. BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION, 33 (8-9). pp. 2363-2380. ISSN 0960-3115

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Abstract

Drainage ditches play a key role in the conservation of fragmented landscapes by providing refuge sites and secondary habitats for many terrestrial and aquatic organisms across various taxa. Species richness of ditches can exceed that of adjacent natural habitats, but here, we looked further and assessed the role of drainage ditches in shaping the community structure of true bugs aiming to better estimate ditches’ conservation value from the point of their species and trait composition. We tested the effects of the ditch substrate (saline, sandy or fen), landscape matrix (agrarian or grassland) and vegetation (species richness of all plants and invasive plants, and abundance of woody plants) on the true bug communities of 60 drainage ditches in the lowland of East-Central Europe. We found that substrate and landscape matrix contributed the most in determining true bug communities. Based on species composition, different substrates and landscape matrix types had distinct communities, but the trait composition showed differentiation according to the landscape matrix in saline habitats only. The trait composition in true bug communities was more diverse in grassland ditches than in agrarian ones, which hosted more habitat generalists associated with invasive vegetation. We concluded that a pronounced gradient in habitat stress, originating in substrate salinity and aridity, causes the differentiation of the true bug communities based on their trait composition. Additionally, intense habitat stress increases the number of habitat specialists and the conservation value of a drainage ditch.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: MTA-SZTE ‘Momentum’ Applied Ecology Research Group, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, Szeged, 6726, Hungary Department of Ecology, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, Szeged, 6726, Hungary MTA ‘Lendület’ Landscape and Conservation Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Centre for Ecological Research, Alkotmány út 2-4, Vácrátót, 2163, Hungary Department of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, University of Niš, Višegradska 33, Niš, 18000, Serbia Export Date: 24 May 2024 CODEN: BONSE Correspondence Address: Šeat, J.; MTA-SZTE ‘Momentum’ Applied Ecology Research Group, Közép fasor 52, Hungary; email: seatjelena@gmail.com
Uncontrolled Keywords: Drainage canal · Ditch bank · Refuge site · Functional guild · Trait syndrome · Hemiptera
Subjects: Q Science / természettudomány > QH Natural history / természetrajz > QH540 Ecology / ökológia
SWORD Depositor: MTMT SWORD
Depositing User: MTMT SWORD
Date Deposited: 10 Sep 2024 13:30
Last Modified: 10 Sep 2024 13:30
URI: https://real.mtak.hu/id/eprint/204637

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