Species Diversity of Beneficial and Pest Insects in Home Gardens Presenters: Cameron, Rachael, Barney, Puja, Nathaniel James Johnson, Crystal, Christie, John, and James
Species Diversity of Beneficial and Pest Insects in Home Gardens
Cameron, Rachael, Barney, Puja, Nathaniel James Johnson, Crystal, Christie, John, and James
Columbia University
Morro do Diabo, Brazil - 2 Aug 00
Introduction
What is the influence of plant biodiversity in home gardens on insect populations?
Agroforestry is increasingly utilized in Pontal de Paranapanema as a possible method of preserving biodiversity.
This exercise explores the relationship between plant diversity and insect diversity in home gardens.
Methodology
Three sites of varying plant diversity were studied.
Two home gardens and one forest area
Two pan traps were placed at each site on Sunday July 30 and collected on Wednesday August 2.
Species were separated to morphospecies
Sites
Mango - older site with lower plant abundances
Miro - younger site with high plant abundances
Not Pictured: Madeira - an older arboretum site near Morro hospedaria
Results - Analyses
All statistical analyses were non-significant (chi-square tests)
Diversity indices could not be calculated because of low within-species abundances
Results
The graphs constructed were
species/ sample
ind./sample
species/site
ind/site
plant species/site
Plant species/site
Insect Abundance / Sample
Insect Richness / Sample
Overall Insect Abundance
Overall Insect Richness
Conclusions
Species diversity of homopterans and parasitoids was variable between sites.
Only one site had a repeated species.
Site with highest plant species diversity had the highest parasitoid diversity.
This site also had the second highest number of homopteran species.
This study suggests a positive relationship between high plant diversity and beneficial insects (parasitoids).
For more conclusive results this research should be replicated.