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Diversity of gall wasps (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) associated with oak trees (Fagaceae: Quercus) in a fragmented landscape in Mexico

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Abstract

Habitat fragmentation reduces the available habitat area and increases both the distance between fragments and the amount of fragment edges. Therefore, there are more probabilities of plant population size reduction and species extinction. In the same way, biotic and abiotic changes associated with forest fragmentation can dramatically alter plant growth and phenological patterns. We conducted a 3-year study to analyze effects of habitat fragmentation and seasonal variation on host plant quality (quantity of leaves, diameter at breast height, tree height), gall abundance and species richness in a temperate oak forest. Our results show that host plant quality was significantly higher in isolated oaks and small fragments, increasing the abundance and species richness of oak gall wasp species in most fragmented habitats. Oak canopy cover is altered by forest fragmentation, there being higher production of leaves on trees that are more exposed to fragmentation, and can provide important resources for maintaining gall wasp species diversity in a fragmented landscape. We found higher gall wasp richness and abundance in autumn than in the spring, which matches with the higher quantity of leaves in this season.

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Acknowledgments

This paper constitutes a partial fulfillment of the Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) of Y. M.-L. Y. M.-L. received a Ph.D. scholarship from CONACyT (No. 165050). This project was supported by DGAPA-PAPIIT (UNAM) IN229803, IN208210, IN213113 to KO. CONACYT 38550-V, CONACYT 2007-80943, SEMARNAT-CONACYT 2004-C01-97 to KO, and CONACYT 2008-105755 to P. Cuevas-Reyes.

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  1. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Antigua Carretera a Pátzcuaro No. 8701, Col. Ex-Hacienda de San José de la Huerta, 58190, Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico

    Yurixhi Maldonado-López & Ken Oyama

  2. Facultad de Biología, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Ciudad Universitaria, 58030, Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico

    Pablo Cuevas-Reyes

  3. Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Morelia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Antigua Carretera a Pátzcuaro No. 8701, Col. Ex-Hacienda de San José de la Huerta, 58190, Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico

    Yurixhi Maldonado-López & Ken Oyama

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  1. Yurixhi Maldonado-López
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  2. Pablo Cuevas-Reyes
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Maldonado-López, Y., Cuevas-Reyes, P. & Oyama, K. Diversity of gall wasps (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) associated with oak trees (Fagaceae: Quercus) in a fragmented landscape in Mexico. Arthropod-Plant Interactions 10, 29–39 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11829-015-9404-x

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