Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Impact of urbanization on a gall-inhabiting Lepidoptera assemblage: the importance of reserves in urban areas

  • Published:
Biodiversity & Conservation Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper examines the structure of a Lepidoptera assemblage in an urban environment in South Africa. The Lepidoptera inhabit fungus-induced galls on Acacia karroo. Habitat patches supporting the moth assemblage were sampled from rural, urban-reserve, suburban and city sites and the habitat quality at each of these sites was quantified. Gall occupancy, larval density and species richness were lowest at the most disturbed, city sites. Non-parametric multivariate techniques showed that the moth-assemblage structure did not differ significantly at rural and urban-reserve sites. Assemblage structure at the suburban sites was variable and appeared to be transitional in structure between the city assemblage and the rural and urban-reserve assemblages. Habitat quality variables however were weakly correlated with moth-assemblage structure. The contribution of urban reserves to the local sustainability of this Lepidoptera assemblage emphasizes the importance of maintaining ‘green’ areas in and around cities.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Annecke, D.P. and Moran, V.C. (1982) Insects and Mites of Cultivated Plants in South Africa. Durban: Butterworths.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bray, J.R. and Curtis, J.T. (1957) An ordination of the upland forest communities of southern Wisconsin. Ecol. Monogr. 27, 325–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, V.C. (1995) Insect herbivores and gaseous air pollutants-current knowledge and predic tions. In Insects in a Changing Environment (R. Harrington and N.E. Stork, eds) pp. 220–51. London: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burkey, T.V. (1989) Extinction in nature reserves: the effect of fragmentation and the importance of migration between reserve fragments. Oikos 55, 75–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cappuccino, N. and Kareiva, P. (1985) Coping with a capricious environment: a population study of a rare pierid butterfly. Ecology 66, 152–61.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, K.R. (1993) Non-parametric multivariate analyses of changes in community structure. Aust. J. Ecol. 18, 117–43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, K.R. and Ainsworth, M. (1993) A method of linking multivariate community structure to environmental variables. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 92, 205–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, K.R. and Green, R.H. (1988) Statistical design and analysis for a biological effects study. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 46, 213–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, K.R. and Warwick, R.M. (1994) Change in Marine Communities: An Approach to Statistical Analysis and Interpretation. United Kingdom: Natural Environmental Research Council.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dempster, J.P. (1989) Fragmentation, isolation and mobility of insect populations. In Conservation of Insects and their Habitats (N.M. Collins and J.A. Thomas, eds) pp. 143–53. London: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • den Boer, P.J. (1990) The survival value of dispersal in terrestrial arthropods. Biol. Conserv. 54, 175–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • Desender, K. and Turin, H. (1989) Loss of habitats and changes in the composition of the ground and tiger beetle fauna in four West European Countries since 1950 (Coleoptera: Carabidae, Cicindelidae). Biol. Conserv. 48, 277–94.

    Google Scholar 

  • Faith, D.P., Minchin, P.R and Belbin, L. (1987) Compositional dissimilarity as a robust measure of ecological distance. Vegetatio 69, 57–68.

    Google Scholar 

  • Field, J.G., Clarke, K.R. and Warwick, R.M. (1982) A practical strategy for analysing multispecies distribution patterns. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 8, 37–52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frankie, G.W. and Ehler, L.E. (1978) Ecology of insects in urban environments. Ann. Rev. Entomol. 23, 367–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hammond, P.C. and McCorkle, D.V. (1984) The decline and extinction of Speyeria populations resulting from human environmental disturbances. J. Res. Lepid. 22, 217–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holdgate, M.W. (1994) Protected areas in the future: the implications of change, and the need for new policies. Biodiv. Conserv. 3, 406–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kenkel, N.C. and Orloci, L. (1986) Applying metric and nonmetric multidimensional scaling to some ecological studies: some new results. Ecology 67, 919–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirby, P. (1992) Habitat Management for Invertebrates: a Practical Handbook. United Kingdom: Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koricheva, J. and Haukioja, E. (1992) Effects of air pollution on host plant quality, individual performance, and population density of Eriocrania miners (Lepidoptera: Eriocraniidae). Environ. Entomol. 21, 1386–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kruskal, J.B. and Wish, M. (1978) Multidimensional Scaling. London: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kruschel, G. (1990) Beetles in a Suburban Environment: a New Zealand Case Study. Auckland: DSIR Plant Protection.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luff, M.L. and Woiwod, I.P. (1995) Insects as indicators of land-use change: a European perspective focusing on moths and ground beetles. In Insects in a Changing Environment (R. Harrington and N.E. Stork, eds) pp. 400–24. London: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Magurran, A.E. (1988) Ecological Diversity and its Measurement. London: Croom Helm.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDonnell, M.J. and Pickett, S.T.A. (1990) Ecosystem structure and function along urban-rural gradients: an unexploited opportunity for ecology. Ecology 71, 1232–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGeoch, M.A. (1993) The microlepidoptera associated with a fungus gall on Acacia karroo Hayne in South Africa. Afr. Entomol. 1, 49–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGeoch, M.A. (1995) Structure and functioning of the Lepidoptera community in Ravenelia macowaniana Pazschke fungus galls on Acacia karroo Hayne: prospects for environmental monitoring.-PhD thesis, unpublished, University of Pretoria.

  • McGeoch, M.A. and Chown, S.L. (1997a) The spatial variability of rare and common species in a gall-inhabiting Lepidoptera community. Ecography 20, 123–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGeoch, M.A. and Chown, S.L. (1997b) Evidence of competition in a herbivorous, gall-inhabiting moth (Lepidoptera) community. Oikos 78, 107–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGeoch, M.A. and KruÈger, M. (1994) Identification and diagnoses of Lepidoptera larvae inhab-iting galls induced by Ravenelia macowaniana Pazschke on Acacia karroo Hayne in South Africa. Afr. Entomol. 2, 47–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • McIntyre, S. and Barrett, G.W. (1992) Habitat variegation, an alternative to fragmentation. Conserv. Biol. 6, 146–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore, N. (1987) A most exclusive preserve. New Scientist 115, 64.

    Google Scholar 

  • Munguira, M.L. and Thomas, J.A. (1992) The use of road verges by butterfly and burnet popula tions, and the effect of roads on adult dispersal and mortality. J. Appl. Ecol. 29, 316–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • New, T.R., Pyle, R.M., Thomas, J.A., Thomas, C.D. and Hammond, P.C. (1995) Butterfly con-servation management. Ann. Rev. Entomol. 40, 57–83.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearson, D.L. and Cassola, F. (1992) World-wide species richness patterns of Tiger Beetles (Cole-optera: Cicindelidae): indicator taxon for biodiversity and conservation studies. Conserv. Biol. 6, 376–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reijnen, R. and Foppen, R. (1995) The effects of car traffic on breeding bird populations in woodland. IV. Influence of population size on the reduction of density close to a highway. J. App. Ecol. 32, 481–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ricklefs, R.E. and Schluter, D. (1993) Species diversity: regional and historical influences. In Species Diversity in Ecological Communities: Historical and Geographical Perspectives (R.E. Ricklefs and D. Schluter, eds) pp. 350–64. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Samways, M.J. (1989) Insect conservation and landscape ecology: a case-history of bush crickets (Tettigoniidae) in Southern France. Environ. Conserv. 16, 217–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Samways, M.J. (1994) Insect Conservation Biology. London: Chapman & Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Samways, M.J. (1995) Southern hemisphere insects: their variety and the environmental pressures on them. In Insects in a Changing Environment (R. Harrington and N.E. Stork, eds) pp. 298–321. London: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, C.D., Thomas, J.A. and Warren, M.S. (1992) Distributions of occupied and vacant butterfly habitats in a fragmented landscape. J. Anim. Ecol. 62, 472–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Usher, M.B. (1995) A world of change; land-use patterns and arthropod communities. In Insects in a Changing Environment (R. Harrington and N.E. Strok, eds) pp. 372–99. London: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Rooyen, N. (1984) `n Fenologiese studie van die plantegroei van die Roodeplaatdam-Nat-uurreservaat. PhD Thesis, unpublished, University of Pretoria, Pretoria.

    Google Scholar 

  • Webb, N.R. (1989) Studies of the invertebrate fauna of fragmented heathland in Dorset, UK, and the implications for conservation. Biol. Conserv. 47, 153–65.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilcox, B.A. and Murphy, D.D. (1985) Conservation strategy: the effects of fragmentation on extinction. Am. Nat. 125, 879–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zar, J.H. (1984) Biostatistical Analysis. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0002, South Africa

    M. A. McGeoch

Authors
  1. M. A. McGeoch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. S. L. Chown
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

McGeoch, M.A., Chown, S.L. Impact of urbanization on a gall-inhabiting Lepidoptera assemblage: the importance of reserves in urban areas. Biodiversity and Conservation 6, 979–993 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018315614085

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018315614085

Search

Navigation