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Driving factors of the communities of phytophagous and predatory mites in a physic nut plantation and spontaneous plants associated

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Abstract

Seasonal changes in climate and plant diversity are known to affect the population dynamics of both pests and natural enemies within agroecosystems. In Brazil, spontaneous plants are usually tolerated in small-scale physic nut plantations over the year, which in turn may mediate interactions between pests and natural enemies within this agroecosystem. Here, we aimed to access the influence of seasonal variation of abiotic (temperature, relative humidity and rainfall) and biotic (diversity of spontaneous plants, overall richness and density of mites) factors on the communities of phytophagous and predatory mites found in a physic nut plantation and its associated spontaneous plants. Mite sampling was monthly conducted in dicotyledonous and monocotyledonous leaves of spontaneous plants as well as in physic nut shrubs over an entire year. In the dry season there was a higher abundance of phytophagous mites (Tenuipalpidae, Tarsonemidae and Tetranychidae) on spontaneous plants than on physic nut shrubs, while predatory mites (Phytoseiidae) showed the opposite pattern. The overall density of mites on spontaneous plants increased with relative humidity and diversity of spontaneous plants. Rainfall was the variable that most influenced the density of mites inhabiting physic nut shrubs. Agroecosystems comprising spontaneous plants associated with crops harbour a rich mite community including species of different trophic levels which potentially benefit natural pest control due to increased diversity and abundance of natural enemies.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) for financial support (projects 620028/2008-4 and 475408/2008-0) and the Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES) for providing scholarship to the first author and scholarship from the National Postdoctoral Programme (CAPES-PNPD) to the fifth author. Wagner Ignácio and two anonymous reviewers provided helpful comments in a previous version of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate Programme in Plant Science, Federal University of Tocantins (UFT), PO BOX 66, Gurupi, TO, Brazil

    Wilton P. Cruz, Renato A. Sarmento & Marçal P. Neto

  2. Embrapa Coastal Tablelands, Av. Beira-Mar 3250, Jardins, PO BOX 44, Aracaju, SE, Brazil

    Adenir V. Teodoro

  3. Department of Forest Engineering, Federal University of Tocantins (UFT), Rua Badejós, L 7 Chácara 69/72 Zona Rural, Gurupi, Tocantins, Brazil

    Maíra Ignacio

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  1. Wilton P. Cruz
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  2. Renato A. Sarmento
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  3. Adenir V. Teodoro
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  4. Marçal P. Neto
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  5. Maíra Ignacio
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Correspondence to Renato A. Sarmento.

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Cruz, W.P., Sarmento, R.A., Teodoro, A.V. et al. Driving factors of the communities of phytophagous and predatory mites in a physic nut plantation and spontaneous plants associated. Exp Appl Acarol 60, 509–519 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-013-9663-0

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