Relative attractiveness of ruderals and ornamental plants to flower-visiting insects in a tropical anthropogenic landscape

《Relative attractiveness of ruderals and ornamental plants to flower-visiting insects in a tropical anthropogenic landscape》

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作者: Erandi Wijesinghe;Emily S. Minor;Inoka Karunarathne;Kapila Yakandawala

来源: URBAN FORESTRY & URBAN GREENING,Vol.51,Issue1,Article 126657

语言: 英文

关键字: Floral resources;Insect conservation;Indicator species;Insect visitation;Insect richness;Planting designs

作者单位: Department of Horticulture and Landscape Gardening, Faculty of Agriculture and Plantation Management, Wayamba University of Sri Lanka, Makandura, Gonawila, NWP, Sri Lanka;Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA;Institute for Environmental Science and Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA;Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka;Department of Horticulture and Landscape Gardening, Faculty of Agriculture and Plantation Management, Wayamba University of Sri Lanka, Makandura, Gonawila, NWP, Sri Lanka;Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA;Institute for Environmental Science and Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA;Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka

摘要: Insects are declining in many parts of the world. Under this context, flower gardens are useful for insect conservation in human settlements. However, this tool is rarely used in the tropics due to low awareness and lack of information on suitable plants. Therefore, our objective was to identify a planting design for native insect conservation in anthropogenic landscapes in Sri Lanka. We selected seven wild, ruderal plant species and a cultivated ornamental plant, Zinnia elegans. We established three planting designs with four replicates each: (1) only ruderal plants, (2) ruderal plants mixed with Z. elegans, and (3) only Z. elegans. Insect monitoring was done in each replicate for five sunny days. Over the entire study, we observed > 16,000 visits from 96 insect species and seven orders. Hymenopterans and lepidopterans comprised the most species and the most visits to the plots. The three planting designs differed significantly in terms of insect visitation and richness. For most insect orders, the ruderal design was more or equally attractive to insects compared to the mixed design, and more attractive than the Z. elegans design. Insect community composition was also significantly different among three designs, with 38 species identified as significant indicators of one of the planting designs. The highest number of indicator species was recorded in the ruderal design. Our recommendation depends on the landscape context. The ruderal planting design was best for insects and easy to establish and maintain, but the mixed design (a close second) might be more suitable in areas with high human activity due to its pleasing aesthetics.