Arthropod biodiversity loss and the transformation of a tropical agro-ecosystem

By I. Perfecto, J. Vandermeer, P. Hanson, V. Cartín. Biodiversity and Conservation, 2005

195 citations recorded by the source corpus.

The coffee (Coffea arabica) agro-ecosystem in the Central Valley of Costa Rica was formerly characterized by a high vegetational diversity. This complex system has been undergoing a major transformation to capital-intensive monocultural plantations where all shade trees are eliminated. In this study we examined the pattern of arthropod biodiversity loss associated with this transformation. Canopy arthropods were sampled in three coffee farms: a traditional plantation with many species of shade trees, a moderately shaded plantation with only Erythrina poeppigeana and coffee, and a coffee monoculture. An insecticidal fogging technique was used to sample both canopy and coffee arthropods. Data are presented on three major taxonomic groups: Coleoptera, non-formicid Hymenoptera, and Formicidae. Data demonstrate that the transformation of the coffee agro-ecosystem results in a significant loss of biological diversity of both canopy arthropods as well as arthropods living in coffee bushes. Percentage of species overlap was very small for all comparisons. Furthermore, species' richness on a per tree basis was found to be within the same order of magnitude as that reported for trees in tropical forests. If results presented here are generalizable, this means that conservation efforts to preserve biological diversity should also include traditional agro-ecosystems as conservation units.

Subfields: Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Insect Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/ef630f6f520f3c3d9f76683f0ddf664371f5139f

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

In Insect Science

Citations in the corpus

Reduced Diversity and Complexity in the Leaf‐Litter Ant Assemblage of Colombian Coffee Plantations (2005, background): “Most studies show that the intensification of coffee results in a loss of associated biodiversity (e.g., Borrero 1986; Gallina et al. 1996; Greenberg et al. 1997; Perfecto et al. 1997; Moguel & Toledo 1999; Rojas et al. 2001; Klein et al. 2002; Dietsch 2003).”
The contribution of cacao agroforests to the conservation of lower canopy ant and beetle diversity in Indonesia (2007, methodology): “…al. 2005), but decrease the diversity of most animal groups within the agroforests, including ants (Perfecto et al. 2003; Armbrecht et al. 2004; Philpott and Foster 2005), bees (Klein et al. 2002), beetles (Perfecto et al. 1997), butterflies (Perfecto et al. 2003) and birds (Perfecto et al. 2003).”
Biodiversity, yield, and shade coffee certification (2005, background): “Q However, their ability to maintain biodiversity is greatly diminished (Perfecto et al., 1997).”
NEST‐SITE LIMITATION IN COFFEE AGROECOSYSTEMS: ARTIFICIAL NESTS MAINTAIN DIVERSITY OF ARBOREAL ANTS (2005, background): “Coffee intensification is also associated with lower ant diversity (Nestel and Dickschen 1990, Perfecto and Snelling 1995, Perfecto et al. 1996, 1997, Roberts et al. 2000, Perfecto and Vandermeer 2002, Armbrecht and Perfecto 2003).”
Litter-twig dwelling ant species richness and predation potential within a forest fragment and neighboring coffee plantations of contrasting habitat quality in Mexico (2003, background): “Coffee growing is one of the most illustrative systems showing how the intensification of agriculture negatively affects biodiversity (Perfecto et al., 1997; Moguel and Toledo, 1999; Vandermeer and Perfecto, 2000).”
Frog, Bat, and Dung Beetle Diversity in the Cloud Forest and Coffee Agroecosystems of Veracruz, Mexico (2005, background): “The majority of studies on the species richness in SCP under different management regimes have been done with arthropods (Perfecto & Snelling 1995; Perfecto et al. 1997; Ibarra-Núñez & Garćıa-Ballinas 1998; Perfecto & Vandermeer 2002; Arellano & Halffter 2003) and birds (Greenberg et al. 1997;…”
Shade cacao plantations (Theobroma cacao) and bat conservation in southern Bahia, Brazil (2007, background): “1998), ants (Torres 1984) and other arthropods (Perfecto et al. 1999).”
Tropical Forest Fragments Enhance Pollinator Activity in Nearby Coffee Crops (2004, background): “Several researchers have shown that less intensively managed farms harbor greater diversity of many taxa, including social bees (Greenberg et al. 1997; Perfecto et al. 1997; Klein et al. 2002).”
Biodiversity in tropical agroforests and the ecological role of ants and ant diversity in predatory function (2006, background): “Coffee intensification results in the loss of arthropod biodiversity ( Perfecto et al. , 1996, 1997; Moguel & Toledo, 1999; Klein et al. , 2002a; Perfecto et al. , 2003 ) and affects biological control agents, including ants ( Ibarra-Núñez et al. , 1995; Lachaud & García Ballinas, 1999 ).”
Predator–prey ratios on cocoa along a land-use gradient in Indonesia (2002, background): “The shadow due to the canopy appears to be a major factor influencing the arthropod community (Perfecto and Vandermeer 1996; Perfecto et al. 1996, 1997; Power 1996; Power and Flecker 1996; Greenberg et al. 2000).”
Conservation of biodiversity in coffee agroecosystems: a tri-taxa comparison in southern Mexico (2003, background): “1997a, 1997b; Calvo and Blake 1998; Wunderle 1999; Johnson 2000) and arthropods (Nestel and Dickschen 1990; Ibarra-Núñez et al. 1993; Perfecto and Vandermeer 1994, 2002; Perfecto and Snelling 1995; Perfecto et al. 1997; Ibarra-Núñez and Garcia-Ballinas 1998; Johnson 2000).”
Conservation of Vascular Epiphyte Diversity in Mexican Coffee Plantations (2005, background): “Other researchers focusing on insects (Nestel et al. 1993; Perfecto & Snelling 1995; Perfecto et al. 1997) and mammals (Gallina et al. 1996) have also found higher diversity in traditional shade compared with sun plantations.”
Effects of Management Intensity and Season on Arboreal Ant Diversity and Abundance in Coffee Agroecosystems (2004, background): “With coffee intensification, diversity of predators such as ants decreases (Nestel and Dickschen 1990; Perfecto and Snelling 1995; Perfecto et al. 1996; Perfecto et al. 1997; Perfecto and Vandermeer 2002; Armbrecht and Perfecto 2003) yet no studies focus on arboreal (specifically coffeeforaging) a”
The role of ants in conservation monitoring: If, when, and how (2006, unknown): “Another study demonstrated a 36% and 43% reduction in average number of ant species per coffee bush on moderate and non-shaded plantations respectively, compared to traditional coffee plantations (Perfecto et al., 1997).”
The invasive Yellow Crazy Ant and the decline of forest ant diversity in Indonesian cacao agroforests (2008, methodology): “Lower canopy-dwelling ant fauna was sampled using canopy knockdown fogging which is an effective and widely used technique for collecting arthropods from tree crowns (e.g., Perfecto et al. 1997).”
Changes of dung beetle communities from rainforests towards agroforestry systems and annual cultures in Sulawesi (Indonesia) (2005, background): “Despite this well-known development, the importance of forest conversion into land-use systems, such as agroforestry, for biodiversity losses is poorly understood (Perfecto et al. 1997).”