Effects of habitat fragmentation on abundance, larval food and parasitism of a spider-hunting wasp.

ABSTRACT: Habitat fragmentation strongly affects species distribution and abundance. However, mechanisms underlying fragmentation effects often remain unresolved. Potential mechanisms are (1) reduced dispersal of a species or (2) altered species interactions in fragmented landscapes. We studied if abundance of the spider-hunting and cavity-nesting wasp Trypoxylon figulus Linnaeus (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae) is affected by fragmentation, and then tested for any effect of larval food (bottom up regulation) and parasitism (top down regulation). Trap nests of T. figulus were studied in 30 agricultural landscapes of the Swiss Plateau. The sites varied in the level of isolation from forest (adjacent, in the open landscape but connected, isolated) and in the amount of woody habitat (from 4% to 74%). We reco

SUBMITTER: Coudrain V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3597609 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature