Eur. J. Entomol. 100 (4): 557-561, 2003 | DOI: 10.14411/eje.2003.084

Stability and change over 67 years - the community of Heteroptera as caught in a light-trap at Rothamsted, UK

T. Richard E. SOUTHWOOD1, Peter A. HENDERSON2, Ian P. WOIWOD3
1 Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK; e-mail: Richard.Southwood@zoology.ox.ac.uk
2 Pisces Conservation Ltd, IRC House, Pennington, Lymington, Hampshire SO41 8GN, UK; e-mail: Peter@irchouse.demon.co.uk
3 Plant and Invertebrate Ecology Division, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire AL5 2JQ, UK; e-mail: Ian.woiwod@bbscr.ac.uk

1. The Heteroptera, principally mirids, collected in a light-trap run on a field margin at Rothamsted Experimental Station for various periods between 1933 and 2000, have been identified, and the catches analysed to show the extent of change and stability in the community.
2. Trap catch, both in terms of individuals and species, was correlated with maximum daily temperature.
3. α-diversity showed a U-shaped curve over the period. The dip may have been associated with pesticide use, although a lack of days with high maximum temperatures cannot be ruled out.
4. By the late 1990s, α-diversity had again reached a peak (Fisher's = 11), comparable to that in the 1930s.
5. However, the change in the composition of the community over the whole period (β-diversity) was significant, the index of difference being 0.66 on a scale where 0 is no change in composition or relative abundance and 1 no species in common.
6. The value of β-diversity was highest in the water bugs, which disappeared altogether. Categorising the others by host plant type, the greatest change over time was in those associated with perennial herbs. There were decreasing differences in tree-dwellers and grassland species respectively, and the least change was in the community associated with annual plants (arable weeds).
7. Changes in the abundance of Heteroptera since 1933 follow closely those of the macrolepidoptera from the same samples. However changes in diversity show very different patterns, with moth diversity continuing to decline since 1960 in contrast to the increases apparent from the Heteroptera data.

Keywords: Heteroptera, Lepidoptera, stability, environmental change, farmland biodiversity, light-traps, diversity

Received: February 27, 2003; Revised: July 3, 2003; Accepted: July 3, 2003; Published: November 20, 2003  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Richard SOUTHWOOD, T.E., HENDERSON, P.A., & WOIWOD, I.P. (2003). Stability and change over 67 years - the community of Heteroptera as caught in a light-trap at Rothamsted, UK. EJE, 100(4), 557-561. doi: 10.14411/eje.2003.084
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. Bloom S.A. 1981: Similarity indices in community studies: potential pitfalls. Mar. Ecol. Program. Series 5: 125-128 Go to original source...
    2. Fox R. 2001: Butterflies and moths. In: Hawksworth D.L. (ed.): The Changing Wildlife of Great Britain and Ireland. The Systematics Association Special Volume Series 62, Taylor & France, London, pp. 300-327 Go to original source...
    3. Hawksworth D.L. (ed.) 2001: The Changing Wildlife of Great Britain and Ireland. The Systematics Association Special Volume Series 62, Taylor & France, London, pp. 300-327
    4. Hodkinson I.D. & Casson D.S. 2000: Patterns within patterns: abundance-size relationships within the Hemiptera of tropical rain forest or why phylogeny matters. Oikos 88: 509-514 Go to original source...
    5. Intachat J. & Woiwod I.P. 1999: Trap design for monitoring moth biodiversity in tropical rainforests. Bull. Entomol. Res. 89: 153-163 Go to original source...
    6. Kempton R.A. 1979: The structure and species abundance and measurement of diversity. Biometrics 35: 307-321 Go to original source...
    7. Kirby P. & Stewart A.J.A. 2001: True bugs, leaf- and planthoppers, and their allies. In: Hawksworth D.L. (ed.): The Changing Wildlife of Great Britain and Ireland. The Systematics Association Special Volume Series 62, Taylor & France, London, pp. 262-299
    8. May R.M. 1975: Patterns of species abundance and diversity. In: Cody M.L. & Diamond J.M. (eds): Ecology and Evolution of Communities. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass., pp. 81-120
    9. Riley A.M. 1999: Macrolepidoptera at Rothamsted. Entomol. Rec. 111: 71-94
    10. Southwood T.R.E. 1950: Deraeocoris scutellaris F. (Hem.: Miridae) taken in light traps at Rothamsted, Hertfordshire. Entomol. Mon. Mag. 86: 78. Southwood T.R.E. 1960: The flight activity of Heteroptera. Trans. R. Entomol. Soc. London 112: 173-220 Go to original source...
    11. Southwood T.R.E. 1996: Natural communities: structure and dynamics. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. London B 351: 1113-1129 Go to original source...
    12. Taylor L.R. 1963: Analysis of the effect of temperature on insects in flight. J. Animal Ecol. 32: 99-117 Go to original source...
    13. Taylor L.R. 1978: Bates, Williams and Hutchinson - A variety of diversities. In: Mound L.A. & Waloff N. (ed.): The Diversity of Insect Faunas. Blackwell Sci. Publ., Oxford, pp. 1-18
    14. Taylor L.R. 1986: Synoptic dynamics, migration and the Rothamsted Insect Survey. J. Animal Ecol. 55: 1-38 Go to original source...
    15. Taylor L.R. & French R.A. 1974: Effect of light trap design and illumination on samples of moths in an English woodland. Bull. Entomol. Res. 63: 583-594 Go to original source...
    16. Taylor L.R., French R.A. & Woiwod I.P. 1978: The Rothamsted Insect Survey and the urbanization of land in Great Britain. In: Frankie G.W. & Koehler C.S. (ed.): Perspectives in Urban Entomology. Academic Press, New York, pp. 31-65 Go to original source...
    17. Taylor L.R., Kempton R.A. & Woiwod I.P. 1976: Diversity statistics and the log-series model. J. Animal Ecol. 45: 255-272 Go to original source...
    18. Thomas D.C. 1938: Report on the Hemiptera-Heteroptera taken in the light trap at Rothamsted Experimental Station, during the four years 1933-1936. Proc. R. Entomol. Soc. London 13: 19-24, Pts 1-3
    19. Williams C.B. 1939: An analysis of four years captures of insects in a light trap, Part 1: General survey; sex proportions; phenology; and time of flight. Trans. R. Entomol. Soc. London 89: 79-132 Go to original source...
    20. Williams C.B. 1947: The logarithmic series and its application to biological problems. J. Ecol. 34: 253-272 Go to original source...
    21. Woiwod I.P. & Harrington R. 1994: Flying in the face of change: The Rothamsted Insect Survey. In: Leigh R.A. & Johnston A.E. (ed.): Long-term Experiments in Agricultural and Ecological Sciences. CAB International, Wallingford, pp. 321-342
    22. Woiwod I.P. & Thomas J.A. 1993: The ecology of butterflies and moths at the landscape scale. In: Haines-Young R. (ed.): Landscape Ecology in Britain. University of Nottingham: IALE (UK)/Department of Geography, Nottingham, pp. 76-92

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content