A snapshot in time: composition of native primary fauna of gall wasps in Spanish contact zones with chestnut trees infested by .

Bull Entomol Res

Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), Calle José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain.

Published: December 2024

AI Article Synopsis

  • - The study examines how the invasion of the gall inducer *Yasumatsu 1951* affects local species interactions, focusing on gall inducers and their parasitoids in Spanish chestnut tree ecosystems.
  • - By analyzing bipartite networks, researchers found that native parasitoids primarily derive from existing native gall communities, with notable diversity emerging in less than ten years.
  • - The investigation reveals that parasitoids are more specialized when looking at host plant taxa, indicating that the native community is adapting quickly to utilize previously unexploited gall resources.

Article Abstract

One of the most prominent problems related to biological invasions is the variation of local species composition, which often leads to interspecific interactions. Here, we explored and analysed the native species composition of gall inducers and their associated parasitoids and inquilines in Spanish areas invaded by Yasumatsu 1951 (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae), an invasive pest of chestnut trees. After a quantitative description of these species' assemblages, we analysed through bipartite networks the level of the trophic specialisation of parasitoids and inquilines when considering either the host taxonomic identity, the host plant species or the host gall morphological type. We sampled galls of and native species of Cynipidae in different Spanish areas, including those where the exotic parasitoid Kamijo 1982 (Hymenoptera: Torymidae) had been released for biological control. The results indicate that the native parasitoids recruited by come almost exclusively from native communities on galls, except for one species from . Galls of had the second most diverse species composition; despite this species assemblage arose in less than a decade. The bipartite networks resulted more specialised when considering host plant taxa than when gall types and the host taxa were accounted. In such trophic webs, there were few parasitoid/inquiline specialist and many generalist species, which agrees with the rapid recruitment by . Higher parasitoid species richness in galls is likely due to their being a largely unexploited available resource for the native natural enemies of cynipid wasps.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0007485324000774DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

species composition
12
species
9
chestnut trees
8
native species
8
parasitoids inquilines
8
spanish areas
8
bipartite networks
8
considering host
8
host plant
8
native
6

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!