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Thesis started, 2014 - Defended in december 21th

Fund:  ANR-ARED
Direction: Julien Pétillon, Manuel Plantegenest, Stéphanie Aviron

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Abstract : 

In this study, we got interested in quantifying how local and landscape metrics structure arthropod communities in agro-ecosystems. For that, we used a long-term monitoring design located in ‘Ille-Et-Vilaine’ (Brittany, France), composed by spatially pair-matched fields under organic vs. conventional farming systems. First, we found that landscape heterogeneity, also interacting with farming systems, drives the diversity and abundance of trophic groups for both ground- and vegetation-dwelling arthropods. In a second chapter, we showed the importance of landscape context in shaping assemblages of predatory arthropods, and suggested that mechanisms behind the distribution of individual species strongly differ between spiders and carabids. Lastly, we highlighted the importance of distinguishing between resident (emergent) and mobile (circulating) individuals when assessing the differential role of local vs. landscape factors in community assembly. Overall, our results show a strong and positive effect of organic farming on arthropod populations, assemblages and communities, both at local and landscape scales, as well as in interaction with other landscape metrics. We also highlighted the relevance of using different levels of biological organization, and related response variables, when assessing the structure and functioning of arthropod communities in agroecosystems.

Poster pdf