Respuesta de las arañas a distintos manejos agrícolas en cultivos de trigo (Triticum aestivum L.)

Amaury Hevia-Goicoechea; Gabriel Pompozzi; Franco Elichiry; Marina B. Gómez; Hugo J. Marrero

doi:10.25260/EA.26.36.2.0.2742

Authors

Amaury Hevia-Goicoechea Laboratorio de Interacciones Bióticas en Agroecosistemas. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional del Sur https://orcid.org/0009-0004-7835-9280
Gabriel Pompozzi Instituto Argentino de Investigación de las Zonas Árida (IADIZA)-Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8083-2103
Franco Elichiry Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional del Sur. Laboratorio de Genética para la Conservación (GENCON), Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas y Biomédicas del Sur (INBIOSUR)-CONICET https://orcid.org/0009-0000-5018-7713
Marina B. Gómez Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional del Sur. GEKKO, Grupo de Estudios en Conservación y Manejo https://orcid.org/0009-0004-0884-3376
Hugo J. Marrero Laboratorio de Interacciones Bióticas en Agroecosistemas. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida (CERZOS)-CONICET https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8515-3812

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25260/EA.26.36.2.0.2742

Keywords:

agroecology, Predator abundance, Reproductive success of spiders, ecosystem services

Abstract

1. Agricultural intensification triggers deep changes in the biodiversity of agroecosystems. It affects natural predators that support key ecosystem services such as biological control.
2. This study evaluates how different agricultural management practices influence the spider community present in wheat crops (Triticum aestivum L.) in the southeastern region of Buenos Aires province. Two productive management types (conventional and agroecological) and seminatural sites used as controls were compared. Three response variables were analyzed: spider richness, abundance and reproductive success. Sampling was carried out using pitfall traps, entomological net and spider nest traps.
3. Agroecological sites showed a higher abundance of spiders in the foliage (93.48% higher) compared to conventional sites, while no significant differences were found in the ground stratum among sites. In contrast, family-level spider richness did not differ significantly among treatments. Reproductive success was higher in agroecological sites, with a greater proportion of occupied traps (131.25% higher) and a slight tendency toward greater reproductive performance, indicated by the number of eggsacs found across management systems.
4. Implications. These results suggest that agroecological practices, characterized by lower disturbance and greater structural complexity, favor spider abundance and reproduction, potentially strengthening their role in biological control within wheat agroecosystems of the Pampean Region.

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