Congratulations to Alfredo for his first first-author paper! In a study published in Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, we show that different groups of arthropods respond differently to distance from the field edge, making it challenging to optimize field sizes and shapes to benefit all groups. Additionally, the influence of the crop type varies among arthropod groups, so crop diversity will be key to maintain arthropod diversity. Finally, we tested the relationship between carabid beetle communities and the ecosystem services they provide. Surprisingly, high species diversity of carabids did not lead to higher levels of pest and weed seed predation (rather the opposite). Instead, abundance (even of common carabid species) was more crucial – simply put, more is more.
You can read the original article here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2024.109010.
