Sap-feeding insects do not respond uniformly to urbanization: The role of urban green spaces and species characteristics

Urbanization leads to an increase in built-up areas but also creates landscape element mosaics, providing various habitats for phytophagous species. Sap-feeding insects (Hemiptera) form a major component of arboreal insect communities with many highly damaging and difficult-to-control pests of urban...

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Main Authors: Dávid Korányi, Ádám Kőrösi, András Orosz, Viktor Markó
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-01-01
Series:Global Ecology and Conservation
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989424006012
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author Dávid Korányi
Ádám Kőrösi
András Orosz
Viktor Markó
author_facet Dávid Korányi
Ádám Kőrösi
András Orosz
Viktor Markó
author_sort Dávid Korányi
collection DOAJ
description Urbanization leads to an increase in built-up areas but also creates landscape element mosaics, providing various habitats for phytophagous species. Sap-feeding insects (Hemiptera) form a major component of arboreal insect communities with many highly damaging and difficult-to-control pests of urban trees. Outbreaks of their populations are often reported from city centers. Here, we studied how urbanization (defined as the proportion of impervious surfaces within a 200 and 500-m radius) affected canopy-dwelling phytophagous hemipterans (true bugs, true hoppers, and psyllids) on field maple (Acer campestre) trees. We also considered the amount of green urban areas (gardens and parks) in the surrounding landscape and the characteristics of the hemipteran species (origin, diet, and body size). We found that sap-feeding hemipterans did not show consistent responses to urbanization. The occurrence of only one species (Alebra wahlbergi) increased while the abundance of other native species (e.g., Acericerus ribauti, Palomena prasina, and Rhinocola aceris) decreased with increasing level of urbanization. At the same time, the serious pest of urban trees, Metcalfa pruinosa, but also two major crop pests, Nezara viridula and Halyomorpha halys had the highest numbers at an intermediate level of urbanization with a relatively high proportion of gardens and parks in the landscape. We also found less native and more generalist hemipterans in highly urbanized sites compared to less densely built areas. Our results suggest that, apart from their substantial contribution to ecosystem services, green urban areas can favor some major insect pests of urban trees and agricultural crops.
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spelling doaj-art-6a2d012de3084eb3a9797b7da8bd15c92025-01-23T05:27:01ZengElsevierGlobal Ecology and Conservation2351-98942025-01-0157e03397Sap-feeding insects do not respond uniformly to urbanization: The role of urban green spaces and species characteristicsDávid Korányi0Ádám Kőrösi1András Orosz2Viktor Markó3“Lendület” Landscape and Conservation Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Botany, HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research, Alkotmány út 2-4, Vácrátót 2163, Hungary; Corresponding author.Büro Geyer und Dolek, Alpenblick 12, Wörthsee 82237, GermanyDepartment of Zoology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Baross utca 13, Budapest 1088, HungaryInstitute of Plant Protection, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Ménesi út 44, Budapest 1118, HungaryUrbanization leads to an increase in built-up areas but also creates landscape element mosaics, providing various habitats for phytophagous species. Sap-feeding insects (Hemiptera) form a major component of arboreal insect communities with many highly damaging and difficult-to-control pests of urban trees. Outbreaks of their populations are often reported from city centers. Here, we studied how urbanization (defined as the proportion of impervious surfaces within a 200 and 500-m radius) affected canopy-dwelling phytophagous hemipterans (true bugs, true hoppers, and psyllids) on field maple (Acer campestre) trees. We also considered the amount of green urban areas (gardens and parks) in the surrounding landscape and the characteristics of the hemipteran species (origin, diet, and body size). We found that sap-feeding hemipterans did not show consistent responses to urbanization. The occurrence of only one species (Alebra wahlbergi) increased while the abundance of other native species (e.g., Acericerus ribauti, Palomena prasina, and Rhinocola aceris) decreased with increasing level of urbanization. At the same time, the serious pest of urban trees, Metcalfa pruinosa, but also two major crop pests, Nezara viridula and Halyomorpha halys had the highest numbers at an intermediate level of urbanization with a relatively high proportion of gardens and parks in the landscape. We also found less native and more generalist hemipterans in highly urbanized sites compared to less densely built areas. Our results suggest that, apart from their substantial contribution to ecosystem services, green urban areas can favor some major insect pests of urban trees and agricultural crops.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989424006012Exotic pestsFunctional characteristicsGardensHemipteraUrban environmentParks
spellingShingle Dávid Korányi
Ádám Kőrösi
András Orosz
Viktor Markó
Sap-feeding insects do not respond uniformly to urbanization: The role of urban green spaces and species characteristics
Global Ecology and Conservation
Exotic pests
Functional characteristics
Gardens
Hemiptera
Urban environment
Parks
title Sap-feeding insects do not respond uniformly to urbanization: The role of urban green spaces and species characteristics
title_full Sap-feeding insects do not respond uniformly to urbanization: The role of urban green spaces and species characteristics
title_fullStr Sap-feeding insects do not respond uniformly to urbanization: The role of urban green spaces and species characteristics
title_full_unstemmed Sap-feeding insects do not respond uniformly to urbanization: The role of urban green spaces and species characteristics
title_short Sap-feeding insects do not respond uniformly to urbanization: The role of urban green spaces and species characteristics
title_sort sap feeding insects do not respond uniformly to urbanization the role of urban green spaces and species characteristics
topic Exotic pests
Functional characteristics
Gardens
Hemiptera
Urban environment
Parks
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989424006012
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