Biodiversity Data Journal : Data Paper (Biosciences)
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Data Paper (Biosciences)
Monitoring Arthropods in Azorean Agroecosystems: the project AGRO-ECOSERVICES
expand article infoPaulo A. V. Borges‡, Rui Nunes‡, Lucas Lamelas-López‡, Enésima Pereira‡, Ricardo Costa‡, Paulo Monjardino§, David H. Lopes‡, António Onofre Soares|, Artur Gil¶,|, François Rigal#, Marco Ferrante‡, Gabor L. Lövei¤,‡
‡ cE3c – Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes/ Azorean Biodiversity Group and Universidade dos Açores, Rua Capitão João d’Ávila, São Pedro, 9700-042, Angra do Heroísmo, Azores, Portugal
§ CBA – Biotechnology Centre of Azores, University of Azores, Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, Rua Capitão João D'Avila, 9701-042, Angra do Heroísmo, Azores, Portugal
| cE3c – Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes/ Azorean Biodiversity Group and Universidade dos Açores, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, 9500-321, Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal
¶ IVAR - Research Institute in Volcanology and Risk Assessment | University of the Azores, Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal
# CNRS - Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour, Institut des Sciences Analytiques et de Physico-Chimie pour l’Environnement et les Matériaux, E2S, UMR 5254, BP, Pau Cedex, Pau, France
¤ Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Flakkebjerg Research Centre, Forsoegsvej 1, DK-4200, Slagelse, Denmark
Corresponding author: Paulo A. V. Borges (paulo.av.borges@uac.pt)
Academic editor: Rui Elias
Received: 03 Nov 2021 | Accepted: 17 Nov 2021 | Published: 09 Dec 2021
© 2021 Paulo Borges, Rui Nunes, Lucas Lamelas-López, Enésima Pereira, Ricardo Costa, Paulo Monjardino, David Lopes, António Soares, Artur Gil, François Rigal, Marco Ferrante, Gabor Lövei
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation: Borges PAV, Nunes R, Lamelas-López L, Pereira E, Costa R, Monjardino P, Lopes DH, Soares AO, Gil A, Rigal F, Ferrante M, Lövei GL (2021) Monitoring Arthropods in Azorean Agroecosystems: the project AGRO-ECOSERVICES. Biodiversity Data Journal 9: e77548. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.9.e77548
 Open Access

Abstract

Background

The data we present are part of the AGRO-ECOSERVICES project (Assessing ecosystem services and disservices provided by arthropod species in Azorean agroecosystems). The project aims to evaluate the relative importance of native and non-native organisms as ecosystem services (ES) and disservices (ED) providers, by combining novel, direct and quantitative tools for monitoring agro-biodiversity. Ecosystem services include evaluation of natural pest control by predation, seed predation on weed plants, pollination, decomposition and ecosystem disservices, herbivory and seed predation on crop plants. Active Aerial Searching (AAS) (only in maize-fields) and pitfall traps were used to sample the arthropod biodiversity (predatory spiders, true-bugs and beetles and main insect pests) on four agricultural habitats of Terceira Island, namely citrus orchards, low and high elevation maize fields and vineyards.

New information

We provided an inventory of all arthropods recorded in four Azorean agroecosystems (citrus orchards, low and high elevation maize fields and vineyards) from Terceira Island. A total of 50412 specimens were collected, belonging to four classes, 20 orders, 81 families and 200 identified species of arthropods. A total of 127 species are considered introduced (n = 22646) and 69 native non-endemic (n = 24117). Four endemic species were recorded with very few specimens (n = 14) and 3635 specimens belong to unidentified taxa recorded only at genus or family level. Five species are new records for Terceira Island, with Lagria hirta (Linnaeus, 1758) (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae) being also a new record for the Azores. This publication contributes to a better knowledge of the arthropods communities present in agro-ecosystems of Terceira Island and will serve as a baseline for future monitoring schemes targeting the long-term change in arthropod diversity and abundance.

Keywords

Active Aerial Searching (AAS), citrus, dataset, invertebrates, island diversity, Macaronesia, maize, occurrence, orchards, pitfall traps, vineyards.

Introduction

Land-use transformation with associated habitat degradation, is one of the major drivers of biodiversity loss worldwide (Vitousek et al. 1997, Barnosky et al. 2011, Borges et al. 2019a, Harvey et al. 2020). In the case of Azores, since Portuguese colonisation in the 15th century, the original landscape has suffered severe transformations, with the replacement of native forests by exotic tree plantations, pastures, agricultural and urban areas (Gaspar et al. 2008, Borges et al. 2019a, Borges et al. 2019b, Norder et al. 2020).

However, although exotic species have a competitive advantage to colonise new human-altered habitats given that their tolerance to wide range of environmental conditions and habitats (e.g. generalist behaviour) (Rigal et al. 2017), these non-natural habitats also offer opportunities to native biota (McKinney and Lockwood 1999, Blackburn et al. 2004, Sax 2008, Tsafack et al. 2021).

Many species were also introduced because of human settlement (Frutuoso 2011). The current remnants of native forests represent less than 5% of the total area of the archipelago (Gaspar et al. 2008). Currently, the Azorean economy depends greatly on agroecosystems (Gil et al. 2017). Agrosecoystems with the largest area are pastures, followed by maize, with the two crops usually grown in rotation. Due to their long co-existence and close taxonomic relationship between pastures and maize (both are grasses), several pests interact with both crops all year round (P. Monjardino, pers. observ.). These interactions need to be further understood, because of ongoing current significant yield losses in both agroecosystems (P. Monjardino, pers. observ.). Vineyards and citrus orchards are amongst the most important crops on the Azores. Both crops have significant pest and disease problems due to the benign environmental conditions and to improper cultural practices (Lopes et al. 2009).

Azorean terrestrial arthropod fauna have been extensively surveyed in the last two decades. Although most surveys have been conducted in native forests (e.g. Borges et al. 2005, Ribeiro et al. 2005, Borges et al. 2006), several also included anthropogenic habitats, as exotic forest plantations, pastures for cattle grazing and other agricultural areas (Cardoso et al. 2009, Florencio et al. 2015, Rigal et al. 2017, Marcelino et al. 2021, Tsafack et al. 2021).

In 2019 and 2020, we started the project “Assessing Ecosystem Services and Disservices provided by Arthropod species in Azorean Agroecosystems” (AGRO-ECOSERVICES). This project aims to: (i) initiate the monitoring of terrestrial arthropods in agricultural habitats, (ii) implement novel, direct and quantitative tools to quantify ecosystem services (ES) and disservices (ED) and (iii) evaluate the relative importance of native and non-native organisms as ES/ED providers.

Arthropods, especially insects, support ecosystem stability and functioning (Allan et al. 2015, Bennett et al. 2015). Due to their high species richness and abundance, as well as their importance for several ES and ED (Zhang et al. 2007, Ameixa et al. 2018, Noriega et al. 2018, Ecosystem Services 2019), arthropods play a key role in all terrestrial ecosystems. Evaluating the total effect of arthropods that are providers of both ES and ED is challenging (Shapiro and Báldi 2014). For example, when they prey on pests, generalist predators provide biological control, an ES valued at $400 billion/y (Costanza et al. 1997), while their intraguild predation (Lövei and Ferrante 2017) constitutes an ED. A second great challenge is to assess the role of native vs. exotic biodiversity in providing ES/ED, which is essential to manage sustainable landscapes and an important frontier in theoretical ecology. Exotic species often alter ecological processes and cause severe biodiversity loss (Simberloff et al. 2013). Nevertheless, these species may also provide ES: alien plants can increase microbial activity (Vilà et al. 2011), introduced natural enemies can control pests (Heimpel and Mills 2017) or provide ecological “insurance” after the decline of native species (Stavert et al. 2018).

Oceanic islands have a high proportion of endemic species, being very sensitive to biotic disturbance, such as invasions and land-use changes (Stachowicz and Tilman 2005, Kier et al. 2009) - the perfect setting to test the response of ecological communities to disturbance and its effects on ecosystem processes. Several factors contribute to arthropod decline in the Azores (Borges et al. 2019b), including native forest destruction (Triantis et al. 2010), lack of connectivity between forest patches (Aparício et al. 2018) and climate change (Ferreira et al. 2016).

This publication contributes not only to a better knowledge of the arthropods present in agroecosystems of Terceira Island, but will also contribute as a baseline for future monitoring schemes in Azorean agroecosystems targeting the long-term change in arthropod diversity and abundance.

General description

Purpose: 

To provide an arthropod inventory of agro-ecosystems from Terceira Island (Azores), based on data collected in four agro-ecosystems, citrus orchards, low and high elevation maize fields and vineyards. This study will contribute to a better knowledge of the arthropods present in agro-ecosystems and will serve as a baseline for future monitoring schemes in Azorean agro-ecosystems targeting the long-term change in arthropod diversity and abundance.

Additional information: 

The study was conducted between July 2019 and September 2021 in Terceira Island. Active Aerial Searching (only in maize-fields) and pitfall traps were used to sample the arthropod biodiversity (pollinators and predatory spiders, true-bugs and beetles and main insect pests) on four agricultural habitats, namely citrus orchards, vineyards, low elevation maize fields and high elevation maize fields. Information on ecosystem services (ES) and disservices (ED) providers will be the subject of another publication.

Project description

Title: 

AgEcSe- AGRO-ECOSERVICES - Assessing ecosystem services and disservices provided by arthropod species in Azorean Agroecosystems (ACORES-01-0145-FEDER-000073)

Personnel: 

Project leaders: Paulo A. V. Borges and António Onofre Soares

Team members: Marco Ferrante, Artur Gil, Marco Girardello, David H. Lopes, Paulo Monjardino, Rui Nunes.

External Consultants: Sven Bacher, Gabor Lövei, François Rigal

Parataxonomists: Jonne Bonnet, Ricardo Costa, Rui Nunes

Darwin Core Database management: Paulo A. V. Borges, Lucas Lamelas-López, Enésima Pereira

Study area description: 

Terceira Island (area: 400.2 km²; elevation: 1021 m a.s.l.) is located in the central group of the Azores Archipelago (North Atlantic), roughly at 38.638 N and -27.0150 W (Fig. 1). Similar to all islands in Azores, Terceira is volcanic and of recent origin (0.4 Ma, see Florencio et al. 2021). The climate is temperate oceanic, with regular and abundant rainfall, high levels of relative humidity and persistent winds, mainly during the winter and autumn seasons.

Figure 1.  

Map of the Azores Archipelago location in mid-Atlantic with the studied island TER - Terceira, marked in black (Credit: Enésima Pereira).

Design description: 

The sampled habitats included citrus orchards, vineyards and low elevation maize fields, all located at low elevation areas and high elevation maize fields (Fig. 2, Table 1). The two types of maize fields differ not only in the elevation, but principally in crop management, the low elevation being an annual rotation of maize and Italian ryegrass and the high elevation (located at intermediate elevation in the Island) being a perennial rotation of maize and perennial ryegrass.

Table 1.
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Description of the habitat, locality, elevation and coordinates of the 18 sampled sites on Terceira Island, Azores.

Code Site Habitat Location ID Locality Elevation (m a.s.l.) Latitude Longitude
C1 Citrus TER_CITRUS_T1_T206 Pico da Urze 117 38.66989 -27.24047
C2 Citrus TER_CITRUS_T2_T207 Qt. Rosário 158 38.68111 -27.26206
C3 Citrus TER_CITRUS_T3_T208 S. Bartolomeu 189 38.6827 -27.27555
C4 Citrus TER_CITRUS_T4_T209 S. Bento 66 38.66287 -27.21019
C5 Citrus TER_CITRUS_T5_T210 S. Carlos 69 38.6625 -27.24961
ML1 Maize Low TER_MAIZE_LOW_T2_T221 Atalaia 111 38.65631 -27.18368
ML2 Maize Low TER_MAIZE_LOW_T1_T220 Cinco Ribeiras 90 38.6758 -27.30998
ML3 Maize Low TER_MAIZE_LOW_T3_T222 S. Mateus 42 38.66304 -27.28962
ML4 Maize Low TER_MAIZE_LOW_T4_T223 Universidade dos Açores - Campus do Pico da Urze 36 38.659 -27.23555
ML5 Maize Low TER_MAIZE_LOW_T5_T224 Vinha Brava 167 38.67593 -27.21684
MH1 Maize High TER_MAIZE_HIGH_T1_T215 Casa da Mina 314 38.68602 -27.1974
MH2 Maize High TER_MAIZE_HIGH_T2_T216 Escampadouro 309 38.70159 -27.2852
MH3 Maize High TER_MAIZE_HIGH_T3_T217 Granja 385 38.70083 -27.17019
MH4 Maize High TER_MAIZE_HIGH_T4_T218 Juncal 321 38.69996 -27.12048
MH5 Maize High TER_MAIZE_HIGH_T5_T219 Poejo 275 38.6768 -27.14616
V1 Vineyards TER_VINE_F1_T211 Biscoitos Vinha_F1 23 38.79793 -27.25567
V2 Vineyards TER_VINE_F2_T212 Biscoitos Vinha_F2 52 38.79664 -27.26302
V3 Vineyards TER_VINE_F3_T213 Biscoitos Vinha_F3 28 38.80066 -27.26842
Figure 2.  

Map of the study area (Terceira Island, Azores). Codes of sites as in Table 1. Maize fields are located in intensive pasture since they are only operating in summer, with the two crops usually grown in rotation (Land-use data extracted from Cruz et al. 2007).

Funding: 

This work was financed by FEDER (European Regional Development Fund) in 85% and by Azorean Public funds by 15% through the Operational Program Azores 2020, under the project AGRO-ECOSERVICES (ACORES-01-0145-FEDER-000073).

Sampling methods

Description: 

The study was conducted in four agro-ecosystems of Terceira Island (Fig. 2): citrus orchards (Fig. 3), vineyards (Fig. 4), low elevation maize fields (Fig. 5) and high elevation maize fields (Fig. 6). Five citrus orchards were selected, located at low elevation areas. Ten maize fields, five of which are located inland at higher elevation and five other closer to the coast in low elevation areas. Finally, three vineyards located on the coast, north of the Island were sampled (see also Table 1).

Figure 3.  

A citrus orchard in Terceira Island (C5 - S. Carlos) (Credit: Rui Nunes).

Figure 4.  

The vineyards in Terceira Island (V3 - Biscoitos) (Credit: Rui Nunes).

Figure 5.  

A low elevation maize field in Terceira Island (ML3 - S. Mateus) (Credit: Rui Nunes).

Figure 6.  

A high elevation maize field in Terceira Island (MH5 -Poejo) (Credit: Rui Nunes).

Sampling description: 

Active Aerial Searching (AAS) and pitfall traps were used to sample arthropod diversity. The following main functional groups were collected: predatory arthropods (mostly spiders, true-bugs, beetles and bugs), phytophagous insects and saprophagous arthropods (mostly millipedes and beetles).

AAS consists in picking arthropods found above knee-level by hand, using forceps, pooter or brush and immediately transferring them into vials containing ethanol 96%. It was implemented in five low- and five high-elevation maize fields. Four 1-hour samples were obtained during the night when the main predators are more active. Sampling was performed in the summer when the maize plants were at maximum development. Samples were taken by Paulo A. V. Borges and Rui Nunes (two hours each per site).

Pitfall traps were standard 330 ml plastic cups, 8 cm wide at the top and approximately 12 cm deep - European standard plastic cups (Fig. 7), partially filled with propylene glycol. The traps were deployed for 14 consecutive days.

Figure 7.  

Detail of a pitfall trap (standard 330 ml plastic cups, 8 cm wide at the top and approximately 12 cm deep) (Credit: Rui Nunes).

In each of five citrus orchards and six (of ten available) maize fields (three in low- and three in high-elevation areas), 16 pitfall traps organised in sets of two connected with a grid (Fig. 8) were deployed, along a transect, from the point closest to the crop edge. The eight sets of two pitfall traps were separated by at least 10 metres. A total of 80 and 96 pitfall traps were deployed on citrus orchards and maize fields, respectively.

Figure 8.  

Pitfall traps used in citrus orchards and maize fields (sets of two connected with a grid) (Credit: Rui Nunes).

For vineyards, a different strategy had to be followed since Azorean vineyards are formed by small rocky enclosures (between 6-20 m2) (Fig. 4) and pitfall traps were deployed in the interior of these enclosures. Following a transect, a total of 144 individual pitfall traps were deployed in three vineyards (48 in each site).

Sampling methods used in citrus and vineyards (pitfall traps) only provide information on the soil-related arthropods; most of crop insect pests (canopy associated species) are not sampled by this sampling technique.

Quality control: 

All sampled specimens were first sorted by trained paratoxonomists (Jonne Bonnet, Ricardo Costa, Rui Nunes). All specimens were allocated to a taxonomic species by Paulo A. V. Borges. Juveniles were also included in the data presented in this paper since the low diversity of species in Azores allows their reliable identification. Colonisation status for each identified species is based on Borges et al. 2010 (END - Endemic; NAT - native non-endemic; INTR -introduced).

Step description: 

A reference collection for Azorean arthropods (deposited at the Dalberto Teixeira Pombo Insect Collection, University of Azores) started to be prepared in 1999 by one of us (PAVB) and many taxonomists contributed since then in the identification of species. For all the specimens for which adequate identification was not possible, a new "morphospecies code" was created.

Geographic coverage

Description: 

Terceira Island, Azores, Portugal.

Coordinates: 

38.638 and 38.814 Latitude; -27.394 and -27.0150 Longitude.

Taxonomic coverage

Description: 

The following classes and orders of arthropods are covered: Arachnida: Araneae, Opiliones, Pseudoscorpiones; Chilopoda: Geophilomorpha, Lithobiomorpha, Scolopendromorpha, Scutigeromorpha; Diplopoda: Chordeumatida, Julida, Polydesmida; and Insecta: Archaeognatha, Coleoptera, Dermaptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Neuroptera, Orthoptera, Psocoptera, Thysanoptera.

Taxa included:
Rank Scientific Name Common Name
class Araneae Spiders
class Opiliones Opilions
class Pseudoscorpiones Pseudoscorpions
class Diplopoda Millipedes
class Chilopoda Centipedes
order Archaeognatha Bristletails
order Dermaptera Earwigs
order Orthoptera Crickets, Grasshoppers
order Psocoptera Barklice
order Thysanoptera Thrips
order Hemiptera Bugs
order Neuroptera Lacewings
order Coleoptera Beetles
order Hymenoptera Ants
order Lepidoptera Moths

Traits coverage

No data available.

Temporal coverage

Notes: 

16 July 2019 to 9 June 2021

Collection data

Collection name: 
Entomoteca Dalberto Teixeira Pombo at University of Azores
Collection identifier: 
DTP
Specimen preservation method: 
All specimens were preserved in 96% ethanol.
Curatorial unit: 
Dalberto Teixeira Pombo insect collection at the University of the Azores (Curator: Paulo A. V. Borges)

Usage licence

Usage licence: 
Creative Commons Public Domain Waiver (CC-Zero)

Data resources

Data package title: 
Monitoring Arthropods in Azorean Agroecosystems: the project AGRO-ECOSERVICES (AgEcSe)
Resource link: 
https://www.gbif.org/dataset/822f3765-6950-40c5-9353-1f335599007c
Alternative identifiers: 
https://doi.org/10.15468/mvtmyx
Number of data sets: 
1
Data set name: 
Monitoring Arthropods in Azorean Agroecosystems: the project AGRO-ECOSERVICES
Download URL: 
http://ipt.gbif.pt/ipt/resource?r=arthropods_agroecoservices
Data format: 
Darwin Core Archive
Data format version: 
version 1.10
Description: 

The dataset is available on the Global Biodiversity Information Facility platform, GBIF (Borges et al. 2021). The following data table includes all the records for which a taxonomic identification of the species was possible. The dataset submitted to GBIF is structured as a sample event dataset, with two tables: event (as core) and occurrences (abundance data). The data in this sampling event resource have been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwCA), which is a standardised format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data file contains 358 records (eventID) and the occurrences file 5134 records (occurrenceID). This IPT (Integrated Publishing Toolkit) archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download from Borges et al. (2021).

Column label Column description
Table of Sampling Events Table with sampling events data (beginning of table).
eventID Identifier of the events, unique for the dataset.
stateProvince Name of the region of the sampling site.
islandGroup Name of archipelago.
island Name of the island.
country Country of the sampling site.
countryCode ISO code of the country of the sampling site.
municipality Municipality of the sampling site.
decimalLongitude Approximate centre point decimal longitude of the field site in GPS coordinates.
decimalLatitude Approximate centre point decimal latitude of the field site in GPS coordinates.
geodeticDatum The ellipsoid, geodetic datum or spatial reference system (SRS) upon which the geographic coordinates given in decimalLatitude and decimalLongitude are based.
coordinateUncertaintyInMetres Uncertainty of the coordinates of the centre of the sampling plot.
coordinatePrecision Precision of the coordinates.
georeferenceSources A list (concatenated and separated) of maps, gazetteers or other resources used to georeference the Location, described specifically enough to allow anyone in the future to use the same resources.
locationID Identifier of the location.
fieldNumber Code of the sample
locality Name of the locality.
minimumElevationInMetres The lower limit of the range of elevation (altitude, usually above sea level), in metres.
habitat The habitat of the sample.
year Year of the event.
month Month of the event.
day Day of the event.
samplingEffort The amount of effort expended during an Event.
eventDate Date or date range the record was collected.
samplingProtocol The sampling protocol used to capture the species.
Occurrence Table Table with species abundance data (beginning of new table).
eventID Identifier of the events, unique for the dataset.
type Type of the record, as defined by the Public Core standard.
licence Reference to the licence under which the record is published.
institutionID The identity of the institution publishing the data.
institutionCode The code of the institution publishing the data.
collectionID The identity of the collection publishing the data.
collectionCode The code of the collection where the specimens are conserved.
datasetName Name of the dataset.
basisOfRecord The nature of the data record.
occurrenceID Identifier of the record, coded as a global unique identifier.
recordedBy A list (concatenated and separated) of names of people, groups or organisations who performed the sampling in the field.
identifiedBy A list (concatenated and separated) of names of people, groups or organisations who assigned the Taxon to the subject.
dateIdentified The date on which the subject was determined as representing the Taxon.
organismQuantity A number or enumeration value for the quantity of organisms.
organismQuantityType The type of quantification system used for the quantity of organisms.
sex The sex and quantity of the individuals captured.
lifeStage The life stage of the organisms captured.
scientificName Complete scientific name including author and year.
scientificNameAuthorship Name of the author of the lowest taxon rank included in the record.
kingdom Kingdom name.
phylum Phylum name.
class Class name.
order Order name.
family Family name.
genus Genus name.
specificEpithet Specific epithet.
infraspecificEpithet Infrapecific epithet.
taxonRank Lowest taxonomic rank of the record.
establishmentMeans The process of establishment of the species in the location, using a controlled vocabulary: 'native', 'introduced', 'endemic', "unknown".
identificationRemarks Information about morphospecies identification (code in Dalberto Teixeira Pombo Collection).

Additional information

We collected a total of 50412 specimens, belonging to four classes, 20 orders and 81 families of arthropods. A total of 127 species are considered introduced (n = 22646) and 69 native non-endemic (n = 24117). Four endemic species were recorded with very few specimens (n = 14) and 3635 specimens belong to unidentified taxa recorded only at genus or family level.

Arachnids belonged to three orders, Araneae being the most abundant (95% of arachnid specimens belonged to this order). Chilopoda and Diplopoda classes recorded four and three orders, being Lithobiomorpha and Julida, respectively, the most abundant. Insecta was the most abundant class (n = 39590) recorded in the studied agro-ecosystems, with Coleoptera the most abundant order (38% of specimens).

A total of 200 species were identified (Table 2) and an additional 73 morphospecies need proper identification, totalling potentially 273 species (see Suppl. material 1).

Table 2.
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Inventory of arthropods collected in four agroecosystems in Terceira Island (Azores, Portugal) following an elevation gradient: vineyards (Vine), citrus orchards (Citrus), maize fields at low elevation (Maize L) and at high elevation (Maize H). The list includes only the specimens identified at species-level. Class, order, family, scientific name follow alphabetical sequence. Colonisation status based on Borges et al. 2010 (Origin: END - Endemic; NAT - native non-endemic; INTR - introduced) and abundance per habitat type are provided. Bold scientific names constitute new records for Terceira Island. * - New record for Azores.

class order family scientificName Origin VINE CITRUS MAIZE L MAIZE H Total
Arachnida Araneae Agelenidae Tegenaria domestica (Clerck, 1757) INTR 1 1
Arachnida Araneae Agelenidae Tegenaria pagana C.L. Koch, 1840 INTR 3 3
Arachnida Araneae Araneidae Agalenatea redii (Scopoli, 1763) INTR 7 2 9
Arachnida Araneae Araneidae Araneus angulatus Clerck, 1757 INTR 30 30
Arachnida Araneae Araneidae Argiope bruennichi (Scopoli, 1772) NAT 37 50 87
Arachnida Araneae Araneidae Gibbaranea occidentalis Wunderlich, 1989 END 1 1
Arachnida Araneae Araneidae Mangora acalypha (Walckenaer, 1802) INTR 1 1
Arachnida Araneae Araneidae Neoscona crucifera (Lucas, 1838) INTR 2 2 4
Arachnida Araneae Araneidae Zygiella x-notata (Clerck, 1757) INTR 6 12 18
Arachnida Araneae Clubionidae Clubiona terrestris Westring, 1851 INTR 2 2
Arachnida Araneae Clubionidae Porrhoclubiona decora (Blackwall, 1859) NAT 25 4 29
Arachnida Araneae Clubionidae Porrhoclubiona genevensis (L. Koch, 1866) INTR 1 1
Arachnida Araneae Dictynidae Lathys dentichelis (Simon, 1883) NAT 1 1
Arachnida Araneae Dictynidae Nigma puella (Simon, 1870) INTR 3 3
Arachnida Araneae Dysderidae Dysdera crocata C.L. Koch, 1838 INTR 4 70 20 15 109
Arachnida Araneae Gnaphosidae Marinarozelotes lyonneti (Audouin, 1826) INTR 15 15 30
Arachnida Araneae Linyphiidae Agyneta decora (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1871) INTR 1 1
Arachnida Araneae Linyphiidae Agyneta fuscipalpa (C. L. Koch, 1836) INTR 28 7 396 18 449
Arachnida Araneae Linyphiidae Erigone atra Blackwall, 1833 INTR 1 3 3 13 20
Arachnida Araneae Linyphiidae Erigone autumnalis Emerton, 1882 INTR 1 309 333 95 738
Arachnida Araneae Linyphiidae Erigone dentipalpis (Wider, 1834) INTR 2 176 484 662
Arachnida Araneae Linyphiidae Mermessus bryantae (Ivie & Barrows, 1935) INTR 2 3 2 7
Arachnida Araneae Linyphiidae Mermessus fradeorum (Berland, 1932) INTR 117 7 53 177
Arachnida Araneae Linyphiidae Neriene clathrata (Sundevall, 1830) INTR 3 2 2 7
Arachnida Araneae Linyphiidae Oedothorax fuscus (Blackwall, 1834) INTR 4 80 577 661
Arachnida Araneae Linyphiidae Ostearius melanopygius (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1880) INTR 1 6 17 24
Arachnida Araneae Linyphiidae Palliduphantes schmitzi (Kulczynski, 1899) NAT 7 1 1 2 11
Arachnida Araneae Linyphiidae Pelecopsis parallela (Wider, 1834) INTR 32 1 33
Arachnida Araneae Linyphiidae Prinerigone vagans (Audouin, 1826) INTR 130 229 359
Arachnida Araneae Linyphiidae Tenuiphantes tenuis (Blackwall, 1852) INTR 132 104 177 413
Arachnida Araneae Lycosidae Arctosa perita (Latreille, 1799) INTR 1 1
Arachnida Araneae Lycosidae Pardosa acorensis Simon, 1883 END 6 3 9
Arachnida Araneae Oecobiidae Oecobius navus Blackwall, 1859 INTR 5 5 10
Arachnida Araneae Salticidae Chalcoscirtus infimus (Simon, 1868) INTR 14 14
Arachnida Araneae Salticidae Heliophanus kochii Simon, 1868 INTR 1 1
Arachnida Araneae Salticidae Macaroeris diligens (Blackwall, 1867) NAT 1 2 3
Arachnida Araneae Salticidae Pseudeuophrys vafra (Blackwall, 1867) INTR 3 3
Arachnida Araneae Salticidae Salticus mutabilis Lucas, 1846 INTR 1 1
Arachnida Araneae Salticidae Synageles venator (Lucas, 1836) INTR 1 1
Arachnida Araneae Scytotidae Scytodes thoracica (Latreille, 1802) INTR 1 1
Arachnida Araneae Segestriidae Segestria florentina (Rossi, 1790) INTR 1 1
Arachnida Araneae Tetragnathidae Pachygnatha degeeri Sundevall, 1830 INTR 1 55 56
Arachnida Araneae Theridiidae Cryptachaea blattea (Urquhart, 1886) INTR 5 2 11 18
Arachnida Araneae Theridiidae Neottiura bimaculata (Linnaeus, 1767) INTR 1 1
Arachnida Araneae Theridiidae Parasteatoda tepidariorum (C. L. Koch, 1841) INTR 8 69 77
Arachnida Araneae Theridiidae Steatoda grossa (C. L. Koch, 1838) INTR 16 71 87
Arachnida Araneae Theridiidae Steatoda nobilis (Thorell, 1875) INTR 2 2
Arachnida Araneae Theridiidae Theridion melanostictum O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1876 INTR 1 3 4
Arachnida Araneae Theridiidae Theridion musivivum Schmidt, 1956 NAT 1 1
Arachnida Araneae Thomisidae Xysticus nubilus Simon, 1875 INTR 3 3
Arachnida Araneae Zodariidae Zodarion atlanticum Pekár & Cardoso, 2005 INTR 934 7 14 1 956
Arachnida Opiliones Phalangiidae Homalenotus coriaceus (Simon, 1879) NAT 1 156 20 177
Arachnida Opiliones Phalangiidae Leiobunum blackwalli Meade, 1861 NAT 7 12 19
Arachnida Pseudoscorpiones Chthoniidae Chthonius ischnocheles (Hermann, 1804) INTR 8 10 4 22
Arachnida Pseudoscorpiones Chthoniidae Ephippiochthonius tetrachelatus (Preyssler, 1790) INTR 18 9 27
Arachnida Pseudoscorpiones Neobisiidae Neobisium maroccanum Beier, 1930 INTR 1 2 3
Chilopoda Geophilomorpha Linotaeniidae Strigamia crassipes (C.L. Koch, 1835) NAT 2 2
Chilopoda Lithobiomorpha Lithobiidae Lithobius pilicornis pilicornis Newport, 1844 NAT 15 4 1 1 21
Chilopoda Scolopendromorpha Cryptopidae Cryptops hortensis (Donovan, 1810) NAT 6 1 2 9
Chilopoda Scutigeromorpha Scutigeridae Scutigera coleoptrata (Linnaeus, 1758) INTR 34 205 171 27 437
Diplopoda Chordeumatida Haplobainosomatidae Haplobainosoma lusitanum Verhoeff, 1900 INTR 6 6
Diplopoda Julida Blaniulidae Blaniulus guttulatus (Fabricius, 1798) INTR 1 1
Diplopoda Julida Blaniulidae Nopoiulus kochii (Gervais, 1847) INTR 3 3
Diplopoda Julida Blaniulidae Proteroiulus fuscus (Am Stein, 1857) INTR 3 3
Diplopoda Julida Julidae Brachyiulus pusillus (Leach, 1814) INTR 138 138
Diplopoda Julida Julidae Cylindroiulus latestriatus (Curtis, 1845) INTR 1 1
Diplopoda Julida Julidae Cylindroiulus propinquus (Porat, 1870) INTR 4 14 18
Diplopoda Julida Julidae Ommatoiulus moreleti (Lucas, 1860) INTR 221 1740 35 217 2213
Diplopoda Polydesmida Polydesmidae Brachydesmus superus Latzel, 1884 INTR 1 1
Diplopoda Polydesmida Polydesmidae Polydesmus coriaceus Porat, 1870 INTR 8 470 12 53 543
Insecta Archaeognatha Machilidae Dilta saxicola (Womersley, 1930) NAT 3 4 7
Insecta Coleoptera Anthicidae Hirticollis quadriguttatus (Rossi, 1792) NAT 1 166 176 343
Insecta Coleoptera Apionidae Aspidapion radiolus (Marsham, 1802) NAT 1 1 2
Insecta Coleoptera Apionidae Ischnopterapion virens (Herbst, 1797) INTR 6 2 8
Insecta Coleoptera Carabidae Acupalpus dubius Schilsky, 1888 NAT 37 8 45
Insecta Coleoptera Carabidae Acupalpus flavicollis (Sturm, 1825) NAT 47 1 48
Insecta Coleoptera Carabidae Agonum muelleri muelleri (Herbst, 1784) INTR 38 38
Insecta Coleoptera Carabidae Amara aenea (De Geer, 1774) INTR 1 6 15 22
Insecta Coleoptera Carabidae Anisodactylus binotatus (Fabricius, 1787) INTR 1 3 65 69
Insecta Coleoptera Carabidae Calosoma olivieri Dejean, 1831 NAT 14 41 55
Insecta Coleoptera Carabidae Harpalus distinguendus distinguendus (Duftschmid, 1812) INTR 1 3 40 44
Insecta Coleoptera Carabidae Laemostenus complanatus (Dejean, 1828) INTR 5 41 1 47
Insecta Coleoptera Carabidae Microlestes negrita negrita (Wollaston, 1854) NAT 6 6
Insecta Coleoptera Carabidae Notiophilus quadripunctatus Dejean, 1826 NAT 1 1
Insecta Coleoptera Carabidae Ocys harpaloides (Audinet-Serville, 1821) NAT 5 5
Insecta Coleoptera Carabidae Paranchus albipes (Fabricius, 1796) INTR 1 16 17
Insecta Coleoptera Carabidae Pseudoophonus rufipes (De Geer, 1774) INTR 7 74 55 6995 7131
Insecta Coleoptera Carabidae Pterostichus vernalis (Panzer, 1796) INTR 25 25
Insecta Coleoptera Chrysomelidae Chaetocnema hortensis (Fourcroy, 1785) INTR 1 2 3
Insecta Coleoptera Chrysomelidae Chrysolina bankii (Fabricius, 1775) NAT 10 10
Insecta Coleoptera Chrysomelidae Epitrix cucumeris (Harris, 1851) INTR 53 4 57
Insecta Coleoptera Chrysomelidae Longitarsus kutscherai (Rye, 1872) INTR 1 1
Insecta Coleoptera Coccinellidae Scymniscus helgae (Fürsch, 1965) INTR 1 1
Insecta Coleoptera Corylophidae Sericoderus lateralis (Gyllenhal, 1827) INTR 15 61 268 96 440
Insecta Coleoptera Curculionidae Calacalles subcarinatus (Israelson, 1984) END 1 1
Insecta Coleoptera Curculionidae Cathormiocerus curvipes (Wollaston, 1854) NAT 18 18
Insecta Coleoptera Curculionidae Coccotrypes carpophagus (Hornung, 1842) INTR 71 3 2 76
Insecta Coleoptera Curculionidae Naupactus cervinus (Boheman, 1840) INTR 4 4
Insecta Coleoptera Curculionidae Orthochaetes insignis (Aubé, 1863) NAT 1 21 22
Insecta Coleoptera Curculionidae Otiorhynchus cribricollis Gyllenhal, 1834 INTR 5 5
Insecta Coleoptera Curculionidae Otiorhynchus rugosostriatus (Goeze, 1777) INTR 4 1 5
Insecta Coleoptera Curculionidae Pseudophloeophagus tenax Wollaston, 1854 NAT 2 2
Insecta Coleoptera Curculionidae Xyleborinus alni Nijima, 1909 INTR 1 1
Insecta Coleoptera Dryophthoridae Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar, 1824) INTR 1 1
Insecta Coleoptera Dryophthoridae Sphenophorus abbreviatus (Fabricius, 1787) INTR 4 2 51 57
Insecta Coleoptera Elateridae Aeolus melliculus moreleti Tarnier, 1860 INTR 8 8
Insecta Coleoptera Elateridae Heteroderes azoricus (Tarnier, 1860) END 2 1 3
Insecta Coleoptera Elateridae Heteroderes vagus Candèze, 1893 INTR 3 13 16
Insecta Coleoptera Elateridae Melanotus dichrous (Erichson, 1841) INTR 14 14
Insecta Coleoptera Histeridae Carcinops pumilio (Erichson, 1834) INTR 1 1
Insecta Coleoptera Hydrophilidae Sphaeridium bipustulatum Fabricius, 1781 INTR 1 1 2
Insecta Coleoptera Latridiidae Cartodere nodifer (Westwood, 1839) INTR 2 1 3
Insecta Coleoptera Leiodidae Catops coracinus Kellner, 1846 NAT 1 1
Insecta Coleoptera Malachiidae Attalus lusitanicus lusitanicus Erichson, 1840 NAT 2 2
Insecta Coleoptera Mycetophagidae Litargus balteatus Le Conte, 1856 INTR 1 1 2
Insecta Coleoptera Mycetophagidae Typhaea stercorea (Linnaeus, 1758) INTR 1 642 5 648
Insecta Coleoptera Nitidulidae Carpophilus fumatus Boheman, 1851 INTR 1 1
Insecta Coleoptera Nitidulidae Epuraea biguttata (Thunberg, 1784) INTR 49 22 1 72
Insecta Coleoptera Nitidulidae Phenolia limbata tibialis (Boheman, 1851) INTR 15 6 1 1 23
Insecta Coleoptera Nitidulidae Stelidota geminata (Say, 1825) INTR 128 18 146
Insecta Coleoptera Phalacridae Stilbus testaceus (Panzer, 1797) NAT 1 24 1 26
Insecta Coleoptera Ptiliidae Ptenidium pusillum (Gyllenhal, 1808) INTR 4 6 2 12
Insecta Coleoptera Scarabaeidae Calamosternus granarius (Linnaeus, 1767) INTR 7 7
Insecta Coleoptera Scarabaeidae Onthophagus vacca (Linnaeus, 1767) INTR 6 6
Insecta Coleoptera Scarabaeidae Popillia japonica Newman, 1838 INTR 4 4
Insecta Coleoptera Silvanidae Cryptamorpha desjardinsii (Guérin-Méneville, 1844) INTR 3 3
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Aleochara bipustulata (Linnaeus, 1760) INTR 1 1 4 6
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Aloconota sulcifrons (Stephens, 1832) NAT 11 11
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Amischa analis (Gravenhorst, 1802) INTR 1 8 48 1321 1378
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Anotylus nitidifrons (Wollaston, 1871) INTR 10 377 4 8 399
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Anotylus nitidulus (Gravenhorst, 1802) INTR 2 2
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Astenus lyonessius (Joy, 1908) NAT 10 10
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Atheta aeneicollis (Sharp, 1869) INTR 1 2 3
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Atheta fungi (Gravenhorst, 1806) INTR 1 76 66 49 192
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Carpelimus corticinus (Gravenhorst, 1806) NAT 1 1
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Coproporus pulchellus (Erichson, 1839) INTR 6 6
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Cordalia obscura (Gravenhorst, 1802) INTR 20 17 256 316 609
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Euplectus infirmus Raffray, 1910 INTR 1 2 3
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Gabrius nigritulus (Gravenhorst, 1802) INTR 2 3 5
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Medon apicalis (Kraatz, 1857) NAT 1 1
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Ocypus aethiops (Waltl, 1835) NAT 308 1 309
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Ocypus olens (Müller, 1764) NAT 59 45 104
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Oligota pumilio Kiesenwetter, 1858 NAT 7 70 178 12 267
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Phloeonomus punctipennis Thomson, 1867 NAT 1 1
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Proteinus atomarius Erichson, 1840 NAT 10 10
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Pseudoplectus perplexus (Jacquelin du Val, 1854) NAT 22 4 41 67
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Quedius curtipennis Bernhauer, 1908 NAT 1 1
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Rugilus orbiculatus (Paykull, 1789) NAT 2 365 757 1124
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Sepedophilus lusitanicus Hammond, 1973 NAT 4 4
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Stenomastax maderae Assing, 2003 NAT 127 127
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Tachyporus chrysomelinus (Linnaeus, 1758) INTR 1 1
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Tachyporus nitidulus (Fabricius, 1781) INTR 1 2 5 3 11
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Trichiusa immigrata Lohse, 1984 INTR 3 3
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Xantholinus longiventris Heer, 1839 INTR 3 1 4
Insecta Coleoptera Tenebrionidae Blaps lethifera Marsham, 1802 INTR 1 1
Insecta Coleoptera Tenebrionidae Lagria hirta (Linnaeus, 1758)* INTR 1 1
Insecta Dermaptera Anisolabididae Euborellia annulipes (Lucas, 1847) INTR 2 116 26 144
Insecta Dermaptera Forficulidae Forficula auricularia Linnaeus, 1758 INTR 2 155 232 389
Insecta Hemiptera Anthocoridae Anthocoris nemoralis (Fabricius, 1794) NAT 1 1
Insecta Hemiptera Anthocoridae Orius laevigatus laevigatus (Fieber, 1860) NAT 1 1
Insecta Hemiptera Aphididae Rhopalosiphoninus latysiphon (Davidson, 1912) INTR 6 43 49
Insecta Hemiptera Cicadellidae Anoscopus albifrons (Linnaeus, 1758) NAT 1 3 6 10
Insecta Hemiptera Cicadellidae Cicadella viridis (Linnaeus, 1758) INTR 3 3
Insecta Hemiptera Cicadellidae Euscelidius variegatus (Kirschbaum, 1858) NAT 72 10 82
Insecta Hemiptera Cicadellidae Sophonia orientalis (Matsumura, 1912) INTR 1 1
Insecta Hemiptera Cydnidae Geotomus punctulatus (A. Costa, 1847) NAT 33 3 3 1 40
Insecta Hemiptera Delphacidae Kelisia ribauti Wagner, 1938 NAT 8 41 116 165
Insecta Hemiptera Delphacidae Megamelodes quadrimaculatus (Signoret, 1865) NAT 1 1
Insecta Hemiptera Lygaeidae Aphanus rolandri (Linnaeus, 1758) NAT 7 3 10
Insecta Hemiptera Lygaeidae Heterogaster urticae (Fabricius, 1775) NAT 1 1
Insecta Hemiptera Lygaeidae Kleidocerys ericae (Horváth, 1909) NAT 1 1
Insecta Hemiptera Lygaeidae Oxycarenus lavaterae (Fabricius, 1787) INTR 1 1
Insecta Hemiptera Lygaeidae Scolopostethus decoratus (Hahn, 1833) NAT 6 33 1 1 41
Insecta Hemiptera Microphysidae Loricula elegantula (Bärensprung, 1858) NAT 1 1
Insecta Hemiptera Miridae Campyloneura virgula (Herrich-Schaeffer, 1835) NAT 1 1
Insecta Hemiptera Miridae Heterotoma planicornis (Pallas, 1772) NAT 4 4
Insecta Hemiptera Miridae Pilophorus confusus (Kirschbaum, 1856) NAT 1 1
Insecta Hemiptera Miridae Trigonotylus caelestialium (Kirkaldy, 1902) NAT 493 231 724
Insecta Hemiptera Nabidae Nabis pseudoferus ibericus Remane, 1962 NAT 7 46 53
Insecta Hemiptera Pentatomidae Nezara viridula (Linnaeus, 1758) INTR 5 6 11
Insecta Hemiptera Reduviidae Empicoris rubromaculatus (Blackburn, 1889) INTR 10 1 11
Insecta Hemiptera Reduviidae Ploiaria domestica Scopoli, 1786 INTR 1 1
Insecta Hemiptera Saldidae Saldula palustris (Douglas, 1874) NAT 1 1
Insecta Hemiptera Tingidae Acalypta parvula (Fallén, 1807) NAT 5 4 9
Insecta Hymenoptera Apidae Bombus terrestris (Linnaeus, 1758) INTR 1 1 2
Insecta Hymenoptera Formicidae Hypoponera eduardi (Forel, 1894) NAT 12 32 37 99 180
Insecta Hymenoptera Formicidae Lasius grandis Forel, 1909 NAT 10283 3058 1444 1091 15876
Insecta Hymenoptera Formicidae Linepithema humile (Mayr, 1868) INTR 2 2
Insecta Hymenoptera Formicidae Monomorium carbonarium (Smith, 1858) NAT 272 367 1 640
Insecta Hymenoptera Formicidae Tetramorium caespitum (Linnaeus, 1758) NAT 327 1329 1202 451 3309
Insecta Hymenoptera Formicidae Tetramorium caldarium (Roger, 1857) INTR 215 135 1 351
Insecta Lepidoptera Noctuidae Mythimna unipuncta (Haworth, 1809) NAT 1 1
Insecta Orthoptera Gryllidae Eumodicogryllus bordigalensis (Latreille, 1804) INTR 1 1 1559 1561
Insecta Orthoptera Gryllidae Gryllus bimaculatus De Geer, 1773 INTR 10 10
Insecta Orthoptera Phaneropteridae Phaneroptera nana Fieber, 1853 NAT 2 2
Insecta Psocoptera Caeciliusidae Valenzuela flavidus (Stephens, 1836) NAT 1 27 1 29
Insecta Psocoptera Ectopsocidae Ectopsocus briggsi McLachlan, 1899 INTR 1 28 18 47
Insecta Psocoptera Ectopsocidae Ectopsocus strauchi Enderlein, 1906 NAT 1 1
Insecta Psocoptera Trichopsocidae Trichopsocus clarus (Banks, 1908) NAT 2 2
Insecta Thysanoptera Thripidae Hercinothrips bicinctus (Bagnall, 1919) INTR 3 1 4
Grand Total 12763 10062 7622 16390 46837

The five most abundant species account for 64% of all identified specimens and include two ant species: Lasius grandis Forel, 1909 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) (n = 15876) and Tetramorium caespitum (Linnaeus, 1758) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) (n = 3309), the ground-beetle Pseudoophonus rufipes (De Geer, 1774) (Coleoptera, Carabidae (n = 7131), the millipede (Diplopoda: Julida) Ommatoiulus moreleti (Lucas, 1860) (n = 2213) and the cricket (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) Eumodicogryllus bordigalensis (Latreille, 1804) (n = 1561).

Within the non-identified morphospecies, the most abundant taxa was a millipede (MF 1006) with 1959 specimens mostly sampled in high elevation maize fields (see Suppl. material 1).

Considering only identified species, a total of 10062 (21.48%), 7622 (16.27%), 16390 (34.99%) and 12763 (27.27%) specimens were collected and identified at species level in citrus orchards, low elevation maize fields, high elevation maize fields and vineyards, respectively (Table 2).

The most abundant species in vineyards were the native ant Lasius grandis (n = 10283), the introduced spider Zodarion atlanticum Pekár & Cardoso, 2005 (n = 934) and the native ant Tetramorium caespitum (n = 327) (Table 2).

The most abundant species in citrus orchards were the native ant L. grandis (n = 3058), the introduced millipede Ommatoiulus moreleti (n = 1740) and the native ant T. caespitum (n = 1329) (Table 2).

The most abundant species in low elevation maize fields were also ants, L. grandis (n = 1444) and T. caespitum (n = 1202), followed by the exotic beetle Typhaea stercorea (Linnaeus, 1758) (n = 642) and the mirid bug Trigonotylus caelestialium (Kirkaldy, 1902) (n = 493) (Table 2).

Finally, the most abundant species in high elevation maize fields were the introduced ground-beetle Pseudoophonus rufipes (n = 6995), the introduced cricket Eumodicogryllus bordigalensis (n = 1559), the two rove-beetles Amischa analis (Gravenhorst, 1802) (n = 1321) and Rugilus orbiculatus (Paykull, 1789) (757) and also the ant L. grandis (n =1091). Two spiders usually very abundant in intensive pastures are also relatively abundant, Oedothorax fuscus (Blackwall, 1834) (n = 577) and Erigone dentipalpis (Wider, 1834) (n = 484) (Table 2).

Although the introduced species potentially have the ability to colonise and spread in human-disturbed habitats (e.g. Rigal et al. 2017), our results showed that Azorean agroecosystems represent habitat opportunities for native arthropods. Some of the most abundant species are generalist predators with omnivorous behaviour, like the ants and the ground-beetle P. rufipes. Remarkable was the high abundance of the predatory spider Z. atlanticum in vineyards that feed on ants and may act as an ED provider. Most other predators potentially provide an ES to the Azorean agroecosystem habitats, particularly in maize fields and vineyards, through biological control of pests (e.g. Heimpel and Mills 2017). Introduced species can also affect native species of arthropods, for example, through opportunistic predation. However, introduced species may also supplement the functional traits lost after the decline of native species in these habitats (e.g. Stavert et al. 2018).

Five species are new records for Terceira Island: three beetles (Coleoptera), one millipede (Diplopoda: Julida) and one true bug (Hemiptera). The new beetle records included one specimen sampled of Lagria hirta (Linnaeus, 1758), eight of Ischnopterapion virens (Herbst, 1797) and six of Microlestes negrita negrita (Wollaston, 1854). All these individuals were collected in maize fields. The new millipede record included three specimens of Nopoiulus kochii (Gervais, 1847), also collected in maize fields, but at low elevation. Finally, the new hemipteran record included three specimens of Cicadella viridis (Linnaeus, 1758) from a citrus orchard. All new records belong to introduced species, with the exception of M. negrita negrita, which is native to the Azores.

Lagria hirta (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae) is a new record for Azores. We have also recently sampled this species in the Island of Santa Maria. This seems to be a recent introduction in Azores, being still rare in Terceira, but already widespread in Santa Maria.

Future perspectives

Importantly, the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2020 lists, as a priority, the mapping and assessment of the state of biodiversity, ecosystems and their services in all EU member states (Maes et al. 2016). Azores are part of Europe’s nine Outermost Regions (ORs) for which there is a general lack of ES mapping and assessment as compared with mainland Europe (Sieber et al. 2018).

By focusing on Azorean Island agroecosystems (e.g. maize fields, vineyards, citrus orchards) and having the current baseline monitoring data, we aim to develop in the near future a multifaceted approach to gain more insight to evaluate the relative importance of native and exotic arthropod organisms as ecosystem services (ES)/ ecosystem disservices (ED) providers. In this way, it will be possible to understand the ecosystem processes and functions and the goods and services arthropods provide for improving the resilience of Azorean agro-ecosystems, as well as human well-being.

Acknowledgements

We thank all the farmers and landowners who permitted us to work on their properties: Adega Simas, Eleutério Nunes, Evangelho, Francisco Helvideo Barcelos, Marcelino Faria, Mozart Macedo Ávila, Narciso Borba, Paulo Ferreira, Ruben Barcelos, José Baldaya and Márcio.

This work was financed by FEDER (European Regional Development Fund) in 85% and by Azorean Public funds by 15% through the Operational Program Azores 2020, under the project AGRO-ECOSERVICES (ACORES-01-0145-FEDER-000073).

The Darwin-Core database was prepared within the scope of the project AZORESBIOPORTAL –PORBIOTA (ACORES-01-0145-FEDER-000072).

Author contributions

PAVB, PM, DHL, AOS, AG, FR, GL and MF contributed to study conceptualisation. PAVB, LLL, RN, PM, DHL and MF performed the fieldwork. PAVB, RN and RC performed the species sorting and identification. PAVB, EP and LLL contributed to dataset preparation and data analysis. All authors contributed to manuscript writing.

References

Supplementary material

Suppl. material 1: Complete list of sampled species and mophospecies 
Authors:  Paulo A. V. Borges
Data type:  Occurrences
Brief description: 

Detailed complete list of sampled species and mophospecies with indication of the morphospecies codes in the column (Identification Remarks)

Download file (24.93 kb)
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