Community structure and ecological niche of grasshopper in typical steppes in Inner Mongolia

Xinghu Qin, W. U. Hui-Hui, Xunbing Huang, Guang Jun Wang, Guang Chun Cao, Xiang Qun Nong, Zehua Zhang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

We studied the community structure and ecological niche of different grasshoppers in typical steppes in Inner Mongolia by means of central location survey and quantitative analysis of biomass.The results showed that community of typical grassland was rich,containing 11 main species.Time distribution of grasshoppers revealed the time niche differentiation.Myrmeleotettix palpalis(Zubowsky),Oedaleus decorus asiaticus B.-Bienko and Calliptamus abbreviatus Ikonnikov were earlier,middle,and later dominant species,respectively.Eleven species of grasshoppers could be divided into dominant species,affiliated species and rare species on the basis of grasshopper population status,and four types,including grass type,weed type,special type and whole-domain type according to the space status of grasshoppers.Population and space status of dominant species reflected the relationships between the grasshopper species and between grasshoppers and vegetation.C.abbreviatus occupied the widest spatial and temporal niches,followed by O.decorus asiaticus and M.palpalis,indicating that C.abbreviatusmake the most of space-time resources,and coexisting grasshoppers had obvious differentiation in the use of the resource.O.decorus asiaticus had the biggest niche overlap with M.palpalis,suggesting that the two shared the highest degree of similarity in using the resources.We used ecological niche to reflect the population status and the utilization of resource,and hierachical cluster to forecast the potential occurrence and hazards.The community structure and ecological niche of grasshoppers were studied systematically,which may provide a theoretical basis for evaluating the potential occurrence and hazards,partitioning inhabitable areas,and generating grassland pest control strategy.
Original languageUndefined/Unknown
Pages (from-to)17
Number of pages25
JournalPlant Protection
Volume41
Publication statusPublished - 2015

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