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Article
Open AccessThe influence of season, hunting mode, and habitat specialization on riparian spiders as key predators in the aquatic-terrestrial linkage
Freshwater ecosystems subsidize riparian zones with high-quality nutrients via the emergence of aquatic insects. Spiders are dominant consumers of these insect subsidies. However, little is known about the var...
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Article
Open AccessAgroforestry supports high bird diversity in European farmland
Intensification and homogenization of agricultural landscapes have led to a strong decline in European farmland birds. Agroforestry systems, which were widespread in the past, are regaining attention as they c...
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Article
Open AccessDifferential responses of Orthoptera in vineyards to organic farming, pesticide reduction, and landscape heterogeneity
Conservation measures such as those under the European Green Deal aim to counteract the biodiversity loss by increasing the share of organic farming and reducing pesticide use, as well as increasing the propor...
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Article
Open AccessConsistent benefits of fungicide reduction on arthropod predators and predation rates in viticulture: a five-year experiment
For reliable pest suppression, benefits of habitat management for natural enemies of agricultural pests need to be consistent over time. Unfortunately, most research projects allow only for one or two years of...
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Article
Open AccessDifferentiating the effects of organic management, pesticide reduction, and landscape diversification for arthropod conservation in viticulture
Biodiversity loss is a main challenge for agricultural sustainability. Major drivers include local management and landscape simplification. Therefore, conservation measures aim to increase organic agriculture,...
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Article
Open AccessEffects of temporal floral resource availability and non-crop habitats on broad bean pollination
Flowering plants can enhance wild insect populations and their pollination services to crops in agricultural landscapes, especially when they flower before the focal crop. However, characterizing the temporal ...
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Article
Open AccessComparing floral resource maps and land cover maps to predict predators and aphid suppression on field bean
Predatory insects contribute to the natural control of agricultural pests, but also use plant pollen or nectar as supplementary food resources. Resource maps have been proposed as an alternative to land cover ...
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Article
Open AccessPrey, management and landscape requirements of an endangered population of the Woodlark Lullula arborea in Southwest Germany
Vineyards can be valuable habitats for biodiversity conservation. For example, in Rhineland-Palatinate (Germany) over a third of the state’s critically endangered Woodlark (Lullula arborea) population breeds in v...
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Article
Open AccessUnexpected sensitivity of the highly invasive spider Mermessus trilobatus to soil disturbance in grasslands
The dwarf spider Mermessus trilobatus (Araneae: Linyphiidae), native to North America, has expanded its range over large parts of Europe within less than fifty years. It is notable for occurring in a wide range o...
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Article
Open AccessRelationship between agricultural pesticides and the diet of riparian spiders in the field
Examining the effects of pesticides is difficult in regions such as Western Europe because of the relatively ubiquitous use of agrochemicals and the lack of unaffected areas. To study a wide gradient of agroch...
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Article
An updated perspective on spiders as generalist predators in biological control
The role of generalist predators in biological control remains controversial as they may not only reduce pest populations but also disrupt biocontrol exerted by other natural enemies. Here, we focus on spiders...
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Article
Reduced fungicide applications improve insect pest control in grapevine
Agricultural intensification is a major driver of biodiversity decline in many species including arthropods. This may also affect important ecosystem services such as natural pest regulation. Traditional grape...
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Article
Open AccessDominance of cropland reduces the pollen deposition from bumble bees
Intensive agricultural landscapes can be hostile for bees due to a lack of floral and nesting resources, and due to management-related stress such as pesticide use and soil tillage. This threatens the pollinat...
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Article
Contrasting predation pressure of different ground beetles on slugs and their eggs
Slugs such as Deroceras reticulatum Müller (Pulmonata: Agriolimacidae) cause crop losses in temperate regions worldwide. Numerous species of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) feed on slugs, but possible inte...
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Article
Open AccessPredicting bee community responses to land-use changes: Effects of geographic and taxonomic biases
Land-use change and intensification threaten bee populations worldwide, imperilling pollination services. Global models are needed to better characterise, project, and mitigate bees' responses to these human i...
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Article
Behavioral response of a generalist predator to chemotactile cues of two taxonomically distinct prey species
Chemotactile cues unintentionally left by animals can play a major role in predator–prey interactions. Specialized predators can use them to find their prey, while prey individuals can assess predation risk. H...
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Article
Response of saproxylic beetles to small-scale habitat connectivity depends on trophic levels
According to the trophic-rank hypothesis, species may be differentially affected by habitat isolation due to their trophic position in the food chain, i.e. high-order trophic levels may be more negatively affe...
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Article
Risk of spider predation alters food web structure and reduces local herbivory in the field
Predators can indirectly enhance plant performance via herbivore suppression, with both prey consumption and changes in prey traits (e.g. changes in foraging behaviour) contributing to the reduction in herbivo...
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Article
Effects of Spider Chemotactile Cues on Arthropod Behavior
Predation risk can strongly affect the behavior of prey species. However, empirical evidence for changes in behavior driven by spider cues is restricted to relatively few taxa. Here, we conducted a series of b...
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Article
Rapid spread of the wasp spider Argiope bruennichi across Europe: a consequence of climate change?
Numerous species are expanding their ranges towards the North Pole, a pattern that is usually explained with climate change. However, few studies have actually tested the potential role of climate in such rang...
