title: Local and Landscape Constraints on Coffee Leafhopper (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) Diversity.
abstract: The intensification of agriculture drives many ecological and environmental consequences including impacts on crop pest populations and communities. These changes are manifested at multiple scales including small-scale management practices and changes to the composition of land-use types in the surrounding landscape. In this study, we sought to examine the influence of local and landscape-scale agricultural factors on a leafhopper herbivore community in Mexican coffee plantations. We sampled leafhopper (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) diversity in 38 sites from 9 coffee plantations of the Soconusco region of Chiapas, Mexico. While local management factors such as coffee density, branches per coffee bush, tree species, and density were not important in explaining leafhopper abundance and richness, shade management at the landscape level and elevation significantly affected leafhoppers. Specifically, the percentage of low-shade coffee in the landscape (1,000-m radius surrounding sites) increased total leafhopper abundance. In addition, Shannon's diversity of leafhoppers was increased with coffee density. Our results show that abundance and diversity of leafhoppers are greater in simplified landscapes, thereby suggesting that these landscapes will have higher pest pressure and may be more at-risk for diseases vectored by these species in an economically important crop.
authors.affiliation: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, 830 N University St, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (chatura@umich.edu).
authors.forename: Chatura
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vaidya
authors.affiliation: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, 830 N University St, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (chatura@umich.edu).
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cruz
authors.affiliation: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, 830 N University St, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (chatura@umich.edu).
authors.forename: Ryan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kuesel
authors.affiliation: Environmental Science, Policy & Management, University of California, 130 Mulford Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Gonthier
authors.affiliation: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, E331 Corson Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853.
authors.forename: Aaron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iverson
authors.affiliation: Environmental Studies Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1156 High St, Santa Cruz, CA 95064.
authors.forename: Katherine K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Ennis
authors.affiliation: School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan, 440 Church St, Ann Arbor, MI 48109.
authors.forename: Ivette
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Perfecto
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture / Q000379:methods*; D000531:Altitude; D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D003069:Coffee / Q000469:parasitology*; D017753:Ecosystem; D006430:Hemiptera / Q000502:physiology*; D008800:Mexico; D011156:Population Density
chemical_list: D003069:Coffee
keywords: disease vectors; herbivore; landscape scale; leafhoppers; shade management