The influence of prairie restoration on Hemiptera composition

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Stephanie K. Gunter and Chelse M. Prather, Biology, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH

Background/Question/Methods
Ohio has historically hosted a patchwork of tallgrass prairies, which provide habitat for native species and prevent erosion. As these vulnerable habitats have declined in the last 200 years due to increased human land use, restoration efforts have increased, and it is important to evaluate their success. The Hemiptera (true bugs) are an abundant and varied order of insects including leafhoppers, aphids, cicadas, stink bugs, and more. They play important roles in grassland ecosystems, feeding on plant sap and providing prey to predators. Previous research has found that Hemiptera respond in their abundance and composition to grassland restorations, age of restoration, and size and isolation of habitat. This study investigates the effects of these variables on the abundance and composition of Hemiptera within 13 Ohio prairies in order to answer 4 questions regarding prairie restoration: 1- Do older constructed prairies resemble remnant prairies in Hemiptera abundance, diversity, and composition more than they resemble newer constructed prairies? 2- Does the size of a prairie fragment affect the abundance, diversity, and composition of Hemiptera? 3- Does the distance of a prairie to an agricultural field affect the abundance, diversity, and composition of Hemiptera? 4- Are there particular morphospecies that indicate particular prairie types? Insect samples were taken via sweep net from 13 prairies (6 remnant, 4 old constructed, 3 new constructed) in 4 southwestern Ohio counties in summer 2019, and were sorted to order. I then sorted the Hemiptera to family and morphospecies, and analyzed their abundance and composition based on the aforementioned variables.
Results/Conclusions
I found no significant difference in Hemiptera abundance or number of families/morphospecies between remnant, old constructed, and new constructed prairies in summer 2019. However, in July 2019, remnant prairies had a significantly higher Hemiptera diversity than old and new constructed prairies. In August 2019, NMDS ordination showed divergence of new constructed prairies from remnant and old constructed prairies in Hemiptera morphospecies composition. There was no significant relationship between size of prairie or distance to agriculture with any measure of Hemiptera abundance or diversity. There were also no morphospecies that indicated a specific prairie type. These results suggest that while the Hemiptera community is largely similar across remnant and constructed prairies in this system, there are points in the growing season where these restorations no longer match the remnant prairies. If Hemiptera communities reflect such seasonal changes, they can be used to evaluate prairie restoration projects in the future.