Aphid Assemblages Associated with Urban Park Plant Communities

Abstract

Some aphid species are important agricultural pests, sometimes also found on plants growing in urban areas. In this work, we set out to identify the plant species, communities or habitats that are more attractive to aphids in order to limit their spread into new green areas. The aim of the study was to determine and compare plant communities and the assemblages of aphids associated with them in different urban park habitats. The research hypothesis assumed that the differences between aphid assemblages depend on plant diversity and hence reflect urban park habitat environmental conditions, in particular the plant communities and the floral structure. The study was carried out in Bydgoszcz (northern Poland), and four parks were taken into consideration. Herein, floristic lists were used to calculate ecological indicator values for each park. The aphid species richness was determined, as well as the relative abundance and dominance structure similarities of the aphid assemblages. Our results demonstrated that Prunus spp. were strongly infested by Hyalopterus pruni, similarly as Philadelphus inodorus by Aphis fabae, Sambucus nigra by Aphis sambuci, and Acerplatanoides and A. pseudoplatanus by Periphyllus testudinaceus. Park plantations of Robinia pseudoacacia were not very attractive to aphids. The most attractive plant communities to aphids were syntaxonomically identifiable as alluvial alder forests in the layer of trees and Cornus sanguinea in the layer of shrubs.

Keywords

• plant communities
• aphid assemblages
• Aphididae
• habitat effect
• urban green environments