Publications

Fachinetti, R; Grilli, MP (2023). The quality matters: Assessing the roles of patch quality and configuration on the abundance of an invading cerambycid species through a multi-model inference approachLa calidad importa: Evaluando el rol de la calidad y configuracion de los parches hospedadores en la abundancia de una especie invasora de cerambicido mediante Inferencia Multimodelo. ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY, 48(5), 557-567.

Abstract
Landscape ecology studies are based on the concept that most local phenomena cannot be completely understood without considering the role of the surrounding landscape. A key factor in landscape ecology is the heterogeneous distribution of resources that different species use for food and reproduction. In this paper, we analyse the role of patch quality together with landscape attributes on the distribution and abundance of Arhopalus rusticus in the central west of Cordoba Province in Argentina.Land cover was estimated using Landsat 8 scenes. Landscape was quantified by estimating the focal patch area, the distance to nearest pine patch and the quality of the patch through the enhanced vegetation index obtained from the MODIS satellite. Generalised linear mixed models were employed to analyse the relationship between the independent variables and A. rusticus abundance. A multi-model inference approach was employed to select the best model.The distance to nearest pine patch and the enhanced vegetation index of the previous year showed a negative relationship with A. rusticus abundance, while the relationship with the focal patch area and the enhanced vegetation index of the year in which the sampling took place was positive.Our results show that although landscape pattern of pine patches affects the invading capability of A. rusticus in a direct way, the forest patch quality is an important factor that limits the capability of the insect to establish itself in an area.

DOI:
10.1111/een.13247

ISSN:
1365-2311