Biodiv Sci ›› 2006, Vol. 14 ›› Issue (5): 400-409.  DOI: 10.1360/biodiv.060090

Special Issue: 昆虫多样性与生态功能

• 论文 • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of the invasive plant Spartina alterniflora on insect diversity in Jiuduansha wetlands in the Yangtze River Estuary

Hui Gao, Xiaowei Peng, Bo Li, Qianhong Wu, Huiqin Dong*   

  1. Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Institute of Biodiversity Sci-ence, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433
  • Received:2006-04-26 Revised:2006-07-05 Online:2006-09-20 Published:2006-09-20
  • Contact: Huiqin Dong

Abstract: In order to examine the effects of the invasive plant Spartina alterniflora on insect diversity in Jiuduansha wetlands in the Yangtze River Estuary, we surveyed insects in monoculture stands of three species by net-sweeping and plant-harvesting methods from May 2004 to October 2005. A total of 11,300 insects were collected, belonging to 12 orders, 69 families and 97 species. We found that species number and Shan-non-Wiener index of the insect community in Spartina alterniflora monoculture were significantly lower than those in the two native monocultures (Phragmites australis and Scirpus mariqueter). However, Simp-son’s dominance index was higher in Spartina alterniflora monoculture. Cluster analysis indicated that, for both survey methods, the similarity of insect communities between Phragmites australis and Scirpus mari-queter was higher than that between Spartina alterniflora and the two native communities. We conclude that invasions of Spartina alterniflora might lead to reduction of insect diversity and alteration of insect commu-nity structure in Jiuduansha wetlands.