A Preliminary Study of Longleaf Pine Canopy Arthropods in Southwest Georgia

Abstract

The Pinus palustris (Longleaf Pine) ecosystem contains a diverse array of arthropods, yet the composition of the arthropod community of the canopy layer is largely unknown. We surveyed canopy arthropods using flight-intercept traps placed in the mid-canopy of Longleaf Pine trees at the Jones Center at Ichauway to determine which taxa inhabit the canopies, and assess abundance and richness among 3 ecological communities. We collected a total of 4004 arthropods from May to August 2022. Diptera, Collembola, and Lepidoptera were the most abundant orders. Overall, order- and family-level abundance and order-level richness were similar among ecological communities. However, hemipteran family-level richness differed significantly among the ecological communities. This preliminary research lays the foundation for further canopy arthropod research in endangered Longleaf Pine ecosystems.