Environmental and spatial filtering of ladybird beetle community composition and functional traits in urban landscapes

Urban Farm DB summary

Ladybird beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) were collected from 19 community gardens across three counties of the California Central Coast during June to September of 2014 and 2015. Of the 19 species collected, only three were non-native to California (three specimens could not be identified to species). Similarity in species composition between gardens was not related to geographic distance, indicating no dispersal limitation among these mobile beetles. Instead, three landscape-level and seven garden-scale variables correlated with changes in community composition, and garden management practices such as ground cover altered the taxonomic and functional makeup of the ladybird beetle community.