Pedunculate Oak Leaf Miners' Community: Urban vs. Rural Habitat

Abstract

With the process of urbanization, cities are expanding, while forests are declining. Many conditions in the urban habitats are modified compared to those in the rural ones, so the organisms present reactions to these changes. To determine to what extent the habitat type influences insects, we tested the differences in the pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) leaf-mining insect community between urban and rural habitats in Serbia. Lower species richness, abundance, and diversity were determined on trees in the urban environment. Due to the differences in the habitat types, many of the species disappeared, while most of the remaining species declined. The seasonal dynamics of species richness, abundance, and diversity differed between the habitat types. Both rural and urban populations started with low values in May. Subsequently, rural populations gained higher species richness, abundance, and diversity. As about 60% of the leaf miners' species present in the rural habitats survive on the trees in urban areas, those trees are of great importance as a species reservoir. This is why we need to preserve and strive to improve the condition of urban areas where the pedunculate oak is present.