Author(s): Kisbenedek, T.
Title: The effects of sheep grazing on the community structure of grasshoppers (Orthoptera)
Year: 1995
Volume: 56
Pages: 45-56.
Abstract: Community structure parameters of three grasshopper communities were compared to each other on three neighbouring sites near Orfű in the Mecsek Mts, Hungary. Two of the study sites were lightly grazed by sheep twice a day and one site was undisturbed. Two hypotheses were tested whether (1) the species number and density of grasshoppers decrease with regularly grazing, (2) some grasshopper species prefer the disturbed sites and their species number and abundance increase there. In spite of the different vegetationstructure of the study fields, the statistical analyses showed no significant differences in species compositionsbetween the disturbed and the undisturbed sites. But in abundance and life-time population dynamicsof the grasshopper communities significant differences were found. On the disturbed sites these parameters were similar to each other and they differed from the on undisturbed site.Journal: Folia entomologica hungaricaJournal abbreviation: Folia ent. hung.ISSN: 0373-9465Publisher: , Editor(s): Mahunka, S.