Results
Foliar arthropod community. In total, 52,128 arthropod specimens were collected from pasture foliage, representing 759 morphospecies from four classes (Arachnida, Collembola, Insecta, and Symphyla) and 13 orders (Araneae, Coleoptera, Diptera, Entomobryomorpha, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Neuroptera, Odonata, Orthoptera, Psocoptera, Symphypleona, Thysanoptera). A complete list of foliar arthropod specimens and their abundance from this study can be found in the Supporting Information accompanying this article. The five orders that contained the highest number of morphospecies and specimen abundance are listed in Table 1. Ecological guilds of the foliar arthropod community consisted predominately of herbivores, parasitoids, and predators (Figure 2A, B). Only 1.84% of the morphospecies and 1.01% of the specimen abundance were pests (Figure 3A, B).
Soil arthropod community. A total of 224 soil cores were extracted for this study to examine the soil dwelling arthropod community. In sum 53,292 arthropod specimens were extracted from the soil, representing 436 morphospecies from eight classes (Arachnida, Chilopoda, Collembola, Diplopoda, Diplura, Insecta, Protura, and Symphyla) and 18 orders (Araneae, Coleoptera, Dicellurata, Diptera, Dermaptera, Entomobryomorpha, Geophilomorpha, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Julida, Lepidoptera, Lithobiomorpha, Neuroptera, Opiliones, Orthoptera, Psocoptera, Symphypleona, Thysanoptera). A complete list of soil arthropod specimens and their abundance from this study can be found in the Supporting Information accompanying this article. The five orders containing the highest number of morphospecies and specimen abundance are listed in Table 1. Examining the known functional guilds of arthropod morphospecies shows predators comprised the largest portion of the community followed by herbivores and parasitoids (Figure 2C). Predators also comprised the largest functional guild of known arthropod abundance followed by granivores and herbivores (Figure 2D). Pest species constituted only 2.25% of the morphospecies and 0.34% of the specimen abundance (Figure 3C, D).
Dung arthropod community. A total of 100 dung pats were subjected to core sampling. In sum, 20,831 specimens, representing 234 morphospecies from six classes (Arachnida, Chilopoda, Collembola, Diplura, Insecta, and Symphyla) and 12 orders (Araneae, Coleoptera, Dermaptera, Dicellurata, Diptera, Entomobryomorpha, Hemiptera, Hymeoptera, Orthroptera, Psocoptera, Symphypleona, Thysanoptera). A complete list of dung arthropod specimens and their abundance from this study can be found in the Supporting Information accompanying this article. The five orders with the highest number of morphospecies and specimen abundance are listed in Table 1. Predators were the most speciose functional group, followed by parasitoids and herbivores (Figure 2E). Predators were also the most abundant of the functional guilds, followed by coprophages and granivores (Figure 2F). Only 2.47% of the morphospecies and 0.46% of the specimen abundance were pests (Figure 3E, F).