Browsing by Author "Muñoz, Alejandra E."

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    Diet of guanaco in sheep-free rangeland in Tierra del Fuego, Chile
    (2013) Muñoz, Alejandra E.; Simonetti, Javier A.
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    Diversity and foraging activity of bats in cultivated and uncultivated areas in agroecosystems of a Mediterranean-climate hotspot
    (2019) Muñoz, Alejandra E. ; Ossa, Gonzalo ; Zaviezo, Tania ; Bonacic, Cristián
    Bats are one of the least-studied vertebrate groups in Chile. We sampled six fruit farms in the Mediterranean-climate zone and three in a semiarid zone during 2015 and 2016, respectively. We assessed if activity (passes) and foraging (feeding buzzes) of bat species differed between cultivated and uncultivated intra-farm habitats. We found six bat species, all threatened and insectivorous. Tadarida brasiliensis was the most frequently recorded species. We found more activity and foraging in uncultivated than cultivated habitats in total, although the opposite trend was observed during springtime in semiarid region. More than a third of the bat passes were feeding buzzes in both habitats, suggesting the potential service to agriculture. Further investigation is needed to promote conservation of bats and their integration as biocontrols in agroecosystems in Chile.
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    Native flower strips increase visitation by non-bee insects to avocado flowers and promote yield
    (2021) Muñoz, Alejandra E. ; Plantegenest, Manuel ; Amouroux, Paul ; Zaviezo, Tania
    Pollination is an essential ecosystem service for pollinator-dependent crops and plant communities. Apis mellifera L. is by far the most commonly used species to obtain this service in agriculture. However, there is growing evidence of the importance for crop yields of the service provided by wild bees and non-bee insect pollinators. Establishing flower resources in agricultural landscapes is a management practice that can increase insect pollinator populations and improve crop yields. We established perennial native flower strips (NFS) in four avocado orchards in central Chile during autumn 2017. We monitored flower visitors and counted newly formed fruits in avocados near and far from NFS in spring 2019, to assess flower visitor groups, flower visitation rates and fruit numbers. Only A. mellifera visited avocado flowers within bees, whereas both the managed A. mellifera and wild bees were the main visitors to the NFS. NFS increased visitation rates to adjacent avocado of flies, and with a trend for the sum of all non-managed flower visitors (i.e. excluding A. mellifera). However, there were no differences in the rates of A. mellifera visitation to avocados near and far from NFS. Avocado fruit numbers were higher among avocados near NFS than among those farther away. This difference could be due to better pollination by the increased visits to avocado flowers by flies or other wild insects. Therefore, NFS could contribute to crop fruit number, as well as conservation of native flora, wild bees and non-bee pollinators on fruit farms in the "Central Chile" biodiversity hotspot. (C) 2021 Gesellschaft fur Okologie. Published by Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.
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    Native flowering shrubs promote beneficial insects in avocado orchards
    (2021) Muñoz, Alejandra E. ; Amouroux, Paul ; Zaviezo, Tania
    Flower strips can promote and conserve beneficial insects in agroecosystems. Knowing which groups are favoured and which plant traits affect visitation rates by beneficial insects is important for the design of plant strips.
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    Semi-desert fruit farms harbor more native flora than Mediterranean climate farms in central Chile
    (2021) Muñoz, Alejandra E. ; Amouroux, Paul ; Arcos, Nicolás ; Bonacic, Cristián
    Understanding the factors that affect native plant communities is essential to protect floristic diversity, particularly in Mediterranean agroecosystems. The Chilean Mediterranean- climate area supports high species richness and levels of endemism, and harbors the main fruit production. We investigated whether the richness of native and non-native flora differs between two Mediterranean climate areas of Chile with contrasting rainfall levels in both cultivated and uncultivated habitats. Thirteen fruit farms under conventional management were prospected in the spring of 2015 and of 2016 by sampling in square meter quadrants (N = 3,630). A total of 191 vascular plants were found, 48.2 % of them native, 50.3 % non-native and 1.6 % not identified. Species richness was low in both areas and habitat types. However, there were more native species in uncultivated habitats in the Mediterranean-to-desert transition area than in the mesic Mediterranean area, and the contrary was observed for non-native species. Our results suggest that wetter Mediterranean climate areas are more prone to the establishment of non-native plant species.