Local and Landscape Level Effects on the Abundance, Morphometrics, and Diet Diversity of Invasive mantids Tenedora Sinensis and Mantis religiosa.

Abstract

Arthropod Generalist Predators (AGP) play a substantial role in the ecosystem, feeding on a variety of prey items across trophic levels with little to no selective bias. As a result, AGP can be especially problematic if introduced to new environments, disrupting food webs and causing reductions in native populations, which can lead to top-down ecological cascades. In this study, we researched two AGP which are invasive to the Northeastern United States, the European mantis (M. religiosa) and the Chinese mantis (T. sinensis), both of which inhabit early-succession meadows and fields. These environments are noteworthy in that they are fragmentary by nature, and as such, inhabitant species diversity is heavily constrained by patch size, connectivity, and plant diversity. In order to assess how these constraints influenced the abundance, growth, and diet of M. religiosa and T. sinensis, we combined remote sensing, plant diversity surveys, and in- and ex- situ abundance, morphometric, and DNA metabarcoded gut content data to find correlations between these landscape, terrain and individual level variables.