A Preliminary Study on the Diversity of Insect Groups in Xiannvshan Airport Wulong Chongqing

Zhen YAN Aimin SHI

Abstract [Objectives] This study was conducted to understand the effect of the insect diversity characteristics in Xiannvshan Airport， Wulong， Chongqing on effectively reducing the probability of bird strike events in this area.

[Methods] A preliminary investigation and research was mainly conducted on the insects in Xiannvshan Airport， Wulong， Chongqing and its surrounding habitats in 2018 using the net catching method.

[Results] The collected insects belonged to 35 families of 6 orders， among which Catantopidae， Gryllidae， Miridae， and Pentatomidae were the dominant groups， and Muscidae， Acridoidae， Chrysomelidae， Cicadellidae， and Tipulidae were common Taxa.

[Conclusions] This study provides a scientific basis for the effective prevention and control of bird strikes.

Key words Airport habitat; Insects; Diversity; Prevention and control; Species

The bird strike incident is one of the important factors endangering aviation safety. The diversity and richness of insects in airports and their surrounding habitats have an important impact on the activity of regional insectivorous birds[1]. Insects are one of the important sources of food for insectivorous birds. The presence of a large number of insects will cause frequent activity of insectivorous birds， thereby increasing the frequency of bird strike events[2]. There have been few studies on the investigation of soil and grass insects in domestic airports， and on the relationship between soil and grass insect community characteristics and birds[3-8]. With the rapid development of science and technology in China in recent years， transportation is becoming more and more convenient， and passengers who choose to travel by plane tend to increase. We should pay more attention to the security precautions at and around airports[9-11]. This study provides scientific research for the effective prevention and control of bird strike events by investigating the diversity of insects in and around Xiannvshan Airport.

Research Method

Geographical location

Wulong Xiannvshan Airport （under construction） is located in Xiannvshan Town， Wulong County， Chongqing City （107°43′ east longitude， 29°28′ north latitude， 1 745 m above sea level）， 45 km away from Wulong City， covering an area of about 2.3 km2. It is 45 km away from Wulong City and covers an area of about 2.3 km2. The area belongs to the subtropical monsoon climate zone， which has distinct four seasons， sufficient sunlight， an average annual temperature of 11.2 ℃， and an annual rainfall exceeding 1 200 mm. The rainfall is affected by the monsoon circulation and has significant seasonal differences[12]. The area is located in the Xiannv Mountain tourist area， with high vegetation coverage and rich insect resources.

Setting of sampling points

After field visit to Wulong Xiannvshan Airport （under construction） and combining with geographical location characteristics， the area within 8 km of the airport was divided into survey areas， of which area B was the key area of this survey activity， and the rest was divided into C， D and E areas based on the environment type. Area A was the airport construction area and could not be accessed. Four survey lines were set in area B （the southwest direction was a cliff danger zone， so the sample line was set to avoid the zone）. Line 1 was located in the active area of the northern residential area; line 2 was located in the east area of the airport; line 3 was located in the forest area at the south end; and sample line 4 was located in the forest area at the west end. The runway of Wulong Airport runs north-south， and special samples should be selected for observation on the north-south course of the airport. Tuanbao and Shuijingping were the key targets. According to the on-site survey of the sample lines， a total of 17 sample points were set， with a sample point spacing of more than 200 m.

Investigation method

The survey time was August 2019. A 20 m×20 m sample plot was drawn at each sample point. The net catching method was adopted to capture insects in the sample plot. Each plot was swept 300 times （sweeping by 180°each time）. The information such as collection time， collection person， latitude and longitude， altitude， habitat and collection quantity was recorded. The captured insects were preliminarily classified and counted， stored in self-made sealed bags with ethanol solution， and brought back to the laboratory for further classification and identification.

Data analysis

The experimental data was processed by Microsoft Excel 2007 and SPSS19.0 statistical analysis software. A series of indexes describing the diversity of the community were used to quantitatively analyze the insects.

Simpson dominance index

D=1-∑si=1Ni（Ni-1）/N（N-1）

Research Results

Insect community composition

946 specimens collected from Xiannvshan Airport， Wulong， Chongqing and its surrounding habitats were identified. These insects belonged to 35 families of 6 orders. The specific composition is shown in Table 1. Among them， Hemiptera insects had the largest number， accounting for 38.47%， followed by Orthoptera and Diptera insects， accounting for 22.65% and 15.43%， respectively. The number of insects in these three orders accounted for 76.55% of the total， so they were dominant species consisting insect communities in Wulong Xiannvshan Airport and its surrounding areas. The remaining three orders were relatively small in number， and their proportions were all less than 10%. As shown in Fig. 1， Miridae showed the highest dominance， with a dominance index of 17.44%， followed by Gryllidae and Pentatomidae， with dominance indexes of 12.58% and 9.93%， respectively. It was consistent with the statistical results of the dominant species mentioned above.

Insect Diversity Characteristics

The distribution of insects in 17 families in Xiannvshan Airport， Wulong， Chongqing and its surrounding areas is shown in Table 2. Among them， the most widely distributed were Pentatomidae and Miridae， which accounted for 88.24% and 82.35% of the sample points， respectively， followed by Chrysomelidae， Gryllidae， and Muscidae， accounting for 64.71%， 64.71%， and 58.82%， respectively. In the survey area B， sample line 1 was the resident activity area， and the most widely distributed were Muscidae and Miridae; sample line 2 was the shrub area on the east side of the airport， and the most widely distributed were Chrysomelidae and Gryllidae; and sample lines 3 and 4 were the forest areas， and the most widely distributed were Pentatomidae and Miridae. Tetrigidae， Catantopidae， Acridoidae， Cicadellidae and Tipulidae were also widely distributed. A part of the insects in the insect communities in Wulong Xiannvshan Airport were generally distributed， and the insect communities at various sample points were different in composition. It could be concluded that the composition of insect communities in Xiannvshan Airport， Wulong， Chongqing and its surrounding habitats was diverse.

Conclusions and Discussion

After a preliminary survey of the insect communities in the Wulong Xiannvshan Airport （under construction） in Chongqing and the surrounding habitats， it was found that insects in Miridae of Hemiptera and in Gryllidae of Orthoptera were the most widely distributed， and it could be seen that Hemiptera insects were dominant in the insect communities in the airport and surrounding habitats. The insects surveyed and classified belonged to 35 families of 6 orders， and except for the 3 families with the largest quantity and widest community distribution， other 32 families of insects were scattered in different areas. It could be seen that the insect communities in the airport and surrounding habitats were diversely distributed， providing a rich food source for different insectivorous birds[13-15]. In order to effectively reduce the occurrence of bird strike events， from the perspective of food sources， the number and diversity of insects should be reasonably controlled[16]. The following 4 suggestions were proposed： ① chemical prevention and control： spray pesticides regularly， and use different pesticides alternately （to avoid resistance of organisms）; ② mechanical prevention and control： regularly prune grass in habitats around the airports （to control insect species and density， reduce the tendency of birds to gather for food）; ③ prevention and control of natural enemies： protect amphibious insectivores such as frogs， toads， and natural enemy insects such as mantises and parasitic wasps （1989， biological control of forest pests）; and ④ plant prevention and control： reduce the vegetation types around airports.

Compared with the results of the airport insect taxonomy surveys by other experts[2， 17-19]， the species composition and quantitative distribution of the insects at the Wulong Xiannvshan Airport in Chongqing showed large differences. The dominant insects among the insects at the Wulong Xiannvshan Airport in Chongqing are Hemiptera and Orthoptera in order; the dominant insect species in Tianjin Binhai International Airport and Kunming Wujiaba International Airport are Coleoptera， Orthoptera， Lepidoptera， and Hemiptera[18-19]; and the dominant insect species in Nanchong Gaoping Airport is the same as Chongqing Wulong Xiannvshan Airport， but there are more Coleoptera insects[17]. The results of this study show that Hemiptera and Orthoptera insects occupy a greater advantage in the airport and surrounding habitats， which is mainly because the vegetation resources in this area， mainly herb plants， provide sufficient food resources for herbivorous insects in Hemiptera and Orthoptera， making their community quantities higher than other insect species. There were 4 sample lines in the survey area. The forest and shrub habitats were rich in vegetation， while the resident activity area was mainly farmland. The mixed insect communities in the forest area and shrub areas were complex， while those in the resident activity area were relatively simpler， so the difference in distribution was significant， indicating that vegetation has an important influence on the composition of insect communities[20].

References

[1] YANG XD， WEI TH， SHENG CY， et al. A preliminary study on the characteristics of grassland soil animal communities and their relationship with birds in Chongqing Airport[J]. Zoological Research， 1998， 19（3）： 209-217. （in Chinese）

[2] DONG WH， NING YZ， DU HF， et al. Insect community composition of habitats in and around Zhongchuan Airport[J]. Bulletin of Biology， 2016， 51（4）： 42-45. （in Chinese）

[3] KE XB， LIU DH， HAN LQ， et al. Investigation of insects in Jiamusi Dongjiao Airport[J]. Jiangxi Plant Protection， 2011， 34（4）： 183-184. （in Chinese）

[4] ZHAO YL， TANG SX， WANG Q， et al. Relationship between soil and grassland fauna characters and the birds in Hongqiao airport grassland， Shanghai[J]. Acta Ecologica Sinica， 2004， 24（6）： 1219-1224. （in Chinese）

[5] HAN ZW， MA L， CAO CW， et al. The structure and diversity of insect community in Taihu Wetland[J]. Acta Ecologica Sinica， 2013， 33（14）： 4387. （in Chinese）

[6] LYU DY， LIU DH， ZHAO Y， et al. Airport bird ecological investigation and measures of prevention and control of bird strike Dongjiao Jiamusi[J]. Forest By-Product and Speciality in China， 2013（3）： 80-83. （in Chinese）

[7] CAO TQ， WANG Y， et al. Investigation and taxonomy of pollinator insects in Jiansanjiang Wetland Airport[J]. Forest By-Product and Speciality in China， 2018（6）： 67-69. （in Chinese）

[8] SU L， HUANG JH， et al. Insect diversity in wetland vegetation succession： A review[J]. Chinese Journal of Ecology， 2012， 31（6）： 1577-1584. （in Chinese）

[9] WANG RC. The investigation and suggestions for management of insects in Dalian Airport[J]. Science & Technology Information， 2011（1）： 416-417. （in Chinese）

[10] MIAO TL， WANG HH， et al. Investigation and taxonomy of pollinating insect species in Jiamusi Airport[J]. Forest By-Product and Speciality in China， 2015（3）： 73-75. （in Chinese）

[11] LI AP. Investigation on the insects and soil fauna of taiyuan wusu airport grassland in spring[J]. Journal of Taiyuan Normal University： Natural Science Edition， 2008， 7（1）： 147-150. （in Chinese）

[12] ZHA LW. A preliminary study on the construction strategy of mountain tourism towns in Chongqing[J]. Chongqing： Chongqing University， 2008. （in Chinese）

[13] ZHU H， PENG YY， WANG DL， et al. Effects of plants on insect diversity[J]. Chinese Journal of Ecology， 2008， 27（12）： 2215-2221. （in Chinese）

[14] YANG GJ， WANG XP， et al. Nutritional structure and stability of insect community in Luhuatai wetland of Yinchuan City， Ningxia[J]. Chinese Journal of Ecology， 2013， 32（12）： 3268-3275. （in Chinese）

[15] LI W， CUI LJ， ZHAO XS， et al. Community structure and diversity of soil animals in Taihu Lake wetland[J]. Acta Ecologica Sinica， 2015， 35（4）： 943-952. （in Chinese）

[16] LI YM， WU XB. Avian diversity in Wuhu City in summer and winter[J]. Chinese Jourmal of Applied Ecology， 2006， 17（2）： 269-274.

[17] LI XJ， ZHOU CQ， HU JC， et al. Relationship between soil and grassland fauna characters and birds at Gaoping airport， Nanchong[J]. Acta Ecologica Sinica， 2009， 29（2）： 706-713. （in Chinese）

[18] WANG XY， HU SJ， LIAO JT， et al. The insect communities in the lawn ecosystem of Kunming （Wujiaba） International Airport[J]. Journal of Anhui University： Natural Science Edition， 2013， 37（2）： 103-108. （in Chinese）

[19] LI SQ， XU HR， YUAN H， et al. Characteristics of insect diversity in the grassland of Tianjin Binhai International Airport[J]. Journal of normal University： Natural Science Edition， 2016， 36（3）： 44-49.

[20] HADDAD NM， TILMAN D， HAARSTAD J， et al. Contrasting effects of plant richness and composition on insect communities： A field experiment[J]. The American Naturalist， 2001， 158 （1）： 17.