Rice cultivation alters arthropod diversity and community composition in the Mekong basin, Vietnam

Ecologists have long considered insect herbivores to be more abundant and less regulated in agroecosystems than in natural ecosystems due to lowered levels of species richness. In the transition from natural to agricultural systems, potential loss of biodiversity could alter arthropod community assemblages, possibly reducing ecosystem functions such as herbivore regulation. We compared arthropod diversity and community composition in wild and cultivated rice fields in the lower Mekong delta in Vietnam during the wet and dry seasons. We found that the transition from wild to cultivated rice has lowered species diversity and altered evenness. Arthropod community composition in cultivated rice has shifted in favor a higher abundance of hemipteran bugs and lower abundance of predatory spiders.