Changes in the Range of Four Advantageous Grasshopper Habitats in the Hexi Corridor under Future Climate Conditions

Donghong Li; Huilin Gan; Xiaopeng Li; Huili Zhou; Hang Zhang; Yaomeng Liu; Rui Dong; Limin Hua; Guixin Hu

doi:10.3390/insects15040243

Changes in the Range of Four Advantageous Grasshopper Habitats in the Hexi Corridor under Future Climate Conditions

Insects. 2024 Mar 30;15(4):243. doi: 10.3390/insects15040243.

Authors

Donghong Li¹, Huilin Gan², Xiaopeng Li³, Huili Zhou³, Hang Zhang¹, Yaomeng Liu¹, Rui Dong¹, Limin Hua¹, Guixin Hu¹

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecosystem of the Ministry of Education, Engineering and Technology Research Center for Alpine Rodent Pest Control National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Pratacultural College, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China.
² Grassland Workstation of Zhangye City, Zhangye 734000, China.
³ Grassland Technical Extension Station of Gansu Province, Lanzhou 730046, China.

Abstract

Angaracris rhodopa (Fischer et Walheim), Calliptamus abbreviatus (Ikonnikov), Myrmeleotettix palpalis (Zubowsky), and Oedaleus decorus asiaticus (Bey-Bienko) are the main grasshoppers that harm the natural grassland in the Hexi Corridor in Gansu, northwest China. In this study, the MaxEnt model was employed to identify the key environmental factors affecting the distribution of the four grasshoppers' habitats and to assess their distribution under current and future climate conditions. The aim was to provide a basis for grasshopper monitoring, prediction, and precise control. In this study, distribution of suitable habitats for A. rhodopa, C. abbreviates, M. palpalis, O. decorus asiaticus were predicted under current and future climatic scenarios using the Maxent model. The average AUC (area under the ROC curve) and TSS (true skill statistic) values of the four grasshoppers were greater than 0.9, and the simulation results were excellent and highly reliable. The mean annual precipitation was the main factor limiting the current range of suitable areas for these four species. Under the current climate, A. rhodopa, C. abbreviatus, and O. decorus asiaticus were mainly distributed in the central and eastern parts of the Hexi Corridor, and M. palpalis was distributed throughout the Hexi Corridor, with a suitable area of 1.29 × 10⁴, 1.43 × 10⁴, 1.44 × 10⁴, and 2.12 × 10⁴ km², accounting for 13.7%, 15.2%, 15.3%, and 22.5% of the total area of the grasslands in the Hexi Corridor, respectively. The highly suitable areas of A. rhodopa, C. abbreviatus, and O. decorus asiaticus were mainly distributed in the eastern-central part of Zhangye City, the western part of Wuwei City, and the western and southern parts of Jinchang City, with areas of 0.20 × 10⁴, 0.29 × 10⁴, and 0.35 × 10⁴ km², accounting for 2.2%, 3%, and 3.7% of the grassland area, respectively. The high habitat of M. palpalis was mainly distributed in the southeast of Jiuquan City, the west, middle, and east of Zhangye City, the west of Wuwei City, and the west and south of Jinchang City, with an area of 0.32 × 10⁴ km², accounting for 3.4% of the grassland area. In the 2030s, the range of A. rhodopa, C. abbreviatus, and O. decorus asiaticus was predicted to increase; the range of M. palpalis will decrease. The results of this study could provide a theoretical basis for the precise monitoring and control of key areas of grasshoppers in the Hexi Corridor.

Keywords: Hexi Corridor; MaxEnt; climate change; grasshopper; suitable areas.

Grants and funding

This research was funded by Advance Batch of Central Finance of Forestry Reform and Development Funds for Grassland Ecological Restoration and Governance Science and Technology Support in 2023. Research Project on Key Technology for Survey and Monitoring of Grasshopper and Plateau Pika. Project of Grassland Pest Census in Gansu Province.