Diversity and Population Dynamic of Arthropod Visitors in Bitter Melon (Momordica charantia L.) Agroecosystems
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31851/sainmatika.v22i2.20490Keywords:
arthropod diversity, bitter melon, population dynamic, biodiversity, sustainable agricultureAbstract
Previous studies have emphasized the ecological benefits of shaded agroecosystems in enhancing arthropod diversity and maintaining ecosystem stability, yet limited research has focused on Momordica charantia under such conditions. This study aimed to assess the diversity and abundance of arthropods inhabiting bitter melon plants grown beneath shade. The research was conducted for five consecutive weeks using direct observation and trapping methods in a field setting, with specimens identified to the morphospecies level and classified by ecological role. A total of 465 individuals were recorded, consisting of pollinators, detritivores, pests, and predators. The Shannon–Wiener diversity index (H’) indicated moderate diversity, and the evenness index (E) showed high community uniformity, reflecting ecological stability. Pollinators and detritivores were the most dominant functional groups, while pests and predators appeared in low abundance, suggesting natural regulatory interactions. These findings demonstrate that shaded bitter melon ecosystems can sustain high arthropod diversity and provide essential ecosystem services such as pollination and biological control, supporting sustainable agroecosystem management.
References
Bhardwaj, R. L., Nandal, U., Pal, A., & Jain, S. (2014). Bioactive compounds and medicinal properties of fruit juices. Fruits, 69(5), 391-412.
Chaudhary, D. V., Deb, S., & Thakar, P. K. (2024). Seasonal Diversity of Insect Pollinators on Cucurbit Vegetables. Journal of Experimental Agriculture International, 46(12), 222-229.
Farooq, M. O., Razaq, M., & Shah, F. M. (2022). Plant diversity promotes species richness and community stability of arthropods in organic farming. Arthropod-Plant Interactions, 16(6), 593-606.
Giovanetti, Manuela, Sergio Albertazzi, Simone Flaminio, Rosa Ranalli, Laura Bortolotti, and Marino Quaranta. "Pollination in agroecosystems: a review of the conceptual framework with a view to sound monitoring." Land 10, no. 5 (2021): 540.
Jasrotia, P., Kumari, P., Malik, K., Kashyap, P. L., Kumar, S., Bhardwaj, A. K., & Singh, G. P. (2023). Conservation agriculture based crop management practices impact diversity and population dynamics of the insect-pests and their natural enemies in agroecosystems. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 7, 1173048.
Joern, A., & Laws, A. N. (2013). Ecological mechanisms underlying arthropod species diversity in grasslands. Annual review of entomology, 58, 19-36.
Kalshoven LGE. 1981. Pest of Crops in Indonesia. Ichtiar Baru, Jakarta.
Klein, A. M., Vaissière, B. E., Cane, J. H., Steffan-Dewenter, I., Cunningham, S. A., Kremen, C., & Tscharntke, T. (2007). Importance of pollinators in changing landscapes for world crops. Proceedings of the royal society B: biological sciences, 274(1608), 303-313.
Layek, U., Bisui, S., & Karmakar, P. (2025). Interactions of flower visitors with bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) and effects of right target and wrong target flower visits on plant reproduction. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 36974.
Martin-Chave, A., Beral, C., Mazzia, C., & Capowiez, Y. (2019). Agroforestry impacts the seasonal and diurnal activity of dominant predatory arthropods in organic vegetable crops. Agroforestry Systems, 93(6), 2067-2083.
Odum, E.P. 1993. Fundamentals of Ecology. Translator: Tjahjono Samingan; Editor: B. Yogyakarta: University Press. 1993.
Olfert, O., Johnson, G. D., Brandt, S. A., & Thomas, A. G. (2002). Use of arthropod diversity and abundance to evaluate cropping systems. Agronomy journal, 94(2), 210-216.
Ollerton, J. (2017). Pollinator diversity: distribution, ecological function, and conservation. Annual review of ecology, evolution, and systematics, 48(1), 353-376.
Pontarp, M., Runemark, A., Friberg, M., Opedal, Ø. H., Persson, A. S., Wang, L., & Smith, H. G. (2024). Evolutionary plant–pollinator responses to anthropogenic land‐use change: impacts on ecosystem services. Biological Reviews, 99(2), 372-389.
Safitri, I., Maharani, E., Sofiana, M., Purnama, M., & Nguyen, D. H. (2025). Assessing Mangrove Gastropod Biodiversity: Composition, Abundance, and Ecological Indices in Mempawah, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries, 29(2), 407-428.
Vargas, G., Rivera-Pedroza, L. F., García, L. F., & Jahnke, S. M. (2023). Conservation biological control as an important tool in the Neotropical region. Neotropical entomology, 52(2), 134-151.
Wohlgemuth, D., Solan, M., & Godbold, J. A. (2016). Specific arrangements of species dominance can be more influential than evenness in maintaining ecosystem process and function. Scientific reports, 6(1), 39325.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Sainmatika: Jurnal Ilmiah Matematika dan Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
