Arthropod community structure and spatial dynamics of Diaphorina citri in Soe keprok (Citrus reticulata cv. Soe) orchards of East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

JOHANES UR IBURUNI (Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Institut Pertanian Bogor. Jl. Meranti, IPB Dramaga Campus, Bogor 16680, West Java, Indonesia)
HERMANU TRIWIDODO (Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Institut Pertanian Bogor. Jl. Meranti, IPB Dramaga Campus, Bogor 16680, West Java, Indonesia)
I WAYAN WINASA (Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Institut Pertanian Bogor. Jl. Meranti, IPB Dramaga Campus, Bogor 16680, West Java, Indonesia)
NINA MARYANA (Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Institut Pertanian Bogor. Jl. Meranti, IPB Dramaga Campus, Bogor 16680, West Java, Indonesia)

Biodiversitas Journal of Biological Diversity
Vol. 27 No. 8 (2026)

Abstract. Iburuni JU, Triwidodo H, Winasa IW, Maryana N. 2026. Arthropod community structure and spatial dynamics of Diaphorina citri in Soe keprok (Citrus reticulata cv. Soe) orchards of East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 27 (8): d270817. https://doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d270817. Citrus farms in eastern Indonesia face growing threats from the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae), which spreads huanglongbing-associated bacteria. This study examined arthropod diversity, community composition, and the spatial distribution of D. citri in Soe keprok citrus (Citrus reticulata Blanco cv. Soe) orchards in Timor Tengah Selatan District, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Sampling comprised 60 tree-level observations across dry and rainy seasons, aggregated to 40 site × season community observations. Community composition was assessed using Bray-Curtis dissimilarity, PERMANOVA, PERMDISP, and NMDS, while alpha diversity was evaluated using richness, Shannon, and Simpson indices. Arthropod alpha diversity varied significantly among locations (Kruskal-Wallis, p<0.001) but not between seasons (p: 0.794). Community composition differed significantly among districts (PERMANOVA, R²: 0.351, F: 4.86, P: 0.0001), with a smaller seasonal effect (R²: 0.026, P: 0.0037) and significant multivariate dispersion (PERMDISP, F: 6.91, P: 0.0047). Shannon diversity was highest in Batu Putih and lowest in Kota Soe. Mollo Utara showed a distinct assemblage enriched in predators (Araneae, Coccinellidae), while parasitoids were closely linked to the Highland and Lowland zones (IndVal: 0.920, p: 0.005). Beta-diversity was driven more by nestedness (βSNE: 0.383) than turnover (βSIM: 0.175; βSOR: 0.557). D. citri abundance showed significant positive spatial autocorrelation (Moran's I: 0.421, p: 0.006). These results indicate that arthropod communities and D. citri populations are structured more strongly by spatial than seasonal factors, supporting district-level, site-specific approaches to pest management and natural-enemy conservation in Soe keprok orchards.