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Abstract
Noncrop habitats are key components for maintaining arthropod diversity within agricultural settings, yet studies in perennial fruit crops often overlook the local spatial sorting of species and differences in community structure. This limits our ability to understand ecological processes shaping arthropod communities and inform biodiversity-friendly management practices. This dissertation investigates arthropod communities in southeastern U.S. blueberry farms, combining literature synthesis, field research, habitat implementation, and science communication to understand and support biodiversity within fruit crop systems. In Chapter 1, I map studies that evaluated arthropod diversity in perennial fruit systems, highlighting inconsistent use of community metrics and limited attention to within-field contrasts. Chapter 2 focuses on ground-dwelling spiders. Using two years of pitfall data, I found that forest habitats reduced dominance and promoted more stable spider communities across the season compared to crop fields. In Chapter 3, I investigate the dynamics of wild bee communities. By sampling throughout the year, results revealed distinct spatial and temporal patterns in community composition. Chapter 4 presents a case study on the implementation of pollinator habitat on two blueberry farms. I document plant survival, establishment success, and lessons learned during the three-year monitoring period. Finally, Chapter 5 highlights the extension components of this project. I developed two illustrated field guides for the identification of common wild bees and ground spiders found in blueberry farms in southeastern blueberry farms, and delivered two hands-on workshops for growers, supporting efforts for effective science communication. Together, these chapters contribute to the understanding of arthropod communities in blueberry systems and emphasize the role of noncrop habitats for diversity conservation.