scholarly journals Staphylinidae and Carabidae overwintering in wheat and sown wildflower areas of different age

2004 ◽  
Vol 94 (3) ◽  
pp. 209-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Frank ◽  
B. Reichhart

AbstractSpecies richness and abundance of staphylinid and carabid beetles overwintering in winter wheat fields and 1- to 3-year-old wildflower areas were investigated during 2000/2001 on 16 study sites in Switzerland. Abundance and species richness of overwintering staphylinids significantly increased with successional age of the wildflower areas and were always higher in older wildflower areas than in winter wheat. A similar but less distinct pattern was observed for the abundance and species richness of carabid beetles. The influence of habitat parameters (vegetation cover, fine sand content, organic matter, pH, soil pore volume, surrounding landscape structure, habitat area) on the staphylinid and carabid assemblages based on the number of individuals per species and site was analysed using canonical correspondence analysis. Vegetation cover was the most significant parameter significantly characterizing both staphylinid and carabid assemblages. The amount of vegetation cover explained 15.7% of the variance, fine sand content accounted for 13.3% and surrounding landscape structure for 10.9% of the variance in the staphylinid assemblage. In the carabid assemblage, vegetation cover was the only significant factor, explaining 24.7% of the variance. This study showed for the first time that the significance of wildflower areas as a reservoir for hibernation for generalist predatory beetles increases with progressing successional age.

Insects ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 746
Author(s):  
Deniz Uzman ◽  
Martin H. Entling ◽  
Ilona Leyer ◽  
Annette Reineke

Preserving agro-biodiversity is one of the main means at the moment to counteract the global biodiversity crisis. Vineyard inter-rows offer vegetation covers which could function as foraging grounds for arthropods. Furthermore, organic management and enhanced landscape complexity often support biodiversity. Here, species richness and abundance of two groups of arthropod predators in vineyards were studied. Fifteen pairs of organically and conventionally managed vineyards were chosen along a gradient of landscape complexity in Rhine-Hesse, Germany. Carabid beetles were sampled using pitfall traps and cavity-nesting wasps with trap nests, respectively. Proportions of different land-use types surrounding the vineyards were calculated and inter-row vegetation cover was characterized. Species richness and abundances of both predator groups were not significantly affected by the management system. Likewise, increased cover of semi-natural habitats in the surrounding landscape did not promote their diversity or abundance. Instead, the increasing cover of annual crops diminished both groups. Cavity-nesting wasps profited from dense inter-row vegetation cover, while carabids were disadvantaged. The results indicate that distinct taxa within the same trophic group can respond oppositely to vineyard management. Thus, inter-row vegetation management with densely and sparsely vegetated elements might be best to support predator diversity. Overall, our results suggest that organic viticulture alone is insufficient to assist the studied insect groups, and that other local and landscape management options are needed for their protection.


Author(s):  
Mauro Gobbi ◽  
Valeria Lencioni

Carabid beetles and chironomid midges are two dominant cold-adapted taxa, respectively on glacier forefiel terrains and in glacial-stream rivers. Although their sensitivity to high altitude climate warming is well known, no studies compare the species assemblages exhibited in glacial systems. Our study compares diversity and distributional patterns of carabids and chironomids in the foreland of the receding Amola glacier in central-eastern Italian Alps. Carabids were sampled by pitfall traps; chironomids by kick sampling in sites located at the same distance from the glacier as the terrestrial ones. The distance from the glacier front was considered as a proxy for time since deglaciation since these variables are positively correlated. We tested if the distance from the glacier front affects: i) the species richness; ii) taxonomic diversity; and iii) species turnover. Carabid species richness and taxonomic diversity increased positively from recently deglaciated sites (those c. 160 m from the glacier front) to sites deglaciated more than 160yrs ago (those located >1300 m from glacier front). Species distributions along the glacier foreland were characterized by mutually exclusive species. Conversely, no pattern in chironomid species richness and turnover was observed. Interestingly, taxonomic diversity increased significantly: closely related species were found near the glacier front, while the most taxonomically diverse species assemblages were found distant from the glacier front. Increasing glacial retreat differently affect epigeic and aquatic insect taxa: carabids respond faster to glacier retreat than do chironomids, at least in species richness and species turnover patterns.


Author(s):  
Vivien Cosandey ◽  
Robin Séchaud ◽  
Paul Béziers ◽  
Yannick Chittaro ◽  
Andreas Sanchez ◽  
...  

AbstractBird nests are specialized habitats because of their particular composition including nest detritus and bird droppings. In consequence, they attract a specialized arthropod community considered as nidicolous, which includes species only found in bird nests (strictly nidicolous) or sometimes found in bird nests (facultatively nidicolous). Because the factors influencing the entomofauna in bird nests are poorly understood, in autumn 2019, we collected nest material in 86 Barn Owl (Tyto alba) nest boxes. We investigated whether the invertebrate species richness was related to Barn Owl nest box occupancy, the density of available nest boxes and the landscape structure. We found 3,321 nidicolous beetle specimens belonging to 24 species. Species richness of strictly nidicolous beetles was 2.7 times higher in nest boxes occupied by a family of Barn Owls the previous spring compared to unoccupied nest boxes. It was also higher in sites that were more often occupied by Barn Owls in the five previous years and in areas surrounded by a higher proportion of crop fields. For facultatively nidicolous beetles, the density of Barn Owl nest boxes enhanced the species richness. In conclusion, our study suggests that the strictly nidicolous beetles benefit from occupied nest boxes of Barn Owls, whereas facultatively nidicolous beetles look for nest boxes independently of whether Barn Owls occupy them. Our study highlights the importance of bird nests for a suite of invertebrates.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 352-376
Author(s):  
Lindsay Hollingsworth ◽  
Marcus Collier

Despite the fact that field boundary (dry) stone walls are globally common in rural landscapes, very little research has been carried out regarding them. Dry stone walls may act as refuges for a range of plants and animals, especially in areas where conditions do not favour a high biodiversity or areas of high exposure. They may also provide connectivity via habitat corridors and may even serve as a habitat in their own right. This paper reports on a case study survey of the forb assemblages of field boundary dry stone walls in terms of species richness, biodiversity, and composition in comparison to the surrounding landscape, and aims to provide some insight into the floral ecology characteristics of dry stone walls. To accomplish this, the forbs growing in and immediately adjacent to 18 segments of dry stone wall in the Burren region of western Ireland, were surveyed. The forb assemblages growing within the walls were compared with those growing in the 0.5 m closest to the walls and those growing the areas 0.5-1.0 m on either side of the walls. The wall assemblages were shown to have lower species richness and each category of assemblage was shown to have significantly different species composition. This research indicates that the dry stone walls of the Burren may be associated with a distinct floral ecology, and therefore may act as habitat corridors in an otherwise exposed landscape.


2007 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Cetra ◽  
M. Petrere JR.

This work intends to examine if there are associations between fish species and the state of conservation of the riparian forest in the Corumbataí River Basin. Four main rivers were chosen for this study with three sites on each. Collections were carried out from March to June and from September to December 2001. Multivariate techniques were applied to determine the correlation between species richness and the order of the rivers, preservation level of the riparian forest, shade level, presence or absence of Eucalyptus, sugar cane and pastures, and surrounding declivity stability of the sites. Species richness was highest at locations with greater vegetation cover and preserved riparian forest.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 3376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Romano ◽  
Giovanni Francesco Ricci ◽  
Francesco Gentile

In recent decades, technological advancements in sensors have generated increasing interest in remote sensing data for the study of vegetation features. Image pixel resolution can affect data analysis and results. This study evaluated the potential of three satellite images of differing resolution (Landsat 8, 30 m; Sentinel-2, 10 m; and Pleiades 1A, 2 m) in assessing the Leaf Area Index (LAI) of riparian vegetation in two Mediterranean streams, and in both a winter wheat field and a deciduous forest used to compare the accuracy of the results. In this study, three different retrieval methods—the Caraux-Garson, the Lambert-Beer, and the Campbell and Norman equations—are used to estimate LAI from the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). To validate sensor data, LAI values were measured in the field using the LAI 2200 Plant Canopy Analyzer. The statistical indices showed a better performance for Pleiades 1A and Landsat 8 images, the former particularly in sites characterized by high canopy closure, such as deciduous forests, or in areas with stable riparian vegetation, the latter where stable reaches of riparian vegetation cover are almost absent or very homogenous, as in winter wheat fields. Sentinel-2 images provided more accurate results in terms of the range of LAI values. Considering the different types of satellite imagery, the Lambert-Beer equation generally performed best in estimating LAI from the NDVI, especially in areas that are geomorphologically stable or have a denser vegetation cover, such as deciduous forests.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 2095 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Pfingstmann ◽  
Daniel Paredes ◽  
Jacob Buchholz ◽  
Pascal Querner ◽  
Thomas Bauer ◽  
...  

Interactions between predatory species and their potential prey are little studied in vineyards, especially considering the surrounding landscape structure. We examined the effects of soil tillage intensities in vineyard inter-rows on the activity density and diversity of spiders (Araneae) and springtails (Collembola), their potential preys, and assessed whether these effects are altered by non-crop elements in the surrounding landscape. We collected data in 16 vineyards in Austria; eight were periodically mechanically disturbed (PMD), eight had permanent green cover (PGC). The study vineyards were embedded in landscapes ranging from structurally simple to complex. Both, spiders and springtails were collected with pitfall traps. Data analyses using generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) showed different effects of soil tillage intensities on spiders and springtails and an interaction with semi-natural elements (SNEs) in the surrounding landscape. Activities of springtails were higher under PMD than under PGC while spider activity density remained unaffected. Spider family Shannon diversity was lower under PMD than under PGC, while springtail species Shannon diversity was unaffected by tillage. Under PMD, spider activity and family diversity decreased with increasing SNEs in the surroundings indicating spider emigration away from vineyards. Under PGC, spider activity density increased with increasing SNE proportions in the surroundings when springtail activity density was high. Our findings suggest that recommendations on sustainable vineyard management should include both site and landscape factors.


2001 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 409-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. MUNIZ ◽  
N. VENTURINI

The analysis of 24 quantitative macrobenthic samples taken from the Solís Grande Stream estuary yielded 10 species from a total of 4,446 individuals. It was verified that both species richness and diversity was lower than those recorded in nearby regions with similar environmental conditions. In contrast with other studies, a marked dominance of any of the present species was not verified. All the species recorded correspond to typical estuarine organisms. Abundance data were analysed with multivariate techniques and the results showed a relationship with salinity, mean diameter and the percentage of fine sand. According to the cluster analysis and the canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) four groups of stations were defined. The partition out of total variation of the species data showed that the amount of variation explained by the space alone was low. Spatial patterns observed and their possible causes are analysed and discussed in relation to the natural factors that acts in this coastal ecosystem.


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