AbstractThis paper is a tribute to Dr. R.A. Ring upon his retirement. During the past 12 years (1993–2005), an emerging canopy research program has established a wealth of baseline information on the structure and functioning of temperate rain forest canopy arthropod communities. Studies from research sites on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, have shown that ancient temperate rain forest canopy ecosystems contain a largely undescribed fauna that is specific to habitat features found only in these canopies. In particular, diverse assemblages of free-living mites have been shown to dominate conifer species and canopy microhabitats. For example, oribatid mites are the dominant arthropod fauna on branches, branches with attached lichens, and suspended soil accumulations. Species composition differs significantly between the ground and the canopy at both the family and the species level. Arboreal specificity may be due to intrinsic variation in habitat quality, habitat architecture, patchiness, and (or) resource availability. The prevalent patterns of habitat specialization, low vagility, and restricted distribution displayed by a large percentage of the resident canopy microarthropods are features often associated with forest ecoregions that have enjoyed relatively stable conditions for long periods of time, as have the ancient forests on Vancouver Island. Investigators in the “one-Ring lab” continue to document the diversity and abundance of canopy arthropods of temperate forests in British Columbia. In particular, studies are concerned with defining the organizing principles that elicit community patterns associated with the various levels of complexity in arboreal communities. Our long-term goal is to provide a greater degree of predictability when addressing temperate forest diversity issues. To meet the stated goals of sustainable forest management and retention of biodiversity, an extensive plan of ecological research that features arthropods is needed. This plan, fostered by Dr. Ring, should have as a priority the inventory and cataloguing of species assemblages and should address dynamic processes such as organismal dispersal and the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on arthropods in ancient forests.
13,000 years of fire history derived from soil charcoal in a British Columbia coastal temperate rain forest
