scholarly journals Environmental conditions affecting spiders in grasslands at the lower reach of the River Tisza in Hungary

2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Róbert Gallé ◽  
Norbert Vesztergom ◽  
Tamás Somogyi
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Structural Diversity ◽  
Relative Area ◽  
Lower Reach ◽  
Forest Species ◽  
Spider Species ◽  
Specialist Species ◽  
Grassland Types ◽  
Number Of Plant Species

The aims of the present study were to reveal the differences between grassland types, and to identify the local and landscape parameters that influence the spider assemblages at the reach of the River Tisza. The rarefied number of spider species was negatively correlated with the proportion of forests in a radius of 500 m around each site. A negative correlation was found between the number of grassland specialist species and the proportion of the forests, but the number of forest species increased significantly with the neighboring forest area. The relative area of neighboring forests, the number of plant species and regular flooding played major roles in shaping of the species composition of spiders. The results of the present study emphasize the importance of the effect of habitat landscape properties on spider assemblages. The structural diversity of the landscape may influence species richness and composition of the habitats.

scholarly journals Succession in harvestman (Opiliones) communities within an abandoned sand quarry in Belgium

2017 ◽  
Vol 147 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pallieter De Smedt ◽  
Sam Van de Poel
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Pitfall Traps ◽  
Sand Mining ◽  
Forest Species ◽  
Natural Succession ◽  
Limited Mobility ◽  
Activity Density

Sand mining strongly alters the existing landscape, transforming an area into a mosaic of native (sand deposits) and foreign soils, strongly influencing biotic development. The method of restoration of such excavated areas is often debated: natural succession or active restoration. We investigated how natural succession shapes harvestman communities, as part of the soil-dwelling community. We sampled harvestmen over a continuous period of 14 months in 25 plots in an abandoned sand quarry in Belgium using pitfall traps. We found significant increases in harvestman activity-density, species richness and diversity with time since abandonment of the various sections of the quarry. After about 15 years, a drastic change in species composition was observed with the establishment of forest species that more strongly depend on humid conditions to complete their life cycle. Colonisation of harvestmen closely followed vegetation succession despite their limited mobility. We argue that natural succession could be a good management tool for restoring harvestman communities as well as those of other soil-dwelling invertebrates in abandoned sand quarries.

scholarly journals Less is more! Rapid increase in plant species richness after reduced mowing of urban grasslands

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Sehrt ◽  
Oliver Bossdorf ◽  
Martin Freitag ◽  
Anna Bucharova
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
Less Is More ◽  
Urban Lawns ◽  
Intensively Managed ◽  
Management Changes ◽  
Meadow Species ◽  
Number Of Plant Species

AbstractUrban lawns provide space for recreation in cities, and they are an important part of urban green infrastructures. However, most lawns are intensively managed. As only few plant species can survive the frequent mowing, urban lawns typically harbor only a limited number of plant species. To improve the biodiversity of urban lawns, it is often suggested to reduce the mowing frequency. Here, we studied the plant diversity of urban grasslands that have recently undergone management changes from mowing every few weeks to mowing only once or twice per season and compared them to intensively managed lawns. Within six years after the management changes, the grasslands with reduced mowing frequency indeed hosted 30% more plant species than intensively managed lawns, and they were more heterogeneous both within and between grasslands. Additionally, the species composition of less frequently mown grasslands shifted from common mowing-tolerant lawn species to typical meadow species. Our study thus shows that the reduction of mowing is a simple and effective tool for increasing the biodiversity in urban grasslands.

scholarly journals Spider Diversity in Different Agricultural Crops in Mangoli, Nainital District, Uttarakhand, India

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeetikasiddhu Jeetikasiddhu ◽  
Himanshu Pandey Lohani ◽  
Gunjan Pathak ◽  
Buddh Raj Kaushal
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Dominant Species ◽  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Diversity Indices ◽  
Agricultural Crops ◽  
Ecological Guilds ◽  
Spider Species ◽  
Vegetable Field ◽  
Number Of Individuals

Investigations were carried out on the species composition of spiders in different agricultural crops viz. red lentil, wheat and mixed vegetables (cabbage, carrot, potato, tomato, pea, black eyed beans) at Mangoli in district Nainital of Kumaun region of Uttarakhand, India. The sampling was done using handpicking, ground hand collection, aerial hand collection and sweep netting method. The investigation revealed the presence of 44 spider species belonging to 16 families and 33 genera. The most dominant species was Argiope pulchella comprises highest numbers of individuals (32) and most dominant family was Araneidae (9species). The highest number of individuals was observed from mix vegetable field (296) followed by wheat (209) and red lentil (181). Based on foraging behaviour, the collected spiders were classified into 7 ecological guilds and majority of collected spiders were orb weavers (37.73%). Diversity indices: Shannon-Weiner’s diversity and species richness of spiders were found to be higher in mixed vegetables crop (3.57, 6.67) followed by wheat (3.47, 6.36) and red lentil crop (3.40, 6.15), respectively.

Litter spider succession after clear-cutting in a western coniferous forest

1992 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. 984-992 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. McIver ◽  
G. L. Parsons ◽  
A. R. Moldenke
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Habitat Quality ◽  
Coniferous Forest ◽  
Forest Recovery ◽  
Canopy Closure ◽  
Forest Species ◽  
Visual Pursuit ◽  
Spider Species ◽  
Clear Cutting ◽  
The Common

The litter spiders of a coniferous forest in western Oregon were trapped in pitfalls to study the effects of, and recovery after, clear-cutting. Traps were placed in old-growth sites (150–450 years) and in clearcuts of three different ages (4–7, 16–19, and 22–31 years); each age-class was represented by sites that differed along a gradient of moisture availability. A total of 8905 individuals were collected over the 2-year study period, comprising 93 species, 54 genera, and 15 families. Visual pursuit hunting spiders dominated clearcuts, while "sit and wait" microweb and trapdoor spiders dominated mature forests. Most of the common forest species were reestablished in the wettest sites by 30 years after clear-cutting; species composition in dry 30-year-old clearcuts more closely resembled the fauna of shrubby wet 16-year-old clearcuts. Microenvironmental conditions and the availability and species composition of prey are the most likely factors behind variation in spider species composition among sites. Prey and microenvironment are in turn largely influenced by canopy closure and litter depth. The use of litter spiders as bioindicators of litter habitat quality and forest recovery is discussed.

scholarly journals Disentangling the Ecological Determinants of Species and Functional Trait Diversity in Herb-Layer Plant Communities in European Temperate Forests

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 552
Author(s):  
Janez Kermavnar ◽  
Lado Kutnar ◽  
Aleksander Marinšek
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Functional Trait ◽  
Forest Stand ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Herb Layer ◽  
Bud Bank ◽  
Tree Species Composition ◽  
Stand Characteristics

Forest herb-layer vegetation responds sensitively to environmental conditions. This paper compares drivers of both taxonomic, i.e., species richness, cover and evenness, and functional herb-layer diversity, i.e., the diversity of clonal, bud bank and leaf-height-seed plant traits. We investigated the dependence of herb-layer diversity on ecological determinants related to soil properties, climatic parameters, forest stand characteristics, and topographic and abiotic and biotic factors associated with forest floor structure. The study was conducted in different forest types in Slovenia, using vegetation and environmental data from 50 monitoring plots (400 m2 each) belonging to the ICP Forests Level I and II network. The main objective was to first identify significant ecological predictors and then quantify their relative importance. Species richness was strongly determined by forest stand characteristics, such as richness of the shrub layer, tree layer shade-casting ability as a proxy for light availability and tree species composition. It showed a clear positive relation to soil pH. Variation in herb-layer cover was also best explained by forest stand characteristics and, to a lesser extent, by structural factors such as moss cover. Species evenness was associated with tree species composition, shrub layer cover and soil pH. Various ecological determinants were decisive for the diversity of below-ground traits, i.e., clonal and bud bank traits. For these two trait groups we observed a substantial climatic signal that was completely absent for taxonomy-based measures of diversity. In contrast, above-ground leaf-height-seed (LHS) traits were driven exclusively by soil reaction and nitrogen availability. In synthesis, local stand characteristics and soil properties acted as the main controlling factors for both species and trait diversity in herb-layer communities across Slovenia, confirming many previous studies. Our findings suggest that the taxonomic and functional facets of herb-layer vegetation are mainly influenced by a similar set of ecological determinants. However, their relative importance varies among individual taxonomy- and functional trait-based diversity measures. Integrating multi-faceted approaches can provide complementary information on patterns of herb-layer diversity in European forest plant communities.

Species Composition and Species Richness in the Hetao Irrigation Region Drainage Ditches, Northern China

2013 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Zhao ◽  
Xin-rong Li ◽  
Zhi-shan Zhang ◽  
Yi-gang Hu ◽  
Pan Wu
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Drainage Ditches

scholarly journals Composition and diversity of anurans in the Restinga of the Conde municipality, northern coast of the state of Bahia, northeastern Brazil

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Felipe Augusto Trindade Gondim-Silva ◽  
Alessandra Rodrigues Santos Andrade ◽  
Rafael Oliveira Abreu ◽  
Jamile Santos Nascimento ◽  
Geovane Paixão Corrêa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Species Diversity ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Rainy Season ◽  
Dominant Species ◽  
The State ◽  
Northeastern Brazil ◽  
Freshwater Wetland ◽  
Northern Coast ◽  
Anuran Species

Abstract The Conde municipality is located in the northern coast of the state of Bahia (NC), northeastern Brazil, and is part of the Atlantic Tropical domain. The anuran fauna of the northern portion of the NC is still poorly known if compared to the southern portion. The Restinga is one of the predominant environments of the coastal plains of the NC and it is characterized essentially by presenting sandy soil covered by herbaceous and shrubby vegetation. The objective of this study was to determine the anuran species composition and diversity for the Restinga of the Conde municipality. Sampling was carried out at night by active search over four periods of five consecutive days each, two over the 'main rainy season' and two in a 'lesser rainy season', using 14 sample units (SUs) and five extra sample plots (EPs). We calculated dominance and species diversity using the Berger-Parker and Shannon-Wiener H' indices, respectively. We used accumulation curves and the Jackknife 1 estimator to estimate anuran species richness, considering only the data obtained from the SUs. We recorded 713 anuran specimens distributed within 33 species, 13 genera and five families (Bufonidae, Craugastoridae, Hylidae, Leptodactylidae and Microhylidae). The Hylidae and Leptodactylidae families had the highest species richness. Considering only the SUs (Jackknife 1 estimator in brackets), we recorded 28 species in the study area (33.9 ± 2.3), 13 in Shrubby Vegetation Zones - SVZ (20.8 ± 2.9) and 25 in Freshwater Wetland Zones - FWZ (28.9 ± 1.9). The abundance and species diversity of the FWZ (n = 638 specimens; H'= 2.4) were higher than those recorded for the SVZ (n = 52 specimens; H' = 1.9). The SVZ and FWZ showed distinct dominant species, wherein Pristimantis paulodutrai was the dominant species in SVZ and Scinax fuscomarginatus in FWZ. The Restinga of the Conde municipality stands out as the one with the highest anuran species richness already recorded considering only SVZ and FWZ. Moreover, its anuran species composition represented 55% of the anuran species known for the NC and included taxa common to three different morphoclimatic domains (Tropical Atlantic, Cerrado and Caatinga).

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