scholarly journals Vertebrate species richness at littoral beaver lodges in a temperate artificial pond

Author(s):  
Imran Razik ◽  
Maria Sagot

The North American beaver Castor canadensis is widely recognized for its ability to modify freshwater habitats and facilitate changes in community composition. However, the seasonal composition of terrestrial wildlife at littoral beaver lodges remains poorly described, even though these structures are distinctive semi-permanent features of the terrestrial-aquatic interface and thus important resources for wildlife. Over 17 months, we used camera trapping, weather data, and satellite vegetation data to determine how vertebrate species richness and seasonal changes in community composition are associated with beaver activity and beaver lodges in a temperate artificial pond. Our results indicate clear changes in the composition of lodge visitors across seasons. Moreover, species richness was not strongly associated with beaver activity, vegetative condition, or weather condition. Littoral beaver lodges are likely important foraging sites for a wide range of taxa throughout the year. Our findings highlight the importance of beaver lodges in facilitating seasonal interactions and variation in species composition. We hope our work can be used as a baseline to investigate the importance of beaver structures in promoting diversity at the terrestrial-aquatic interface.

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 1005-1015
Author(s):  
Torbjörn Tyler

Abstract The diversity and community composition of moths (both macro- and micromoths) at 32 sites, representing a wide range of habitat types (forests, grasslands, wetlands, agricultural and urban areas) within a restricted region in central Scania, southern-most Sweden, was investigated by use of light moth traps and compared with vascular plant species richness and habitat characteristics. The results revealed a highly significant general association between vegetation composition and the composition of the moth community and multivariate (CCA) analyses indicated light availability and soil fertility parameters (pH and macronutrients) to be the habitat characteristics that best correlated with moth community composition. Less strong, but still significant, positive relationships between moth abundance and local vascular plant diversity were also revealed. Moth species richness was positively correlated with diversity of woody plant genera in the neighborhood, but not with local vascular plant diversity in general. As for more general site characteristics, there were tendencies for higher moth richness and abundance at sites with more productive soils (well-drained, high pH, high nutrient availability), while shading/tree canopy cover, management, soil disturbance regimes and nectar production appeared unrelated to moth community parameters. It is concluded that local moth assemblages are strongly influenced by site characteristics and vegetation composition. Implications for insect conservation: The results show that obtaining moth data on a local scale is useful for conservation planning and does not need to be very cumbersome. Local moth assemblages monitored are indeed related to local site characteristics of conservation relevance.


2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (21) ◽  
pp. 6136-6156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie A. Sommer ◽  
Lauren Van Woudenberg ◽  
Petra H. Lenz ◽  
Georgina Cepeda ◽  
Erica Goetze

Author(s):  
A.J. Blight ◽  
R.C. Thompson

All habitats are modified to some extent by the species that live within them. Kelp is known to have a very strong influence on the surrounding environment providing a habitat for a wide range of organisms including marine mammals, fish and invertebrates. Here we examine the consequences of a subtle shift in the relative abundance of two species of kelp, Laminaria digitata and Laminaria ochroleuca, and compare the holdfast epibiont assemblages on both. These species are morphologically very similar and both provide important biologically generated habitats. The distribution of these kelp species is predicted to alter as a consequence of climate change with L. ochroleuca extending its range northward and potentially outcompeting L. digitata in the north-eastern Atlantic. The epibiont fauna common to both species of kelp were predominantly made up of annelids, molluscs and bryozoans. Most of the epibiont flora we found on the holdfasts was from the class Rhodophyceae. Multivariate analysis showed that the richness of epibiont species associated with L. ochroleuca was significantly lower, a mean of 0.62 species per cm3, when compared to the northern species, L. digitata which had a mean of 1.13 species per cm3. Laminaria digitata also had more unique epibiont species indicating that species richness of holdfast assemblages is likely to decline if L. digitata is replaced by L. ochroleuca. These data illustrate the importance of studying biologically generated habitats when considering the potential consequences of climate change on marine assemblages.


Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 170
Author(s):  
Gladys N. Benitez ◽  
Glenn D. Aguilar ◽  
Dan Blanchon

The spatial distribution of corticolous lichens on the iconic New Zealand pōhutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa) tree was investigated from a survey of urban parks and forests across the city of Auckland in the North Island of New Zealand. Lichens were identified from ten randomly selected trees at 20 sampling sites, with 10 sites classified as coastal and another 10 as inland sites. Lichen data were correlated with distance from sea, distance from major roads, distance from native forests, mean tree DBH (diameter at breast height) and the seven-year average of measured NO2 over the area. A total of 33 lichen species were found with coastal sites harboring significantly higher average lichen species per tree as well as higher site species richness. We found mild hotspots in two sites for average lichen species per tree and another two separate sites for species richness, with all hotspots at the coast. A positive correlation between lichen species richness and DBH was found. Sites in coastal locations were more similar to each other in terms of lichen community composition than they were to adjacent inland sites and some species were only found at coastal sites. The average number of lichen species per tree was negatively correlated with distance from the coast, suggesting that the characteristic lichen flora found on pōhutukawa may be reliant on coastal microclimates. There were no correlations with distance from major roads, and a slight positive correlation between NO2 levels and average lichen species per tree.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth J Messick ◽  
Christopher E Comer ◽  
Michael A Blazier ◽  
T Bently Wigley

Abstract In the southern United States, some landowners have established plantations of eucalyptus (Eucalyptus spp.) and are managing them on short rotations (<15 years) to provide wood for fiber and other potential uses. Establishment of short-rotation woody crops dominated by nonnative species has implications for resident fauna in the United States that are largely unknown. We compared avifauna abundance, diversity, and community composition in newly established Camden white gum (Eucalyptus benthamii) plantations with slash pine (Pinus elliottii) plantations of the same age and height (one to two and six to seven years old, respectively) in southwestern Louisiana, USA. Species richness, diversity, and community composition in newly established eucalyptus plantations and six- to seven-year-old pines were similar. More birds were observed, and bird detections varied less in eucalyptus plantations. Indigo buntings (Passerina cyanea) and other shrub-associated species were detected more often in eucalyptus stands. In contrast, species that inhabit herbaceous-dominated communities, such as eastern meadowlarks (Sturnella magna), or that were associated with a dense graminoid community (e.g., Bachman’s sparrow [Peucaea aestivalis]) were detected less often in eucalyptus. Overall, breeding bird communities in eucalyptus plantations one to two years postestablishment differed little from plantations dominated by slash pine. Study Implications Compared with slash pine (Pinus elliottii Englem) plantations of similar age and height (one to two years and six to seven years old, respectively) we found one- to two-year-old eucalyptus (Eucalyptus benthamii Maiden & Cambage) plantations supported similar avian species richness and diversity to six- to seven-year-old pine stands. Furthermore, we found these eucalyptus plantations (E13) supported an avian community that was intermediate to similar aged pine (S13) and pine of similar height (S08). However, avian communities will likely change as eucalyptus plantations age (Christian et al. 1997). Continued monitoring and assessment of community composition, richness, and abundance is important for determining the magnitude of this change. Future investigations focused on nest success, fecundity, postfledging monitoring, and survivorship compared with other types of planted forests and native cover types would help us better understand eucalyptus plantation effects on avifauna demographics (Van Horne 1983, Martin 1998, Jones 2001, Wood et al. 2004, Sage et al. 2006, Riffell et al. 2011).


2008 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom L. Catchpole ◽  
Andrew S. Revill ◽  
James Innes ◽  
Sean Pascoe

Abstract Catchpole, T. L., Revill, A. S., Innes, J., and Pascoe, S. 2008. Evaluating the efficacy of technical measures: a case study of selection device legislation in the UK Crangon crangon (brown shrimp) fishery. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65: 267–275. Bycatch reduction devices are being introduced into a wide range of fisheries, with shrimp and prawn fisheries particularly targeted owing to the heavy discarding common in these fisheries. Although studies are often undertaken to estimate the impact of a technical measure on the fishery before implementation, rarely have the impacts been assessed ex post. Here, the efficacy of the UK legislation pertaining to the use of sievenets in the North Sea Crangon crangon fishery is assessed. Three impacts were evaluated: on fisher behaviour (social), on the level of bycatch (biological), and on vessel profitability (economic). An apparent high level of compliance by skippers was identified despite a low level of enforcement. The estimated reduction in fleet productivity following the introduction of the legislation was 14%, equalling the mean loss of Crangon landings when using sievenets calculated from catch comparison trawls. Sievenets did reduce the unnecessary capture of unwanted marine organisms, but were least effective at reducing 0-group plaice, which make up the largest component of the bycatch. Clearly the legislation has had an effect in the desired direction, but it does not address sufficiently the bycatch issue in the Crangon fishery.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (23) ◽  
pp. 10233-10242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob Nabe-Nielsen ◽  
Signe Normand ◽  
Francis K. C. Hui ◽  
Laerke Stewart ◽  
Christian Bay ◽  
...  

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