scholarly journals Do carabids (Coleoptera: Carabidae) and chironomids (Diptera: Chironomidae) exhibit similar diversity and distributional patterns along a spatio-temporal gradient on a glacier foreland?

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauro Gobbi ◽  
Valeria Lencioni
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Species Turnover ◽  
Aquatic Insect ◽  
Taxonomic Diversity ◽  
Carabid Beetles ◽  
Species Assemblages ◽  
Glacier Foreland ◽  
Distributional Patterns ◽  
Glacier Front ◽  
Spatio Temporal

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.

scholarly journals Contrasting effects of altitude on species groups with different traits in a non-fragmented montane temperate forest

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
pp. 99-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maarten de Groot ◽  
Al Vrezec
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Species Turnover ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
Carabid Beetles ◽  
Dispersal Ability ◽  
Altitudinal Distribution ◽  
Mobile Species ◽  
Altitudinal Belts ◽  
Species Groups ◽  
Species Richness And Abundance

Temperature has strong effects on species composition and traits. These effects can differ within and between species groups. Thermoregulation and mobility are traits which can be strongly affected by altitudinal distribution. Our aim was to investigate the influence of altitude on the species richness, abundance and composition of species groups with different trophic, thermoregulatory and mobility traits. Carabids (Coleoptera; Carabidae), hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) and birds (Aves: Passeriformes) were counted in three altitudinal belts with a total elevation difference of 700 m (from 300 m to 1000 m a.s.l.) in the same habitat type (non-fragmented temperate montane mixed beech and fir forest). We found that endotherms and more mobile species (i.e. birds) had a smaller turnover than ectotherms (i.e. hoverflies) and less mobile species (i.e. carabids), from which we can predict that the former species will undergo a less extreme shift than the latter in global warming scenarios. Species turnover across the altitudinal gradient increased from birds to hoverflies to carabid beetles. The effect of altitude on phenology was different between the studied ectotherm species groups (carabids and hoverflies). Hoverflies experience a phenological delay of species richness and abundance at higher altitudes in spring, but not at the end of summer, which implies that hoverfly phenology is affected by a change in temperature, while carabid beetle abundance exhibited a delay in phenology in summer at higher altitudes. We suggest that species that are expected to be most affected by climate change, such as ectotherms and species with poor dispersal ability should be prioritised as the best indicators for monitoring and conservation management purposes.

scholarly journals Metacommunity-scale biodiversity regulation and the self-organized emergence of macroecological patterns

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob D. O’Sullivan ◽  
Robert J. Knell ◽  
Axel G. Rossberg
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Species Turnover ◽  
Temporal Structure ◽  
Species Abundance ◽  
Structural Instability ◽  
Causal Link ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
Dynamical Mechanism ◽  
Spatio Temporal

AbstractThere exist a number of key macroecological patterns whose ubiquity suggests the spatio-temporal structure of ecological communities is governed by some universal mechanisms. The nature of these mechanisms, however, remains poorly understood. Here we probe spatio-temporal patterns in species richness and community composition using a simple metacommunity assembly model. Despite making noa prioriassumptions regarding biotic spatial structure or the distribution of biomass across species, model metacommunities self-organize to reproduce well documented patterns including characteristic species abundance distributions, range size distributions and species area relations. Also in agreement with observations, species richness in our model attains an equilibrium despite continuous species turnover. Crucially, it is in the neighbourhood of the equilibrium that we observe the emergence of these key macroecological patterns. Biodiversity equilibria in models occur due to the onset of ecological structural instability, a population-dynamical mechanism. This strongly suggests a causal link between local community processes and macroecological phenomena.Should this manuscript be accepted all simulation data supporting the results will be archived in a public repository and the data DOI will be included at the end of the article

scholarly journals How to make a meta-analyst happy – what to report in your studies and how

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pavel Saska
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Data Extraction ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Temporal Structure ◽  
Large Data ◽  
Carabid Beetles ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
The Impact

Meta-analysis represents an approach of synthesizing many independent data sets, and is useful in situations when abundant literature provides no conclusive evidence. Besides the quality of the research itself, the value of an individual study for meta-analysis depends to the large extent also on the quality of data presentation. The literature based on carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) as the study is enormous, therefore there is a great potential for the use in meta-analyses. In this paper I put together some notes which arose during my work on meta-analysis focused on the effects of field and crop management on populations of carabid beetles inside the crop fields of Europe and America north of Mexico. The aim of this contribution is to provide a set of recommendations which may potentially improve the use of each individual paper in future meta-analyses, and thus increase the impact of the original paper as well as the generality of conclusions drawn from future meta-analyses, hence based on larger sample size. Be accurate in describing the treatments. For example, “low” and “high intensity of management” is not enough. Mention also details that are constant across treatments, but may still provide useful information. E.g. “practice usual for the area” is not enough. Be precise with describing spatio-temporal structure in the study. Provide redundant information so everyone can check if he/she understood well the hierarchy of the experiment and the number of replications associated with each stratum. A scheme may be useful. Report the grand totals as well as treatment totals for both “abundance” and species richness. Text, tables or supplementary materials is preferred. If using mean values, always make it clear what is the number of replicates and provide standard errors. But, remember that total or treatment species richness cannot be reconstructed from the mean! Be explicit in stating what the means represent, also in figures. Expressions like “Mean abundance” are not enough. Provide species lists with the greatest resolution possible. Most journals allow for supplementary materials where this information can be provided. Remember that data can also be extracted from figures. Provide high resolution and accurate figures. For example, large data points on a line make data extraction difficult. Be accurate in describing the treatments. For example, “low” and “high intensity of management” is not enough. Mention also details that are constant across treatments, but may still provide useful information. E.g. “practice usual for the area” is not enough. Be precise with describing spatio-temporal structure in the study. Provide redundant information so everyone can check if he/she understood well the hierarchy of the experiment and the number of replications associated with each stratum. A scheme may be useful. Report the grand totals as well as treatment totals for both “abundance” and species richness. Text, tables or supplementary materials is preferred. If using mean values, always make it clear what is the number of replicates and provide standard errors. But, remember that total or treatment species richness cannot be reconstructed from the mean! Be explicit in stating what the means represent, also in figures. Expressions like “Mean abundance” are not enough. Provide species lists with the greatest resolution possible. Most journals allow for supplementary materials where this information can be provided. Remember that data can also be extracted from figures. Provide high resolution and accurate figures. For example, large data points on a line make data extraction difficult. With little extra effort during the preparation phase, the impact of your paper and the use of your data may considerably increase in the future.

Community characteristics of forest understory birds along an elevational gradient in the Horn of Africa: A multi-year baseline

The Condor ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle D Kittelberger ◽  
Montague H C Neate-Clegg ◽  
Evan R Buechley ◽  
Çağan Hakkı Şekercioğlu
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Species Turnover ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Elevational Gradient ◽  
Forest Understory ◽  
Bird Abundance ◽  
Tropical Mountains ◽  
Demographic Rates ◽  
Understory Birds ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Tropical mountains are global hotspots for birdlife. However, there is a dearth of baseline avifaunal data along elevational gradients, particularly in Africa, limiting our ability to observe and assess changes over time in tropical montane avian communities. In this study, we undertook a multi-year assessment of understory birds along a 1,750 m elevational gradient (1,430–3,186 m) in an Afrotropical moist evergreen montane forest within Ethiopia’s Bale Mountains. Analyzing 6 years of systematic bird-banding data from 5 sites, we describe the patterns of species richness, abundance, community composition, and demographic rates over space and time. We found bimodal patterns in observed and estimated species richness across the elevational gradient (peaking at 1,430 and 2,388 m), although no sites reached asymptotic species richness throughout the study. Species turnover was high across the gradient, though forested sites at mid-elevations resembled each other in species composition. We found significant variation across sites in bird abundance in some of the dietary and habitat guilds. However, we did not find any significant trends in species richness or guild abundances over time. For the majority of analyzed species, capture rates did not change over time and there were no changes in species’ mean elevations. Population growth rates, recruitment rates, and apparent survival rates averaged 1.02, 0.52, and 0.51 respectively, and there were no elevational patterns in demographic rates. This study establishes a multi-year baseline for Afrotropical birds along an elevational gradient in an under-studied international biodiversity hotspot. These data will be critical in assessing the long-term responses of tropical montane birdlife to climate change and habitat degradation.

scholarly journals Evaluating Plantation Forest vs. Natural Forest Regeneration for Biodiversity Enhancement in Hong Kong

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 593
Author(s):  
Janet E. Nichol ◽  
Sawaid Abbas
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Species Richness ◽  
Forest Regeneration ◽  
Forest Succession ◽  
Natural Forest ◽  
Plantation Forestry ◽  
Aerial Photographs ◽  
Continuous Increase ◽  
Natural Forest Regeneration ◽  
Spatio Temporal

Global trends predict a continuous increase in the proportion of forest occupied by plantations up to the end of the 21st century, while a dramatic loss of biodiversity is foreseen as a result of anthropogenic exploitation and climate change. This study compares the role and performance of plantation policies in Hong Kong, with natural regeneration of secondary forest, using detailed spatio-temporal data extracted from a previous study. The study extends over a 70-year period from 1945 to 2014 using aerial photographs and satellite images of five time periods to document spatio-temporal trends in plantation forestry and natural forest succession. Field data on species richness and woody biomass at different stages of forest succession are compared with available data from plantations in the same study area. Results indicate that plantation forests support relatively few native species in the understory, with much lower species richness than naturally regenerated forest, even after 6 to 7 decades. Time-sequential maps of habitat change show that natural forest succession from barren grassy hillsides, progressed at an annual rate of 7.8%, from only 0.2% of the landscape post WWII, to over 37% today. Plantation forestry on the other hand has been less successful, and has even acted as a barrier to natural forest regeneration, as mono-cultural plantations from the late 1960s to 1980s are still plantations today, whereas other similar areas have succeeded naturally to forest. The theory of plantations acting as a nurse crop for a woody native understory is not supported, as Pinus massoniana plantations, destroyed by two deadly nematodes during the 1970s, apparently had no woody understory, as they were seen to have reverted to grassland in 1989 and are still mainly grassland today.

scholarly journals Temperature and Prey Species Richness Drive the Broad-Scale Distribution of a Generalist Predator

Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 169
Author(s):  
Danai-Eleni Michailidou ◽  
Maria Lazarina ◽  
Stefanos P. Sgardelis
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Species Distribution ◽  
Prey Species ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Generalist Predator ◽  
Distributional Patterns ◽  
The Future ◽  
Grass Snake ◽  
Broad Scale

The ongoing climate change and the unprecedented rate of biodiversity loss render the need to accurately project future species distributional patterns more critical than ever. Mounting evidence suggests that not only abiotic factors, but also biotic interactions drive broad-scale distributional patterns. Here, we explored the effect of predator-prey interaction on the predator distribution, using as target species the widespread and generalist grass snake (Natrix natrix). We used ensemble Species Distribution Modeling (SDM) to build a model only with abiotic variables (abiotic model) and a biotic one including prey species richness. Then we projected the future grass snake distribution using a modest emission scenario assuming an unhindered and no dispersal scenario. The two models performed equally well, with temperature and prey species richness emerging as the top drivers of species distribution in the abiotic and biotic models, respectively. In the future, a severe range contraction is anticipated in the case of no dispersal, a likely possibility as reptiles are poor dispersers. If the species can disperse freely, an improbable scenario due to habitat loss and fragmentation, it will lose part of its contemporary distribution, but it will expand northwards.

Diversity metrics, species turnovers and nestedness of bird assemblages in a deep karst sinkhole

2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 8-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corrado Battisti ◽  
Marco Giardini ◽  
Francesca Marini ◽  
Lorena Di Rocco ◽  
Giuseppe Dodaro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Random Distribution ◽  
Diversity Index ◽  
Species Turnover ◽  
Floristic Composition ◽  
Bird Assemblages ◽  
Β Diversity ◽  
Stick Model ◽  
Karst Sinkhole

We reported a study on breeding birds occurring inside an 80 m-deep karst sinkhole, with the characterization of the assemblages recorded along its semi-vertical slopes from the upper edge until the bottom. The internal sides of the sinkhole have been vertically subdivided in four belts about 20 m high. The highest belt (at the upper edge of the cenote) showed the highest values in mean number of bird detections, mean and normalized species richness, and Shannon diversity index. The averaged values of number of detections and species richness significantly differ among belts. Species turnover (Cody’s β-diversity) was maximum between the highest belts. Whittaker plots showed a marked difference among assemblages shaping from broken-stick model to geometric series, and explicited a spatial progressive stress with a disruption in evenness towards the deepest belts. Bird assemblages evidenced a nested subset structure with deeper belts containing successive subsets of the species occurring in the upper belts. We hypothesize that, at least during the daytime in breeding season, the observed non-random distribution of species along the vertical stratification is likely due to (i) the progressive simplification both of the floristic composition and vegetation structure, and (ii) the paucity of sunlight as resources from the upper edge to the inner side of the cenote.

scholarly journals The conservation value of South East Asia's highly degraded forests: evidence from leaf-litter ants

2011 ◽  
Vol 366 (1582) ◽  
pp. 3256-3264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Woodcock ◽  
David P. Edwards ◽  
Tom M. Fayle ◽  
Rob J. Newton ◽  
Chey Vun Khen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Oil Palm ◽  
Species Turnover ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Forest Conversion ◽  
Conservation Value ◽  
Natural Forests ◽  
Ant Communities ◽  
Logged Forest

South East Asia is widely regarded as a centre of threatened biodiversity owing to extensive logging and forest conversion to agriculture. In particular, forests degraded by repeated rounds of intensive logging are viewed as having little conservation value and are afforded meagre protection from conversion to oil palm. Here, we determine the biological value of such heavily degraded forests by comparing leaf-litter ant communities in unlogged (natural) and twice-logged forests in Sabah, Borneo. We accounted for impacts of logging on habitat heterogeneity by comparing species richness and composition at four nested spatial scales, and examining how species richness was partitioned across the landscape in each habitat. We found that twice-logged forest had fewer species occurrences, lower species richness at small spatial scales and altered species composition compared with natural forests. However, over 80 per cent of species found in unlogged forest were detected within twice-logged forest. Moreover, greater species turnover among sites in twice-logged forest resulted in identical species richness between habitats at the largest spatial scale. While two intensive logging cycles have negative impacts on ant communities, these degraded forests clearly provide important habitat for numerous species and preventing their conversion to oil palm and other crops should be a conservation priority.

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