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Weiss F, Michler FU, Gillich B, Tillmann J, Ciuti S, Heurich M, Rieger S. Displacement Effects of Conservation Grazing on Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) Spatial Behaviour. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2022; 70:763-779. [PMID: 35994055 PMCID: PMC9519651 DOI: 10.1007/s00267-022-01697-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2022] [Accepted: 07/27/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Conservation grazing uses semi-feral or domesticated herbivores to limit encroachment in open areas and to promote biodiversity. However, we are still unaware of its effects on wild herbivores. This study investigates the influence of herded sheep and goats on red deer (Cervus elaphus) spatial behavior by testing three a-priori hypotheses: (i) red deer are expected to avoid areas used by livestock, as well as adjacent areas, when livestock are present, albeit (ii) red deer increase the use of these areas when sheep and goats are temporarily absent and (iii) there is a time-lagged disruption in red deer spatial behavior when conservation grazing practice ends. Using GPS-telemetry data on red deer from a German heathland area, we modelled their use of areas grazed by sheep and goats, using mixed-effect logistic regression. Additionally, we developed seasonal resource selection functions (use-availability design) to depict habitat selection by red deer before, during, and after conservation grazing. Red deer used areas less during conservation grazing throughout all times of the day and there was no compensatory use during nighttime. This effect mostly persisted within 21 days after conservation grazing. Effects on habitat selection of red deer were detectable up to 3000 meters away from the conservation grazing sites, with no signs of either habituation or adaption. For the first time, we demonstrate that conservation grazing can affect the spatio-temporal behavior of wild herbivores. Our findings are relevant for optimizing landscape and wildlife management when conservation grazing is used in areas where wild herbivores are present.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabio Weiss
- Biosphere Reserves Institute, Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, Eberswalde, Germany.
- Department Wildlife Ecology and Management, University of Freiburg, Breisgau, Germany.
- Department of Wildlife Biology, Wildlife Management and Hunting Practice, Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, Eberswalde, Germany.
| | - Frank Uwe Michler
- Department of Wildlife Biology, Wildlife Management and Hunting Practice, Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, Eberswalde, Germany
| | - Benjamin Gillich
- Department of Wildlife Biology, Wildlife Management and Hunting Practice, Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, Eberswalde, Germany
- Institute of Zoology, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | | | - Simone Ciuti
- Laboratory of Wildlife Ecology and Behaviour, SBES, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Marco Heurich
- Department Wildlife Ecology and Management, University of Freiburg, Breisgau, Germany
- Department of Conservation and Research, Bavarian Forest National Park, Bavaria, Germany
- Institute for Forest and Wildlife Management, Inland Norway University for Applied Science, Hamar, Norway
| | - Siegfried Rieger
- Biosphere Reserves Institute, Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, Eberswalde, Germany
- Department of Wildlife Biology, Wildlife Management and Hunting Practice, Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, Eberswalde, Germany
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Guo J, Zhao C, Zhang L, Han Y, Cao R, Liu Y, Sun S. Water table decline alters arthropod community structure by shifting plant communities and leaf nutrients in a Tibetan peatland. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 814:151944. [PMID: 34838919 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2021] [Revised: 11/18/2021] [Accepted: 11/20/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Water table decline is one of the most serious environmental problems in the peatland in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. However, the effect of water table decline on the structure of aboveground arthropod communities is still not clear. We investigated changes in the abundance of different arthropod groups, and estimated the abundance, height, and biomass of the plant community in a soil water table reduction experiment to reveal the effect of water table decline on the arthropod community structure. The effect of water level decline on herbivorous arthropods varied according to the feeding habits. Specifically, water table decline treatment decreased the abundance of grass-preferring herbivores but increased the abundance of forb-preferring herbivores. However, the density of predators (e.g., spiders) did not change significantly. The variations in arthropod communities were correlated with the increase in forbs and leaf nitrogen content in the water table decline treatments. Our experiment demonstrated that the effect of water table decline on plant communities cascades upwardly to alter the arthropod community. Such trophic interactions should be considered in studies aimed at predicting shifts in the arthropods communities in a changing climate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingwei Guo
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Global Change Ecology, Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation and Ecological Restoration, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, Henan, China
| | - Cancan Zhao
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Global Change Ecology, Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation and Ecological Restoration, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, Henan, China
| | - Luna Zhang
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Global Change Ecology, Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation and Ecological Restoration, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, Henan, China
| | - Yangyang Han
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Global Change Ecology, Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation and Ecological Restoration, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, Henan, China
| | - Rui Cao
- Department of Ecology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, Jiangsu, China; Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Eco-Agricultural Biotechnology around Hongze Lake, School of Life Science, Huaiyin Normal University, Huaian 223300, Jiangsu, China
| | - Yinzhan Liu
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Global Change Ecology, Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation and Ecological Restoration, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, Henan, China.
| | - Shucun Sun
- Department of Ecology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, Jiangsu, China
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Braschi J, Torres A, Fadda S, Buisson E, Ponel P. Beetle assemblage dynamics after invasive ice plant (
Carpobrotus
) removal on a small Mediterranean island. Restor Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/rec.13387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Julie Braschi
- Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d'Ecologie Aix‐Marseille Université, Avignon Université, CNRS, IRD Marseille France
- Naturalia Environnement, Agence d'Avignon – Site Agroparc 20, rue Lawrence Durrell, BP 31 285 Avignon cedex 9 F‐84911 France
| | - Aurélie Torres
- Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d'Ecologie Aix‐Marseille Université, Avignon Université, CNRS, IRD Marseille France
| | - Sylvain Fadda
- Naturalia Environnement, Agence d'Avignon – Site Agroparc 20, rue Lawrence Durrell, BP 31 285 Avignon cedex 9 F‐84911 France
| | - Elise Buisson
- Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d'Ecologie Aix‐Marseille Université, Avignon Université, CNRS, IRD Marseille France
| | - Philippe Ponel
- Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d'Ecologie Aix‐Marseille Université, Avignon Université, CNRS, IRD Marseille France
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Skarbek CJ, Kobel-Lamparski A, Dormann CF. Trends in monthly abundance and species richness of carabids over 33 years at the Kaiserstuhl, southwest Germany. Basic Appl Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2020.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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The Impact of Climate Variations on the Structure of Ground Beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) Assemblage in Forests and Wetlands. FORESTS 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/f11101074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
We studied the effect of climate variations on the structure of the assemblage of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in a wetland and surrounding watershed forest. We analyzed the changes in the structure of the assemblage of ground beetles provoked by a two-year dry period against the background of studies carried out during the two-year wet period. Aridization influenced the structure of the assemblage of ground beetles more in wetlands than in forests. It was shown that despite the stabilizing effect of the forest on the structure of assemblages of terrestrial arthropods, the two-year dry period had a negative impact on the assemblage of ground beetles in the studied area. The Simpson dominance index of 4.9 during the wet season increased to 7.2 during the drought period. Although the total number of species during the dry period did not significantly decrease in comparison with the wet period—from 30 to 27 species—changes occurred in the trophic structure: during the drought period, the number of predators decreased. It is concluded that the resistance of forest habitats to climate aridization is somewhat exaggerated and, very likely, the structure of the community of arthropods in forests will change significantly.
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Differential effects of American pokeweed (Phytolacca americana) invasion on ground-dwelling forest arthropods in southwest Germany. Biol Invasions 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-019-02180-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
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Reducing management intensity and isolation as promising tools to enhance ground-dwelling arthropod diversity in urban grasslands. Urban Ecosyst 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s11252-018-0786-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
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Barnett KL, Facey SL. Grasslands, Invertebrates, and Precipitation: A Review of the Effects of Climate Change. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2016; 7:1196. [PMID: 27547213 PMCID: PMC4974256 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2016.01196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2016] [Accepted: 07/26/2016] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Invertebrates are the main components of faunal diversity in grasslands, playing substantial roles in ecosystem processes including nutrient cycling and pollination. Grassland invertebrate communities are heavily dependent on the plant diversity and production within a given system. Climate change models predict alterations in precipitation patterns, both in terms of the amount of total inputs and the frequency, seasonality and intensity with which these inputs occur, which will impact grassland productivity. Given the ecological, economic and biodiversity value of grasslands, and their importance globally as areas of carbon storage and agricultural development, it is in our interest to understand how predicted alterations in precipitation patterns will affect grasslands and the invertebrate communities they contain. Here, we review the findings from manipulative and observational studies which have examined invertebrate responses to altered rainfall, with a particular focus on large-scale field experiments employing precipitation manipulations. Given the tight associations between invertebrate communities and their underlying plant communities, invertebrate responses to altered precipitation generally mirror those of the plants in the system. However, there is evidence that species responses to future precipitation changes will be idiosyncratic and context dependent across trophic levels, challenging our ability to make reliable predictions about how grassland communities will respond to future climatic changes, without further investigation. Thus, moving forward, we recommend increased consideration of invertebrate communities in current and future rainfall manipulation platforms, as well as the adoption of new technologies to aid such studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirk L. Barnett
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, PenrithNSW, Australia
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Fartmann T, Borchard F, Buchholz S. Montane heathland rejuvenation by choppering—Effects on vascular plant and arthropod assemblages. J Nat Conserv 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jnc.2015.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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