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Belitz MW, Sawyer A, Hendrick LK, Kawahara AY, Guralnick RP. Substantial urbanization-driven declines of larval and adult moths in a subtropical environment. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17241. [PMID: 38525809 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2023] [Revised: 02/22/2024] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/26/2024]
Abstract
Recent work has shown the decline of insect abundance, diversity and biomass, with potential implications for ecosystem services. These declines are especially pronounced in regions with high human activity, and urbanization is emerging as a significant contributing factor. However, the scale of these declines and the traits that determine variation in species-specific responses remain less well understood, especially in subtropical and tropical regions, where insect diversity is high and urban footprints are rapidly expanding. Here, we surveyed moths across an entire year in protected forested sites across an urbanization gradient to test how caterpillar and adult life stages of subtropical moths (Lepidoptera) are impacted by urbanization. Specifically, we assess how urban development affects the total biomass of caterpillars, abundance of adult moths and quantify how richness and phylogenetic diversity of macro-moths are impacted by urban development. Additionally, we explore how life-history traits condition species' responses to urban development. At the community level, we find that urban development decreases caterpillar biomass and adult moth abundance. We also find sharp declines of adult macro-moths in response to urban development across the phylogeny, leading to a decrease in species richness and phylogenetic diversity in more urban sites. Finally, our study found that smaller macro-moths are less impacted by urban development than larger macro-moths in subtropical environments, perhaps highlighting the tradeoffs of metabolic costs of urban heat favoring smaller moths over the relative benefits of dispersal for larger moths. In summary, our research underscores the far-reaching consequences of urbanization on moths and provides compelling evidence that urban forests alone may not be sufficient to safeguard biodiversity in cities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael W Belitz
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
- Biodiversity Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
- Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Program, Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
| | - Asia Sawyer
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Lillian K Hendrick
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
- McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Akito Y Kawahara
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
- McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Robert P Guralnick
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
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2
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Grenis K, Nufio C, Wimp GM, Murphy SM. Does artificial light at night alter moth community composition? Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20220365. [PMID: 37899018 PMCID: PMC10613536 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Accepted: 08/28/2023] [Indexed: 10/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Ecological studies investigating the effects of artificial light at night (ALAN) have primarily focused on single or a few species, and seldom on community-level dynamics. As ALAN is a potential cause of insect and biodiversity declines, community-level perspectives are essential. We empirically tested the hypothesis that moth species differentially respond to ALAN and that these responses can cause shifts in community composition. We sampled moths from prairie fragments in Colorado, USA. We tested whether local light sources, sky glow, site area and/or vegetation affected moth community diversity. We found that increased sky glow decreased moth abundance and species richness and shifted community composition. Increased sky glow shifted moth community composition when light and bait traps were combined; notably this result appears to be driven entirely by moths sampled at bait traps, which is an unbiased sampling technique. Our results show that ALAN has significant effects on moth communities and that local light sources have contrasting effects on moth community composition compared to sky glow. It is imperative that we better understand the contrasting effects of types of ALAN to comprehend the overall impacts of light pollution on biodiversity declines. This article is part of the theme issue 'Light pollution in complex ecological systems'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kylee Grenis
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Denver, Denver, CO, 80210, USA
| | - César Nufio
- University of Colorado Museum of Natural History, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA
- BioInteractive Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD, 20815, USA
| | - Gina M. Wimp
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, 20057, USA
| | - Shannon M. Murphy
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Denver, Denver, CO, 80210, USA
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3
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Warson J, Baguette M, Stevens VM, Honnay O, De Kort H. The impact of habitat loss on molecular signatures of coevolution between an iconic butterfly (Alcon blue) and its host plant (Marsh gentian). J Hered 2023; 114:22-34. [PMID: 36749638 DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esac059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2022] [Accepted: 10/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Habitat loss is threatening natural communities worldwide. Small and isolated populations suffer from inbreeding and genetic drift, which jeopardize their long-term survival and adaptive capacities. However, the consequences of habitat loss for reciprocal coevolutionary interactions remain poorly studied. In this study, we investigated the effects of decreasing habitat patch size and connectivity associated with habitat loss on molecular signatures of coevolution in the Alcon blue butterfly (Phengaris alcon) and its most limited host, the marsh gentian (Gentiana pneumonanthe). Because reciprocal coevolution is characterized by negative frequency-dependent selection as a particular type of balancing selection, we investigated how signatures of balancing selection vary along a gradient of patch size and connectivity, using single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We found that signatures of coevolution were unaffected by patch characteristics in the host plants. On the other hand, more pronounced signatures of coevolution were observed in both spatially isolated and in large Alcon populations, together with pronounced spatial variation in SNPs that are putatively involved in coevolution. These findings suggest that habitat loss can facilitate coevolution in large butterfly populations through limiting swamping of locally beneficial alleles by maladaptive ones. We also found that allelic richness (Ar) of the coevolutionary SNPs is decoupled from neutral Ar in the butterfly, indicating that habitat loss has different effects on coevolutionary as compared with neutral processes. We conclude that this specialized coevolutionary system requires particular conservation interventions aiming at generating a spatial mosaic of both connected and of isolated habitat to maintain coevolutionary dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonas Warson
- Plant Conservation and Population Biology, Department of Biology, University of Leuven, Heverlee, Belgium
- Leuven Plant Institute, Heverlee, Belgium
| | - Michel Baguette
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, SETE Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale, UMR 5321, Moulis, France
- Institut Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), UMR 7205 Museum National d'HistoireNaturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université des Antilles, Paris, France
| | - Virginie M Stevens
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, SETE Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale, UMR 5321, Moulis, France
| | - Olivier Honnay
- Plant Conservation and Population Biology, Department of Biology, University of Leuven, Heverlee, Belgium
- Leuven Plant Institute, Heverlee, Belgium
| | - Hanne De Kort
- Plant Conservation and Population Biology, Department of Biology, University of Leuven, Heverlee, Belgium
- Leuven Plant Institute, Heverlee, Belgium
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4
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Plenderleith FA, Palmer SC, Travis JM, Lancaster LT, Stockan JA, Mitchell RJ. The consequences of tree disease and pre-emptive felling on functional and genetic connectivity for woodland invertebrates. ECOL INFORM 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoinf.2022.101820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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5
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González Fradejas G, García de León D, Vasar M, Koorem K, Zobel M, Öpik M, Moora M, Rey Benayas JM. Hedgerows increase the diversity and modify the composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in Mediterranean agricultural landscapes. MYCORRHIZA 2022; 32:397-407. [PMID: 36087125 PMCID: PMC9561024 DOI: 10.1007/s00572-022-01090-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2022] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Sustainable agriculture is essential to address global challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss. Hedgerows enhance aboveground biodiversity and provide ecosystem services, but little is known about their impact on soil biota. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are one of the key components of belowground biodiversity. We compared the diversity and composition of AM fungal communities at four farmland sites located in Central Spain, where 132 soil samples in total were collected to assess soil physical and chemical properties and the AM fungal communities. We compared the richness (number of AM fungal taxa), taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity, and structure of the AM fungal communities across three farmland habitat types, namely hedgerows, woody crops (olive groves and vineyard), and herbaceous crops (barley, sunflower, and wheat). Our results showed positive effects of hedgerows on most diversity metrics. Almost 60% of the AM fungal taxa were shared among the three farmland habitat types. Hedgerows increased AM fungal taxonomic richness (31%) and alpha diversity (25%), and especially so compared to herbaceous crops (45% and 28%, respectively). Hedgerows harbored elevated proportions of AM fungi with non-ruderal life-history strategies. AM fungal communities were more similar between hedgerows and woody crops than between hedgerows and adjacent herbaceous crops, possibly because of differences in tillage and fertilization. Unexpectedly, hedgerows reduced phylogenetic diversity, which might be related to more selective associations of AM fungi with woody plants than with herbaceous crops. Overall, the results suggest that planting hedgerows contributes to maintain belowground diversity. Thus, European farmers should plant more hedgerows to attain the goals of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillermo González Fradejas
- Grupo de Ecología y Restauración Forestal (FORECO), Departamento de Ciencias de La Vida, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - David García de León
- Grupo de Ecología y Restauración Forestal (FORECO), Departamento de Ciencias de La Vida, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain.
| | - Martti Vasar
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Kadri Koorem
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Martin Zobel
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Maarja Öpik
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Mari Moora
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - José María Rey Benayas
- Grupo de Ecología y Restauración Forestal (FORECO), Departamento de Ciencias de La Vida, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
- Fundación Internacional para la Restauración de Ecosistemas, Madrid, Spain
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6
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Blumgart D, Botham MS, Menéndez R, Bell JR. Moth declines are most severe in broadleaf woodlands despite a net gain in habitat availability. INSECT CONSERVATION AND DIVERSITY 2022; 15:496-509. [PMID: 36247721 PMCID: PMC9545439 DOI: 10.1111/icad.12578] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2021] [Revised: 03/25/2022] [Accepted: 03/28/2022] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
While agricultural intensification and habitat loss are cited as key drivers of moth decline, these alone cannot explain declines observed in UK woodlands - a habitat that has expanded in area since 1968.We quantified how moth communities changed across habitats and regions and determined how species traits interacted with habitat in predicting moth abundance change. We hypothesised that, in woodlands, species more vulnerable to shading and browsing by deer (species specialising on forbs, shrubs and shade-intolerant plants) had declined more severely than other species, and that moth decline in woodlands was more severe at sites more susceptible to deer damage.We modelled abundance, biomass, species richness and diversity from 1968 to 2016 and explored how these interacted with habitat and region. We also modelled the interaction between habitat and two moth species traits: larval feeding guild and shade-tolerance of hostplant.Moth declines were consistently highest in broadleaf woodland. Abundance, biomass, species richness and diversity declined significantly by -51%, -52%, -14% and -15% in woodlands, respectively, compared to national trends of -34%, -39%, -1% (non-significant) and +10%. Declines were no greater in woodlands more susceptible to deer browsing damage. Traits based analysis found no evidence that shading and intensive browsing by deer explained moth declines in woodland.Moth decline was more severe in broadleaf woodlands than in intensively managed farmlands. We found no evidence that deer browsing or increased shading has driven these trends: the primary cause of the decline of moths in woodlands remains unclear.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan Blumgart
- Rothamsted Insect Survey, Biointeractions and Crop ProtectionRothamsted ResearchWest Common, HarpendenUK
| | - Marc S. Botham
- Centre for Ecology & HydrologyCrowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, OxfordshireUK
| | - Rosa Menéndez
- Lancaster Environment CentreLancaster UniversityLancasterUK
| | - James R. Bell
- Rothamsted Insect Survey, Biointeractions and Crop ProtectionRothamsted ResearchWest Common, HarpendenUK
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7
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Fuentes‐Montemayor E, Watts K, Sansum P, Scott W, Park KJ. Moth community responses to woodland creation: The influence of woodland age, patch characteristics and landscape attributes. DIVERS DISTRIB 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.13599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Fuentes‐Montemayor
- Biological and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences University of Stirling Stirling UK
| | - Kevin Watts
- Biological and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences University of Stirling Stirling UK
- Forest Research, Alice Holt Lodge Farnham, Surrey UK
| | - Philip Sansum
- Biological and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences University of Stirling Stirling UK
| | - Will Scott
- Biological and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences University of Stirling Stirling UK
| | - Kirsty J. Park
- Biological and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences University of Stirling Stirling UK
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8
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Lamarre GPA, Pardikes NA, Segar S, Hackforth CN, Laguerre M, Vincent B, Lopez Y, Perez F, Bobadilla R, Silva JAR, Basset Y. More winners than losers over 12 years of monitoring tiger moths (Erebidae: Arctiinae) on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Biol Lett 2022; 18:20210519. [PMID: 35382585 PMCID: PMC8984363 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2021.0519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding the causes and consequences of insect declines has become an important goal in ecology, particularly in the tropics, where most terrestrial diversity exists. Over the past 12 years, the ForestGEO Arthropod Initiative has systematically monitored multiple insect groups on Barro Colorado Island (BCI), Panama, providing baseline data for assessing long-term population trends. Here, we estimate the rates of change in abundance among 96 tiger moth species on BCI. Population trends of most species were stable (n = 20) or increasing (n = 62), with few (n = 14) declining species. Our analysis of morphological and climatic sensitivity traits associated with population trends shows that species-specific responses to climate were most strongly linked with trends. Specifically, tiger moth species that are more abundant in warmer and wetter years are more likely to show population increases. Our study contrasts with recent findings indicating insect decline in tropical and temperate regions. These results highlight the significant role of biotic responses to climate in determining long-term population trends and suggest that future climate changes are likely to impact tropical insect communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Greg P A Lamarre
- Department of Ecology, Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice 37005, Czech Republic.,Faculty of Sciences, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic.,ForestGEO, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Panamá City, Republic of Panamá
| | - Nicholas A Pardikes
- Department of Ecology, Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice 37005, Czech Republic.,Department of Life and Earth Sciences, Perimeter College, Georgia State University, Atlanta, USA
| | - Simon Segar
- Agriculture and Environment Department, Harper Adams University, Newport, Shropshire TF10 8NB, UK
| | - Charles N Hackforth
- Department of Geography, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Michel Laguerre
- Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Département Systématique et Évolution, Entomologie, 57 rue Cuvier, Paris, France
| | - Benoît Vincent
- Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Département Systématique et Évolution, Entomologie, 57 rue Cuvier, Paris, France
| | - Yacksecari Lopez
- ForestGEO, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Panamá City, Republic of Panamá
| | - Filonila Perez
- ForestGEO, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Panamá City, Republic of Panamá
| | - Ricardo Bobadilla
- ForestGEO, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Panamá City, Republic of Panamá
| | - José Alejandro Ramírez Silva
- ForestGEO, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Panamá City, Republic of Panamá
| | - Yves Basset
- Department of Ecology, Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice 37005, Czech Republic.,Faculty of Sciences, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic.,ForestGEO, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Panamá City, Republic of Panamá.,Maestria de Entomologia, Universidad de Panamá, Apartado 3366, Panamá 4, Panamá
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9
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García de León D, Rey Benayas JM, Andivia E. Contributions of Hedgerows to People: A Global Meta-Analysis. FRONTIERS IN CONSERVATION SCIENCE 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fcosc.2021.789612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Hedgerows are linear landscape features of woody vegetation usually located around agricultural fields. An increasing number of studies have addressed the effects of hedgerows on biodiversity and ecosystem services. This study is aimed to synthesize these effects and compare the levels of biodiversity and ecosystem services in farmland with hedgerows and (1) farmland without hedgerows and (2) nearby natural habitat at the global scale. We hypothesized that farmland with hedgerows (1) enhances biodiversity and ecosystem services as compared to farmland without hedgerows but (2) supports lower levels of biodiversity and ecosystem services than natural habitat. Our systematic literature review retained 835 observations from 170 primary studies, which were analyzed following the standard methodology in meta-analyses. Our results partially support both hypotheses. Farmland with hedgerows exhibited higher levels of biodiversity and provisioning services than farmland without hedgerows (H1). Farmland with hedgerows provided similar levels of biodiversity (edge effects) but lower levels of ecosystem services than natural habitat (H2). The effects of hedgerows on biodiversity and ecosystem services depended on control ecosystem type (grassland/meadow or forest/woodland) but were largely independent of climate type (temperate or tropical) and the focus of spatial scale (field or landscape). In conclusion, conservation and restoration of hedgerows contribute to people in several ways by enhancing biodiversity and multifunctionality in agricultural landscapes.
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10
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11
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Gray REJ, Rodriguez LF, Lewis OT, Chung AYC, Ovaskainen O, Slade EM. Movement of forest‐dependent dung beetles through riparian buffers in Bornean oil palm plantations. J Appl Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.14049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ross E. J. Gray
- Department of Zoology University of Oxford Oxford UK
- Department of Life Sciences Imperial College London Ascot UK
| | - Luisa F. Rodriguez
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
| | - Owen T. Lewis
- Department of Zoology University of Oxford Oxford UK
| | | | - Otso Ovaskainen
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science University of Jyväskylä Jyväskylä Finland
- Department of Biology Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim Norway
| | - Eleanor M. Slade
- Department of Zoology University of Oxford Oxford UK
- Asian School of the Environment Nanyang Technological University Singapore City Singapore
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12
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Phenotypic variation in a neotropical understory bird driven by environmental change in an urbanizing Amazonian landscape. Oecologia 2021; 196:763-779. [PMID: 34259906 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-021-04976-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2020] [Accepted: 06/19/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Environmental change through habitat fragmentation and urbanization drives biodiversity loss in the Neotropics at an alarming rate. Some individuals and species confined to habitat fragments may develop phenotypic adjustments that allow populations to persist, even in landscapes made harsh by human activities. Behavioral and morphological adjustments may enhance a population's ability to cope with anthropogenic hazards. We examined potential differences in the behavioral and morphological phenotype of populations of the neotropical Wedge-billed Woodcreeper (Glyphorynchus spirurus)-an understory forest specialist insectivorous bird-between populations from urban fragmented forests and continuous preserved forests. We evaluated exploratory behavior and morphological traits using generalized linear models and linear discriminant analysis to quantify phenotypical differences among populations. We used failure time analysis to compare latency to explore and move during exploration in a Novel Environment Test (NET). Our analyses detected differences in certain movement behaviors (latencies to move during NET), indicating that individuals from fragmented forests are slow explorers in relation to individuals from the continuous forest. We also found shorter tarsi and tails in the fragmented forest population which were attributed to an overall reduction in body size in these populations. Our results suggest that environmental change driven by fragmentation in an urban landscape is causing population differentiation, but we cannot ascribe observed variations to evolutionary processes only, as the differences observed may be explained by other processes too. However, we suggest that phenotypic differences may be aiding this small understory forest specialist to persist in an urban fragmented landscape.
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13
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Straka TM, von der Lippe M, Voigt CC, Gandy M, Kowarik I, Buchholz S. Light pollution impairs urban nocturnal pollinators but less so in areas with high tree cover. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 778:146244. [PMID: 33714820 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2020] [Revised: 02/25/2021] [Accepted: 02/27/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The increase in artificial light at night (ALAN) is widely considered as a major driver for the worldwide decline of nocturnal pollinators such as moths. However, the relationship between light and trees as 'islands of shade' within urban areas has not yet been fully understood. Here, we studied (1) the effects of three landscape variables, i.e. sources of ALAN (mercury vapour/LED street lamps; overall light pollution), impervious surfaces (e.g. roads, parking lots and buildings), and tree cover on species richness and abundance of two major macro-moth families (Noctuidae and Geometridae) and (2) the potential mitigating effect of trees on macro-moths attracted to ALAN. We undertook a landscape-scale study on 22 open green areas along an urban-rural gradient within Berlin, Germany, using light traps to collect moths. Macro-moths were identified to species level and GLMMs applied with the three landscape variables at different scales (100 m, 500 m and 1000 m). We found a significant negative effect of mercury vapour street lamps on macro-moth species richness, while impervious surfaces showed significant negative effects on abundance (total and Geometridae). We further found significant positive effects of tree cover density on species richness and abundance (total and Geometridae). Effects of tree cover, however, were mostly driven by one site. LED lamps showed no predictive effects. A negative effect of ALAN (MV lamps and overall light) on macro-moths was most prominent in areas with low tree coverage, indicating a mitigating effect of trees on ALAN. We conclude that mercury vapour street lamps should be replaced by ecologically more neutral ALAN, and that in lit and open areas trees could be planted to mitigate the negative effect of ALAN on nocturnal pollinators. In addition, sources of ALAN should be carefully managed, using movement detection technology and other means to ensure that light is only produced when necessary.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanja M Straka
- Technische Universität Berlin, Institute of Ecology, Ecosystem Science and Plant Ecology, 12165 Berlin, Germany; Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), 14195 Berlin, Germany.
| | - Moritz von der Lippe
- Technische Universität Berlin, Institute of Ecology, Ecosystem Science and Plant Ecology, 12165 Berlin, Germany; Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), 14195 Berlin, Germany.
| | - Christian C Voigt
- Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), 14195 Berlin, Germany; Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany.
| | - Matthew Gandy
- University of Cambridge, Department of Geography, Downing Place, Cambridge CB2 3EN, UK.
| | - Ingo Kowarik
- Technische Universität Berlin, Institute of Ecology, Ecosystem Science and Plant Ecology, 12165 Berlin, Germany; Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), 14195 Berlin, Germany.
| | - Sascha Buchholz
- Technische Universität Berlin, Institute of Ecology, Ecosystem Science and Plant Ecology, 12165 Berlin, Germany; Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), 14195 Berlin, Germany.
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14
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Hagge J, Müller J, Birkemoe T, Buse J, Christensen RHB, Gossner MM, Gruppe A, Heibl C, Jarzabek-Müller A, Seibold S, Siitonen J, Soutinho JG, Sverdrup-Thygeson A, Thorn S, Drag L. What does a threatened saproxylic beetle look like? Modelling extinction risk using a new morphological trait database. J Anim Ecol 2021; 90:1934-1947. [PMID: 33942309 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Accepted: 04/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The extinction of species is a non-random process, and understanding why some species are more likely to go extinct than others is critical for conservation efforts. Functional trait-based approaches offer a promising tool to achieve this goal. In forests, deadwood-dependent (saproxylic) beetles comprise a major part of threatened species, but analyses of their extinction risk have been hindered by the availability of suitable morphological traits. To better understand the mechanisms underlying extinction in insects, we investigated the relationships between morphological features and the extinction risk of saproxylic beetles. Specifically, we hypothesised that species darker in colour, with a larger and rounder body, a lower mobility, lower sensory perception and more robust mandibles are at higher risk. We first developed a protocol for morphological trait measurements and present a database of 37 traits for 1,157 European saproxylic beetle species. Based on 13 selected, independent traits characterising aspects of colour, body shape, locomotion, sensory perception and foraging, we used a proportional-odds multiple linear mixed-effects model to model the German Red List categories of 744 species as an ordinal index of extinction risk. Six out of 13 traits correlated significantly with extinction risk. Larger species as well as species with a broad and round body had a higher extinction risk than small, slim and flattened species. Species with short wings had a higher extinction risk than those with long wings. On the contrary, extinction risk increased with decreasing wing load and with higher mandibular aspect ratio (shorter and more robust mandibles). Our study provides new insights into how morphological traits, beyond the widely used body size, determine the extinction risk of saproxylic beetles. Moreover, our approach shows that the morphological characteristics of beetles can be comprehensively represented by a selection of 13 traits. We recommend them as a starting point for functional analyses in the rapidly growing field of ecological and conservation studies of deadwood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonas Hagge
- Forest Nature Conservation, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.,Forest Nature Conservation, Northwest German Forest Research Institute, Münden, Germany
| | - Jörg Müller
- Bavarian Forest National Park, Grafenau, Germany.,Field Station Fabrikschleichach, Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Rauhenebrach, Germany
| | - Tone Birkemoe
- The Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway
| | - Jörn Buse
- Black Forest National Park, Freudenstadt, Germany
| | | | - Martin M Gossner
- Forest Entomology, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland.,ETH Zurich, Department of Environmental Systems Science, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Axel Gruppe
- Chair of Zoology, Entomology Research Group, Technical University of Munich, Freising, Germany
| | | | | | - Sebastian Seibold
- Ecosystem Dynamics and Forest Management Group, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Technical University of Munich, Freising, Germany.,Berchtesgaden National Park, Berchtesgaden, Germany
| | - Juha Siitonen
- Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Helsinki, Finland
| | | | - Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson
- The Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway
| | - Simon Thorn
- Field Station Fabrikschleichach, Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Rauhenebrach, Germany
| | - Lukas Drag
- Field Station Fabrikschleichach, Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Rauhenebrach, Germany
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15
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Uhl B, Wölfling M, Fiedler K. Qualitative and Quantitative Loss of Habitat at Different Spatial Scales Affects Functional Moth Diversity. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.637371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Land use change has led to large-scale insect decline, threatening ecosystem resilience through reduced functional diversity. Even in nature reserves, losses in insect diversity have been detected. Hereby, changes in local habitat quality and landscape-scale habitat quantity can play a role driving functional diversity toward erosion. Our aim was to analyze how local and landscape-scale factors simultaneously affect functional insect diversity. Therefore, we sampled moths in two Italian coastal forest reserves at 60 sites. Our focus was on functional richness, redundancy and niche occupation, being important for ecosystem resilience, following the insurance framework. Ecological information about 387 species and 14 traits was used to analyze functional diversity. Twenty-five functional groups were recognized and used to estimate niche occupation and redundancy. Fourteen local and 12 landscape-scale factors were measured and condensed by using Principal Components Analysis. The resulting PC-axes served as predictors in linear mixed effects models. Functional richness, redundancy and niche occupation of moths were lower at sites with low habitat quality and quantity, indicating reduced ecosystem resilience. Especially landscape diversity and habitat structure, viz. a humidity-nutrient gradient, but also plant diversity, were promoting functional richness. Landscape fragmentation, indicating increased impermeability for insects, reduced local functional richness, redundancy and niche occupation. Local habitat quality and landscape-wide habitat quantity are both important for maintaining functional insect diversity inside reserves. Therefore, small and isolated nature reserves might fail in preserving biodiversity and ecosystem functions through adverse effects acting from the surrounding landscape structure and configuration.
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16
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Cahill JRA, Merckx T, Van Dyck H, Fernández M, Matthysen E. Lower density of arthropod biomass in small high‐Andes
Polylepis
fragments affects habitat use in insectivorous birds. Ecosphere 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer R. A. Cahill
- Centro de Biodiversidad y Genética Facultad de Ciencias y Tecnología Universidad Mayor de San Simón Cochabamba Bolivia
| | - Thomas Merckx
- Behavioural Ecology and Conservation Group Biodiversity Research Centre, Earth and Life Institute Université Catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain) Louvain‐la‐Neuve Belgium
- Department of Ecology and Genetics University of Oulu Oulu Finland
| | - Hans Van Dyck
- Behavioural Ecology and Conservation Group Biodiversity Research Centre, Earth and Life Institute Université Catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain) Louvain‐la‐Neuve Belgium
| | - Milton Fernández
- Centro de Biodiversidad y Genética Facultad de Ciencias y Tecnología Universidad Mayor de San Simón Cochabamba Bolivia
| | - Erik Matthysen
- Evolutionary Ecology Research Group University of Antwerp Antwerp Belgium
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17
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From forest to fragment: compositional differences inside coastal forest moth assemblages and their environmental correlates. Oecologia 2021; 195:453-467. [PMID: 33523300 PMCID: PMC7882585 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-021-04861-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2020] [Accepted: 01/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Patterns of β-diversity can provide insight into forces shaping community assembly. We analyzed species-rich insect assemblages in two reserve fragments that had once been part of one contiguous Mediterranean coastal pine forest. Local environments are still similar across both fragments, but their landscape context differs strongly, with one surrounded by intense agricultural land, while the other neighbors the urbanized area of Ravenna. Using 23,870 light-trap records of 392 moth species, and multiple local and landscape metrics, we compared the relative importance of habitat- versus landscape-scale environmental factors for shaping small-scale variation in differentiation and proportional insect β-diversity across 30 sites per reserve. Moth assemblage composition differed substantially between fragments, most likely due to ecological drift and landscape-scale variation. For proportional β-diversity, especially local forest structure was important. At well-developed forest sites, additive homogenization could be observed, whereas the lack of typical forest species at dry, dense, and younger forest sites increased species turnover (subtractive heterogenization). For differentiation β-diversity, local and landscape-scale factors were equally important in both reserves. At the landscape-scale (500 m radius around light-trapping sites) the proximity to urban areas and the fraction of human-altered land were most important. At the habitat scale, gradients in soil humidity, nutrient levels and forest structure mattered most, whereas plant diversity had very little explanatory power. Overall, landscape-scale anthropogenic alterations had major effects on moth communities inside the two conservation areas. Yet, even for these parts of one formerly contiguous forest trajectories in community change were remarkably idiosyncratic.
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18
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Balbi M, Croci S, Petit EJ, Butet A, Georges R, Madec L, Caudal J, Ernoult A. Least‐cost path analysis for urban greenways planning: A test with moths and birds across two habitats and two cities. J Appl Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Manon Balbi
- UMR CNRS ECOBIO Université de Rennes 1 Rennes France
| | - Solène Croci
- CNRSUniversité Rennes 2UMR 6554 LETG Rennes France
| | - Eric J. Petit
- ESE, Ecology and Ecosystem Health Agrocampus OuestINRAE Rennes France
| | - Alain Butet
- UMR CNRS ECOBIO Université de Rennes 1 Rennes France
| | | | - Luc Madec
- UMR CNRS ECOBIO Université de Rennes 1 Rennes France
| | | | - Aude Ernoult
- UMR CNRS ECOBIO Université de Rennes 1 Rennes France
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19
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Wölfling M, Uhl B, Fiedler K. Ecological Drift and Directional Community Change in an Isolated Mediterranean Forest Reserve-Larger Moth Species Under Higher Threat. JOURNAL OF INSECT SCIENCE (ONLINE) 2020; 20:5908288. [PMID: 32948873 PMCID: PMC7500980 DOI: 10.1093/jisesa/ieaa097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2020] [Indexed: 04/29/2023]
Abstract
Long-term data are important to understand the changes in ecological communities over time but are quite rare for insects. We analyzed such changes using historic museum collections. For our study area, an isolated forest reserve in North-East Italy, data from the past 80 yr were available. We used records of 300 moth species to analyze whether extinction risk was linked to their body size or to their degree of ecological specialization. Specialization was scored 1) by classifying larval food affiliations, habitat preferences, and the northern distributional limit and 2) by analyzing functional dispersion (FDis) within species assemblages over time. Our results show that locally extinct species (mean wingspan: 37.0 mm) were larger than persistent (33.2 mm) or previously unrecorded ones (30.7 mm), leading to a smaller mean wingspan of the moth community over time. Some ecological filters appear to have selected against bigger species. By using coarse specialization categories, we did not observe any relationship with local extinction risk. However, FDis, calculated across 12 species traits, significantly decreased over time. We conclude that simple classification systems might fail in reflecting changes in community-wide specialization. Multivariate approaches such as FDis may provide deeper insight, as they reflect a variety of ecological niche dimensions. With the abandonment of extensive land use practices, natural succession seems to have shifted the moth community toward a preponderance of forest-affiliated species, leading to decreased FDis values. Multivariate analyses of species composition also confirmed that the moth community has significantly changed during the last 80 yr.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirko Wölfling
- Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Rennweg, Vienna, Austria
| | - Britta Uhl
- Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Rennweg, Vienna, Austria
| | - Konrad Fiedler
- Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Rennweg, Vienna, Austria
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20
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Ecosystem decay exacerbates biodiversity loss with habitat loss. Nature 2020; 584:238-243. [DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2531-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2019] [Accepted: 06/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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21
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Franzén M, Betzholtz PE, Pettersson LB, Forsman A. Urban moth communities suggest that life in the city favours thermophilic multi-dimensional generalists. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20193014. [PMID: 32517620 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.3014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Biodiversity is challenged worldwide by exploitation, global warming, changes in land use and increasing urbanization. It is hypothesized that communities in urban areas should consist primarily of generalist species with broad niches that are able to cope with novel, variable, fragmented, warmer and unpredictable environments shaped by human pressures. We surveyed moth communities in three cities in northern Europe and compared them with neighbouring moth assemblages constituting species pools of potential colonizers. We found that urban moth communities consisted of multi-dimensional generalist species that had larger distribution ranges, more variable colour patterns, longer reproductive seasons, broader diets, were more likely to overwinter as an egg, more thermophilic, and occupied more habitat types compared with moth communities in surrounding areas. When body size was analysed separately, results indicated that city occupancy was associated with larger size, but this effect disappeared when body size was analysed together with the other traits. Our findings indicate that urbanization imposes a spatial filtering process in favour of thermophilic species characterized by high intraspecific diversity and multi-dimensional generalist lifestyles over specialized species with narrow niches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus Franzén
- Ecology and Evolution in Microbial Model Systems, EEMIS, Department of Biology and Environmental Science, Linnaeus University, 39182 Kalmar, Sweden
| | | | - Lars B Pettersson
- Biodiversity Unit, Department of Biology, Lund University, 22362 Lund, Sweden
| | - Anders Forsman
- Ecology and Evolution in Microbial Model Systems, EEMIS, Department of Biology and Environmental Science, Linnaeus University, 39182 Kalmar, Sweden
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22
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23
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Baroja U, Garin I, Aihartza J, Arrizabalaga-Escudero A, Vallejo N, Aldasoro M, Goiti U. Pest consumption in a vineyard system by the lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros). PLoS One 2019; 14:e0219265. [PMID: 31318887 PMCID: PMC6638854 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0219265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2019] [Accepted: 06/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Herbivorous arthropods cause immense damage in crop production annually. Consumption of these pests by insectivorous animals is of significant importance to counteract their adverse effects. Insectivorous bats are considered amongst the most voracious predators of arthropods, some of which are known crop pests. In vineyard-dominated Mediterranean agroecosystems, several crops are damaged by the attack of insect pests. In this study we aimed 1) to explore the diet and pest consumption of the lesser horseshoe bat Rhinolophus hipposideros and 2) analyse whether the composition of pest species in its diet changes throughout the season. We employed a dual-primer DNA metabarcoding analysis of DNA extracted from faeces collected in three bat colonies of a wine region in Southwestern Europe during the whole active period of most pest species. Overall, 395 arthropod prey species belonging to 11 orders were detected; lepidopterans and dipterans were the most diverse orders in terms of species. Altogether, 55 pest species were identified, 25 of which are known to cause significant agricultural damage and 8 are regarded as pests affecting grapevines. The composition of pest species in faeces changed significantly with the season, thus suggesting several periods should be sampled to assess the pest consumption by bats. As a whole, the results imply that R. hipposideros acts as a suppressor of a wide array of agricultural pests in Mediterranean agroecosystems. Therefore, management measures favouring the growth of R. hipposideros populations should be considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Unai Baroja
- Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Leioa, Basque Country
| | - Inazio Garin
- Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Leioa, Basque Country
| | - Joxerra Aihartza
- Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Leioa, Basque Country
| | - Aitor Arrizabalaga-Escudero
- Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Leioa, Basque Country
| | - Nerea Vallejo
- Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Leioa, Basque Country
| | - Miren Aldasoro
- Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Leioa, Basque Country
| | - Urtzi Goiti
- Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Leioa, Basque Country
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24
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Kaemingk MA, Swearer SE, Bury SJ, Shima JS. Landscape edges shape dispersal and population structure of a migratory fish. Oecologia 2019; 190:579-588. [PMID: 31230154 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-019-04440-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2019] [Accepted: 06/17/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Many freshwater organisms have a life-history stage that can disperse through seawater. This has obvious benefits for colonization and connectivity of fragmented sub-populations, but requires a physiologically challenging migration across a salinity boundary. We consider the role of landscape boundaries between freshwater and seawater habitats, and evaluate their potential effects on traits and developmental histories of larvae and juveniles (i.e., dispersing life-history stages) of an amphidromous fish, Galaxias maculatus. We sampled juvenile fish on their return to 20 rivers in New Zealand: 10 rivers had abrupt transitions to the sea (i.e., emptying to an open coastline); these were paired with 10 nearby rivers that had gradual transitions to the sea (i.e., emptying into estuarine embayments). We reconstructed individual dispersal histories using otolith microstructure, otolith microchemistry, and stable isotope analysis. We found that fish recruiting to embayment rivers had distinct dispersal and foraging histories, were slower growing, smaller in size, and older than fish recruiting to nearby non-embayment rivers. Our results indicate that landscape edges can affect dispersal capabilities of aquatic organisms, potentially leading to divergent life-history strategies (i.e., limited- versus widespread-dispersal). Patterns also suggest that dispersal potential among landscape boundaries can create heterogeneity in the traits of individuals, with implications for metapopulation dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- M A Kaemingk
- Victoria University Coastal Ecology Laboratory, School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, 6140, New Zealand. .,Current Address: Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, 68583, USA.
| | - S E Swearer
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - S J Bury
- National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd, Greta Point, 301 Evans Bay Parade, Hataitai, Wellington, 6021, New Zealand
| | - J S Shima
- Victoria University Coastal Ecology Laboratory, School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, 6140, New Zealand
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25
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Wölfling M, Uhl B, Fiedler K. Multi-decadal surveys in a Mediterranean forest reserve – do succession and isolation drive moth species richness? NATURE CONSERVATION 2019. [DOI: 10.3897/natureconservation.35.32934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Isolated fragments of semi-natural habitats are often embedded in a landscape matrix that is hostile to organisms of conservation concern. Such habitat islands are prone to changes in their biota over time. For insects, few studies on long-term trends in species richness within conservation areas are available, mainly due to the lack of historical data. We here use moths in the coastal pine wood reserve Pineta san Vitale (Ravenna, NE Italy) to assess how local fauna has changed over the last 85 years. This reserve has experienced massive changes in vegetation structure due to secondary succession. We compared historical collections (1933–1976: 107 species; and 1977–1996: 157 species) with our own samples (1997–2002: 174 species; and 2011+2012: 187 species). Over the last 85 years, the proportion of habitat generalists in relation to all recorded moth species increased from 20 to 33%. The fractions of woodland and open habitat species concomitantly decreased by 10 percentage points, respectively. Amongst woodland and habitat generalist species, gains outnumbered losses. In contrast, 18 species of open habitats and 10 reed species were lost over the decades. We attribute these changes to vegetation succession and to the isolation of the reserve. Generalist species are presumably better able to pass through anthropogenically exploited landscapes and colonise isolated habitat fragments than habitat specialists.
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26
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Dantas de Miranda M, Borda‐de‐Água L, Pereira HM, Merckx T. Species traits shape the relationship between local and regional species abundance distributions. Ecosphere 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Murilo Dantas de Miranda
- Institute of Biology Martin Luther University Halle‐Wittenberg Am Kirchtor 1 06108 Halle (Saale) Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Deutscher Platz 5e 04103 Leipzig Germany
| | - Luís Borda‐de‐Água
- CIBIO/InBIO Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão Rua Padre Armando Quintas 4485‐601 Vairão Portugal
- CEABN/InBIO Centro de Ecologia Aplicada “Professor Baeta Neves” Instituto Superior de Agronomia Universidade de Lisboa Tapada da Ajuda 1349‐017 Lisboa Portugal
| | - Henrique Miguel Pereira
- Institute of Biology Martin Luther University Halle‐Wittenberg Am Kirchtor 1 06108 Halle (Saale) Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Deutscher Platz 5e 04103 Leipzig Germany
- CIBIO/InBIO Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão Rua Padre Armando Quintas 4485‐601 Vairão Portugal
- CEABN/InBIO Centro de Ecologia Aplicada “Professor Baeta Neves” Instituto Superior de Agronomia Universidade de Lisboa Tapada da Ajuda 1349‐017 Lisboa Portugal
| | - Thomas Merckx
- Behavioural Ecology and Conservation Group Biodiversity Research Centre, Earth and Life Institute UCLouvain Croix du Sud 4‐5, bte L7.07.04 BE‐1348 Louvain‐la‐Neuve Belgium
- Department of Ecology and Genetics University of Oulu 3000, FI‐90014 Oulu Finland
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27
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Ovaskainen O, Ramos DL, Slade EM, Merckx T, Tikhonov G, Pennanen J, Pizo MA, Ribeiro MC, Morales JM. Joint species movement modeling: how do traits influence movements? Ecology 2019; 100:e02622. [PMID: 30644540 PMCID: PMC6850360 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2622] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2018] [Revised: 11/27/2018] [Accepted: 01/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Joint species distribution modeling has enabled researchers to move from species-level to community-level analyses, leading to statistically more efficient and ecologically more informative use of data. Here, we propose joint species movement modeling (JSMM) as an analogous approach that enables inferring both species- and community-level movement parameters from multispecies movement data. The species-level movement parameters are modeled as a function of species traits and phylogenetic relationships, allowing one to ask how species traits influence movements, and whether phylogenetically related species are similar in their movement behavior. We illustrate the modeling framework with two contrasting case studies: a stochastic redistribution model for direct observations of bird movements and a spatially structured diffusion model for capture-recapture data on moth movements. In both cases, the JSMM identified several traits that explain differences in movement behavior among species, such as movement rate increasing with body size in both birds and moths. We show with simulations that the JSMM approach increases precision of species-specific parameter estimates by borrowing information from other species that are closely related or have similar traits. The JSMM framework is applicable for many kinds of data, and it facilitates a mechanistic understanding of the causes and consequences of interspecific variation in movement behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Otso Ovaskainen
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 65, Helsinki, 00014, Finland.,Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, N-7491, Norway
| | - Danielle Leal Ramos
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Rio Claro, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Eleanor M Slade
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, United Kingdom
| | - Thomas Merckx
- Behavioural Ecology and Conservation Group, Biodiversity Research Centre, Earth and Life Institute, UCLouvain, Croix du Sud 4-5, bte L7.07.04, Louvain-la-Neuve, BE-1348, Belgium
| | - Gleb Tikhonov
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 65, Helsinki, 00014, Finland
| | - Juho Pennanen
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 65, Helsinki, 00014, Finland
| | - Marco Aurélio Pizo
- Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp), Rio Claro, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Milton Cezar Ribeiro
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Rio Claro, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Juan Manuel Morales
- Grupo de Ecología Cuantitativa, INIBIOMA-CRUB, CONICET, Avenida Pioneros 2350, S.C. de Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina
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28
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Froidevaux JS, Broyles M, Jones G. Moth responses to sympathetic hedgerow management in temperate farmland. AGRICULTURE, ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT 2019; 270-271:55-64. [PMID: 31007322 PMCID: PMC6472680 DOI: 10.1016/j.agee.2018.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2018] [Revised: 10/08/2018] [Accepted: 10/11/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Hedgerows provide valuable habitats and corridors for many species in farmland, yet a lack of appropriate management may threaten their benefits to biodiversity. Although agri-environment scheme (AES) prescriptions on hedgerow management have the potential to reverse the detrimental effect of over-trimming on wildlife, their effectiveness has rarely been addressed. The aims of the study were to (i) assess moth responses to trimming regimes; and (ii) investigate the influence of the surrounding landscape on moth assemblages. We specifically tested the effectiveness of the trimming regime recommended by the targeted AES that was implemented on farms near greater horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum) colonies since it represented the most sympathetic hedgerow management option among English AES options. We sampled adult micro- and macro-moths along 64 hedgerows located within 20 English farms using light traps, and classified moths into two guilds reflecting their larval food preferences, namely grass/herb- and shrub/tree-feeders. Our results suggest that reducing trimming has a positive impact on macro-moth species richness as well as on shrub/tree-feeder abundance and species richness. It also benefited four moth species that are significantly declining in Britain. Furthermore, while the proportion of woodland at a large spatial scale (3.0 km radius around the sampling sites) was positively associated with the abundance of macro-moths and grass/herb-feeders, woodland connectivity had a positive effect on the species richness of grass/herb- and shrub/tree-feeders at large and medium (1.5 km radius) scales, respectively. Both the abundance and species richness of macro-moths and the abundance of shrub/tree-feeders were negatively affected by the presence of arable fields adjacent to hedgerows. Overall, these findings reveal the wider biodiversity benefits of targeted AESs focusing on habitat improvement for R. ferrumequinum, and the importance of woodland in the wider landscape. We therefore strongly recommend implementing a multi-scale management approach (i.e. from field to landscape) through the use of adequate AES prescriptions to conserve moths in agricultural landscapes.
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Mota FMM, Leite MR, Martins WP. Fragmentation dynamics and loss of area of potential occupancy within the distribution limits of the endangered crested capuchin monkey (Sapajus robustus
). Am J Primatol 2018; 80:e22906. [DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22906] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/25/2017] [Revised: 07/08/2018] [Accepted: 07/18/2018] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Flavio M. M. Mota
- Departamento de Biologia Geral; Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde; Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros; Montes Claros MG, Brazil
| | - Manoel R. Leite
- Departamento de Geociências; Centro de Ciências Humanas; Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros; Montes Claros MG, Brazil
| | - Waldney P. Martins
- Departamento de Biologia Geral; Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde; Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros; Montes Claros MG, Brazil
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30
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Merckx T, Kaiser A, Van Dyck H. Increased body size along urbanization gradients at both community and intraspecific level in macro-moths. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2018; 24:3837-3848. [PMID: 29791767 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2017] [Revised: 02/16/2018] [Accepted: 03/02/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Urbanization involves a cocktail of human-induced rapid environmental changes and is forecasted to gain further importance. Urban-heat-island effects result in increased metabolic costs expected to drive shifts towards smaller body sizes. However, urban environments are also characterized by strong habitat fragmentation, often selecting for dispersal phenotypes. Here, we investigate to what extent, and at which spatial scale(s), urbanization drives body size shifts in macro-moths-an insect group characterized by positive size-dispersal links-at both the community and intraspecific level. Using light and bait trapping as part of a replicated, spatially nested sampling design, we show that despite the observed urban warming of their woodland habitat, macro-moth communities display considerable increases in community-weighted mean body size because of stronger filtering against small species along urbanization gradients. Urbanization drives intraspecific shifts towards increased body size too, at least for a third of species analysed. These results indicate that urbanization drives shifts towards larger, and hence, more mobile species and individuals in order to mitigate low connectivity of ecological resources in urban settings. Macro-moths are a key group within terrestrial ecosystems, and since body size is central to species interactions, such urbanization-driven phenotypic change may impact urban ecosystem functioning, especially in terms of nocturnal pollination and food web dynamics. Although we show that urbanization's size-biased filtering happens simultaneously and coherently at both the inter- and intraspecific level, we demonstrate that the impact at the community level is most pronounced at the 800 m radius scale, whereas species-specific size increases happen at local and landscape scales (50-3,200 m radius), depending on the species. Hence, measures-such as creating and improving urban green infrastructure-to mitigate the effects of urbanization on body size will have to be implemented at multiple spatial scales in order to be most effective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Merckx
- Behavioural Ecology and Conservation Group, Biodiversity Research Centre, Earth and Life Institute, Université catholique de Louvain (UCL), Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Aurélien Kaiser
- Behavioural Ecology and Conservation Group, Biodiversity Research Centre, Earth and Life Institute, Université catholique de Louvain (UCL), Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Hans Van Dyck
- Behavioural Ecology and Conservation Group, Biodiversity Research Centre, Earth and Life Institute, Université catholique de Louvain (UCL), Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
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31
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Merckx T, Souffreau C, Kaiser A, Baardsen LF, Backeljau T, Bonte D, Brans KI, Cours M, Dahirel M, Debortoli N, De Wolf K, Engelen JMT, Fontaneto D, Gianuca AT, Govaert L, Hendrickx F, Higuti J, Lens L, Martens K, Matheve H, Matthysen E, Piano E, Sablon R, Schön I, Van Doninck K, De Meester L, Van Dyck H. Body-size shifts in aquatic and terrestrial urban communities. Nature 2018; 558:113-116. [PMID: 29795350 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0140-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 103] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2017] [Accepted: 04/11/2018] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Body size is intrinsically linked to metabolic rate and life-history traits, and is a crucial determinant of food webs and community dynamics1,2. The increased temperatures associated with the urban-heat-island effect result in increased metabolic costs and are expected to drive shifts to smaller body sizes 3 . Urban environments are, however, also characterized by substantial habitat fragmentation 4 , which favours mobile species. Here, using a replicated, spatially nested sampling design across ten animal taxonomic groups, we show that urban communities generally consist of smaller species. In addition, although we show urban warming for three habitat types and associated reduced community-weighted mean body sizes for four taxa, three taxa display a shift to larger species along the urbanization gradients. Our results show that the general trend towards smaller-sized species is overruled by filtering for larger species when there is positive covariation between size and dispersal, a process that can mitigate the low connectivity of ecological resources in urban settings 5 . We thus demonstrate that the urban-heat-island effect and urban habitat fragmentation are associated with contrasting community-level shifts in body size that critically depend on the association between body size and dispersal. Because body size determines the structure and dynamics of ecological networks 1 , such shifts may affect urban ecosystem function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Merckx
- Behavioural Ecology and Conservation Group, Biodiversity Research Centre, Earth and Life Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
| | - Caroline Souffreau
- Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Aurélien Kaiser
- Behavioural Ecology and Conservation Group, Biodiversity Research Centre, Earth and Life Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Lisa F Baardsen
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Thierry Backeljau
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.,Directorate Taxonomy and Phylogeny, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Dries Bonte
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Biology Department, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Kristien I Brans
- Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Marie Cours
- Directorate Natural Environment, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Maxime Dahirel
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Biology Department, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.,ECOBIO (Ecosystèmes, biodiversité, évolution), CNRS, Université de Rennes, Rennes, France
| | - Nicolas Debortoli
- Laboratory of Evolutionary Genetics and Ecology, URBE, NAXYS, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium
| | - Katrien De Wolf
- Directorate Taxonomy and Phylogeny, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Jessie M T Engelen
- Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Diego Fontaneto
- National Research Council, Institute of Ecosystem Study, Verbania-Pallanza, Italy
| | - Andros T Gianuca
- Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.,German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Germany.,Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Department of Community Ecology, Halle, Germany
| | - Lynn Govaert
- Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Frederik Hendrickx
- Directorate Taxonomy and Phylogeny, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium.,Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Biology Department, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Janet Higuti
- Centre of Research in Limnology, Ichthyology and Aquaculture/PEA, State University of Maringá, Maringá, Brazil
| | - Luc Lens
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Biology Department, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Koen Martens
- Directorate Natural Environment, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium.,Limnology Research Unit, Biology Department, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Hans Matheve
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Biology Department, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Erik Matthysen
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Elena Piano
- Directorate Taxonomy and Phylogeny, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium.,Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Rose Sablon
- Directorate Taxonomy and Phylogeny, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Isa Schön
- Directorate Natural Environment, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium.,Zoology Research Group, University of Hasselt, Hasselt, Belgium
| | - Karine Van Doninck
- Laboratory of Evolutionary Genetics and Ecology, URBE, NAXYS, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium
| | - Luc De Meester
- Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Hans Van Dyck
- Behavioural Ecology and Conservation Group, Biodiversity Research Centre, Earth and Life Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
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32
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Arrizabalaga-Escudero A, Clare EL, Salsamendi E, Alberdi A, Garin I, Aihartza J, Goiti U. Assessing niche partitioning of co-occurring sibling bat species by DNA metabarcoding. Mol Ecol 2018; 27:1273-1283. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.14508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2017] [Revised: 01/02/2018] [Accepted: 01/04/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Aitor Arrizabalaga-Escudero
- Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology; Faculty of Science and Technology; University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU; Leioa The Basque Country Spain
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences; Queen Mary University of London; London UK
| | - Elizabeth L. Clare
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences; Queen Mary University of London; London UK
| | - Egoitz Salsamendi
- Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology; Faculty of Science and Technology; University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU; Leioa The Basque Country Spain
| | - Antton Alberdi
- Section for Evolutionary Genomics; Natural History Museum of Denmark; University of Copenhagen; Copenhagen Denmark
| | - Inazio Garin
- Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology; Faculty of Science and Technology; University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU; Leioa The Basque Country Spain
| | - Joxerra Aihartza
- Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology; Faculty of Science and Technology; University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU; Leioa The Basque Country Spain
| | - Urtzi Goiti
- Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology; Faculty of Science and Technology; University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU; Leioa The Basque Country Spain
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33
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Basset Y, Lamarre GP, Ratz T, Segar ST, Decaëns T, Rougerie R, Miller SE, Perez F, Bobadilla R, Lopez Y, Ramirez JA, Aiello A, Barrios H. The Saturniidae of Barro Colorado Island, Panama: A model taxon for studying the long-term effects of climate change? Ecol Evol 2017; 7:9991-10004. [PMID: 29238531 PMCID: PMC5723595 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2017] [Revised: 09/01/2017] [Accepted: 09/16/2017] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
We have little knowledge of the response of invertebrate assemblages to climate change in tropical ecosystems, and few studies have compiled long-term data on invertebrates from tropical rainforests. We provide an updated list of the 72 species of Saturniidae moths collected on Barro Colorado Island (BCI), Panama, during the period 1958-2016. This list will serve as baseline data for assessing long-term changes of saturniids on BCI in the future, as 81% of the species can be identified by their unique DNA Barcode Index Number, including four cryptic species not yet formally described. A local species pool of 60 + species breeding on BCI appears plausible, but more cryptic species may be discovered in the future. We use monitoring data obtained by light trapping to analyze recent population trends on BCI for saturniid species that were relatively common during 2009-2016, a period representing >30 saturniid generations. The abundances of 11 species, of 14 tested, could be fitted to significant time-series models. While the direction of change in abundance was uncertain for most species, two species showed a significant increase over time, and forecast models also suggested continuing increases for most species during 2017-2018, as compared to the 2009 base year. Peaks in saturniid abundance were most conspicuous during El Niño and La Niña years. In addition to a species-specific approach, we propose a reproducible functional classification based on five functional traits to analyze the responses of species sharing similar functional attributes in a fluctuating climate. Our results suggest that the abundances of larger body-size species with good dispersal abilities may increase concomitantly with rising air temperature in the future, because short-lived adults may allocate less time to increasing body temperature for flight, leaving more time available for searching for mating partners or suitable oviposition sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yves Basset
- Smithsonian Tropical Research InstituteAnconPanamá
- Faculty of ScienceUniversity of South BohemiaCeske BudejoviceCzech Republic
- Maestria de EntomologiaUniversidad de PanamáPanama CityPanama
| | - Greg P.A. Lamarre
- Institute of Entomology, Biology CentreCzech Academy of ScienceCeske BudejoviceCzech Republic
| | - Tom Ratz
- Institute of Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Simon T. Segar
- Faculty of ScienceUniversity of South BohemiaCeske BudejoviceCzech Republic
- Institute of Entomology, Biology CentreCzech Academy of ScienceCeske BudejoviceCzech Republic
| | - Thibaud Decaëns
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et EvolutiveUMR 5175, CNRS–Université Montpellier–Univesrsité Paul‐Valéry–EPHE–SupAgroMontpellier–INRA–IRDMontpellierFrance
| | - Rodolphe Rougerie
- Institut de Systématique Evolution, BiodiversitéUMR 7205, CNRS–MNHN–UPMC–EPHE–Sorbonne UniversitésParisFrance
| | - Scott E. Miller
- National Museum of Natural HistorySmithsonian InstitutionWashingtonDCUSA
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Héctor Barrios
- Maestria de EntomologiaUniversidad de PanamáPanama CityPanama
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34
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Hejda M, Hanzelka J, Kadlec T, Štrobl M, Pyšek P, Reif J. Impacts of an invasive tree across trophic levels: Species richness, community composition and resident species’ traits. DIVERS DISTRIB 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Martin Hejda
- Department of Invasion Ecology; Institute of Botany; The Czech Academy of Sciences; Průhonice Czech Republic
| | - Jan Hanzelka
- Faculty of Science; Institute for Environmental Studies; Charles University; Prague Czech Republic
| | - Tomáš Kadlec
- Department of Ecology; Faculty of Environmental Sciences; Czech University of Life Sciences; Prague Czech Republic
| | - Martin Štrobl
- Department of Ecology; Faculty of Environmental Sciences; Czech University of Life Sciences; Prague Czech Republic
| | - Petr Pyšek
- Department of Invasion Ecology; Institute of Botany; The Czech Academy of Sciences; Průhonice Czech Republic
- Department of Ecology; Faculty of Science; Charles University; Prague Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Reif
- Faculty of Science; Institute for Environmental Studies; Charles University; Prague Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology and Laboratory of Ornithology; Faculty of Science; Palacký University Olomouc; Olomouc Czech Republic
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35
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Kierepka EM, Anderson SJ, Swihart RK, Rhodes OE. Evaluating the influence of life-history characteristics on genetic structure: a comparison of small mammals inhabiting complex agricultural landscapes. Ecol Evol 2016; 6:6376-96. [PMID: 27648250 PMCID: PMC5016657 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2015] [Revised: 05/15/2016] [Accepted: 05/31/2016] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Conversion of formerly continuous native habitats into highly fragmented landscapes can lead to numerous negative demographic and genetic impacts on native taxa that ultimately reduce population viability. In response to concerns over biodiversity loss, numerous investigators have proposed that traits such as body size and ecological specialization influence the sensitivity of species to habitat fragmentation. In this study, we examined how differences in body size and ecological specialization of two rodents (eastern chipmunk; Tamias striatus and white‐footed mouse; Peromyscus leucopus) impact their genetic connectivity within the highly fragmented landscape of the Upper Wabash River Basin (UWB), Indiana, and evaluated whether landscape configuration and complexity influenced patterns of genetic structure similarly between these two species. The more specialized chipmunk exhibited dramatically more genetic structure across the UWB than white‐footed mice, with genetic differentiation being correlated with geographic distance, configuration of intervening habitats, and complexity of forested habitats within sampling sites. In contrast, the generalist white‐footed mouse resembled a panmictic population across the UWB, and no landscape factors were found to influence gene flow. Despite the extensive previous work in abundance and occupancy within the UWB, no landscape factor that influenced occupancy or abundance was correlated with genetic differentiation in either species. The difference in predictors of occupancy, abundance, and gene flow suggests that species‐specific responses to fragmentation are scale dependent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth M Kierepka
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory University of Georgia PO Drawer E Aiken South Carolina 29802
| | - Sara J Anderson
- Biosciences Department Minnesota State University Moorhead 1104 7th Ave Moorhead Minnesota 56563
| | - Robert K Swihart
- Department of Forestry and Natural Resources Purdue University 715 W. State Street West Lafayette Indiana 47907
| | - Olin E Rhodes
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory University of Georgia PO Drawer E Aiken South Carolina 29802
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36
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Degen T, Mitesser O, Perkin EK, Weiß NS, Oehlert M, Mattig E, Hölker F. Street lighting: sex-independent impacts on moth movement. J Anim Ecol 2016; 85:1352-60. [PMID: 27146262 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2015] [Accepted: 04/10/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Artificial lights have become an integral and welcome part of our urban and peri-urban environments. However, recent research has highlighted the potentially negative ecological consequences of ubiquitous artificial light. In particular, insects, especially moths, are expected to be negatively impacted by the presence of artificial lights. Previous research with light traps has shown a male-biased attraction to light in moths. In this study, we sought to determine whether street lights could limit moth dispersal and whether there was any sex bias in attraction to light. More specifically, we aimed to determine sex-specific attraction radii for moths to street lights. We tested these hypotheses by collecting moths for 2 years at an experimental set-up. To estimate the attraction radii, we developed a Markov model and related it to the acquired data. Utilizing multinomial statistics, we found that attraction rates to lights in the middle of the matrix were substantially lower than predicted by the null hypothesis of equal attraction level (0·44 times). With the Markov model, we estimated that a corner light was 2·77 times more attractive than a wing light with an equivalentre attraction radius of c. 23 m around each light. We found neither sexual differences in the attraction rate nor in the attraction radius of males and females. Since we captured three times more males than females, we conclude that sex ratios are representative of operational sex ratios or of different flight activities. These results provide evidence for street lights to limit moth dispersal, and that they seem to act equally on male and female moths. Consequently, public lighting might divide a suitable landscape into many small habitats. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume (i) that public lighting near hedges and bushes or field margins reduces the quality of these important habitat structures and (ii) that public lighting may affect moth movement between patches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tobias Degen
- Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Mäggelseedamm 310, 12587, Berlin, Germany.,Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Schwendenerstr. 1, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Oliver Mitesser
- Theoretical Evolutionary Ecology, Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, Emil-Fischer-Str. 32, 97074, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Elizabeth K Perkin
- Biology Department, Willamette University, 900 State Street, Salem, OR 97301, USA
| | - Nina-Sophie Weiß
- Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Mäggelseedamm 310, 12587, Berlin, Germany
| | - Martin Oehlert
- Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Mäggelseedamm 310, 12587, Berlin, Germany
| | - Emily Mattig
- Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Mäggelseedamm 310, 12587, Berlin, Germany
| | - Franz Hölker
- Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Mäggelseedamm 310, 12587, Berlin, Germany
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37
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Micro-moth communities mirror environmental stress gradients within a Mediterranean nature reserve. Basic Appl Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2015.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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38
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Reese AT, Savage A, Youngsteadt E, McGuire KL, Koling A, Watkins O, Frank SD, Dunn RR. Urban stress is associated with variation in microbial species composition-but not richness-in Manhattan. THE ISME JOURNAL 2016; 10:751-60. [PMID: 26394011 PMCID: PMC4817683 DOI: 10.1038/ismej.2015.152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2015] [Revised: 07/02/2015] [Accepted: 07/04/2015] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The biological diversity and composition of microorganisms influences both human health outcomes and ecological processes; therefore, understanding the factors that influence microbial biodiversity is key to creating healthy, functional landscapes in which to live. In general, biological diversity is predicted to be limited by habitat size, which for green areas is often reduced in cities, and by chronic disturbance (stress). These hypotheses have not previously been tested in microbial systems in direct comparison to macroorganisms. Here we analyzed bacterial, fungal and ant communities in small road medians (average area 0.0008 km(2)) and larger parks (average area 0.64 km(2)) across Manhattan (NYC). Bacterial species richness was not significantly different between medians and parks, but community composition was significantly distinct. In contrast, ant communities differed both in composition and richness with fewer ant species in medians than parks. Fungi showed no significant variation in composition or richness but had few shared taxa between habitats or sites. The diversity and composition of microbes appears less sensitive to habitat patchiness or urban stress than those of macroorganisms. Microbes and their associated ecosystem services and functions may be more resilient to the negative effects of urbanization than has been previously appreciated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aspen T Reese
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Amy Savage
- Department of Biology, Rutgers University-Camden, Camden, NJ, USA
| | - Elsa Youngsteadt
- Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Krista L McGuire
- Department of Biology, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Adam Koling
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Olivia Watkins
- Department of Biology, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Steven D Frank
- Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Robert R Dunn
- Department of Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
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39
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Zheng C, Ovaskainen O, Roslin T, Tack AJM. Beyond metacommunity paradigms: habitat configuration, life history, and movement shape an herbivore community on oak. Ecology 2016; 96:3175-85. [PMID: 26909424 DOI: 10.1890/15-0180.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Many empirical studies of metacommunities have focused on the classification of observational patterns into four contrasting paradigms characterized by different levels of movement and habitat heterogeneity. However, deeper insight into the underlying local and regional processes may be derived from a combination of long-term observational data and experimental studies. With the aim of exploring forces structuring the insect metacommunity on oak, we fit a hierarchical Bayesian state-space model to data from observations and experiments. The fitted model reveals large variation in species-specific dispersal abilities and basic reproduction numbers, R0. The residuals from the model show only weak correlations among species, suggesting a lack of strong interspecific interactions. Simulations with model-derived parameter estimates indicate that habitat configuration and species attributes both contribute substantially to structuring insect communities. Overall, our findings demonstrate that community-level variation in movement and life history are key drivers of metacommunity dynamics.
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40
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Gámez-Virués S, Perović DJ, Gossner MM, Börschig C, Blüthgen N, de Jong H, Simons NK, Klein AM, Krauss J, Maier G, Scherber C, Steckel J, Rothenwöhrer C, Steffan-Dewenter I, Weiner CN, Weisser W, Werner M, Tscharntke T, Westphal C. Landscape simplification filters species traits and drives biotic homogenization. Nat Commun 2015; 6:8568. [PMID: 26485325 PMCID: PMC4634213 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms9568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 203] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2015] [Accepted: 09/05/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Biodiversity loss can affect the viability of ecosystems by decreasing the ability of communities to respond to environmental change and disturbances. Agricultural intensification is a major driver of biodiversity loss and has multiple components operating at different spatial scales: from in-field management intensity to landscape-scale simplification. Here we show that landscape-level effects dominate functional community composition and can even buffer the effects of in-field management intensification on functional homogenization, and that animal communities in real-world managed landscapes show a unified response (across orders and guilds) to both landscape-scale simplification and in-field intensification. Adults and larvae with specialized feeding habits, species with shorter activity periods and relatively small body sizes are selected against in simplified landscapes with intense in-field management. Our results demonstrate that the diversity of land cover types at the landscape scale is critical for maintaining communities, which are functionally diverse, even in landscapes where in-field management intensity is high.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sagrario Gámez-Virués
- Agroecology, Department of Crop Sciences, Georg-August-University Göttingen, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - David J. Perović
- Agroecology, Department of Crop Sciences, Georg-August-University Göttingen, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Martin M. Gossner
- Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Center for Food and Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich, D-85354 Freising, Germany
| | - Carmen Börschig
- Agroecology, Department of Crop Sciences, Georg-August-University Göttingen, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks, Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, D-64287 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Heike de Jong
- Agroecology, Department of Crop Sciences, Georg-August-University Göttingen, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Nadja K. Simons
- Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Center for Food and Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich, D-85354 Freising, Germany
| | - Alexandra-Maria Klein
- Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology, Institute of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Freiburg, D-79106 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Jochen Krauss
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, University of Würzburg, Biocenter, D-97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Gwen Maier
- Agroecology, Department of Crop Sciences, Georg-August-University Göttingen, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Christoph Scherber
- Agroecology, Department of Crop Sciences, Georg-August-University Göttingen, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Juliane Steckel
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, University of Würzburg, Biocenter, D-97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Christoph Rothenwöhrer
- Agroecology, Department of Crop Sciences, Georg-August-University Göttingen, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, University of Würzburg, Biocenter, D-97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Christiane N. Weiner
- Ecological Networks, Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, D-64287 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Weisser
- Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Center for Food and Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich, D-85354 Freising, Germany
| | - Michael Werner
- Ecological Networks, Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, D-64287 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Teja Tscharntke
- Agroecology, Department of Crop Sciences, Georg-August-University Göttingen, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Catrin Westphal
- Agroecology, Department of Crop Sciences, Georg-August-University Göttingen, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
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42
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Tam KC, Bonebrake TC. Butterfly diversity, habitat and vegetation usage in Hong Kong urban parks. Urban Ecosyst 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s11252-015-0484-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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da Silva PG, Hernández MIM. Spatial patterns of movement of dung beetle species in a tropical forest suggest a new trap spacing for dung beetle biodiversity studies. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0126112. [PMID: 25938506 PMCID: PMC4418735 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0126112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2014] [Accepted: 03/29/2015] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
A primary goal of community ecologists is to understand the processes underlying the spatiotemporal patterns of species distribution. Understanding the dispersal process is of great interest in ecology because it is related to several mechanisms driving community structure. We investigated the mobility of dung beetles using mark-release-recapture technique, and tested the usefulness of the current recommendation for interaction distance between baited pitfall traps in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We found differences in mean movement rate between Scarabaeinae species, and between species with different sets of ecological traits. Large-diurnal-tunneler species showed greater mobility than did both large-nocturnal tunneler and roller species. Our results suggest that, based on the analyses of the whole community or the species with the highest number of recaptured individuals, the minimum distance of 50 m between pairs of baited pitfall traps proposed roughly 10 years ago is inadequate. Dung beetle species with different sets of ecological traits may differ in their dispersal ability, so we suggest a new minimum distance of 100 m between pairs of traps to minimize interference between baited pitfall traps for sampling copronecrophagous Scarabaeinae dung beetles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pedro Giovâni da Silva
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Departamento de Ecologia e Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil
- * E-mail:
| | - Malva Isabel Medina Hernández
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Departamento de Ecologia e Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil
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Concepción ED, Moretti M, Altermatt F, Nobis MP, Obrist MK. Impacts of urbanisation on biodiversity: the role of species mobility, degree of specialisation and spatial scale. OIKOS 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.02166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 148] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Elena D. Concepción
- WSL Swiss Federal Inst. for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research; Zürcherstrasse 111 CH-8903 Birmensdorf Switzerland
| | - Marco Moretti
- WSL Swiss Federal Inst. for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research; Zürcherstrasse 111 CH-8903 Birmensdorf Switzerland
| | - Florian Altermatt
- Eawag: Swiss Federal Inst. of Aquatic Science and Technology; Überlandstrasse 133 CH-8600 Dübendorf Switzerland
- Inst. of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, Univ. of Zurich; Winterthurerstrasse 190 CH-8057 Zürich Switzerland
| | - Michael P. Nobis
- WSL Swiss Federal Inst. for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research; Zürcherstrasse 111 CH-8903 Birmensdorf Switzerland
| | - Martin K. Obrist
- WSL Swiss Federal Inst. for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research; Zürcherstrasse 111 CH-8903 Birmensdorf Switzerland
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Downer RA, Ebert TA. Macrolepidoptera biodiversity in Wooster, Ohio from 2001 through 2009. Zookeys 2014:79-105. [PMID: 25493055 PMCID: PMC4258634 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.452.8009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2014] [Accepted: 10/03/2014] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
A Skinner mercury vapor light trap was operated from 2001 through 2009 in a residential backyard to document biodiversity within the moth families Thyatiridae, Drepanidae, Geometridae, Mimallonidae, Apatelodidae, Lasiocampidae, Saturniidae, Sphingidae, Erebidae (including Lymantriinae and Arctiinae), Euteliidae, Nolidae, and Noctuidae. When making comparisons to older literature, we recalculated our results to conform to the older classification of the Noctuoidea. Moths were released after identification. There were 501 species documented in 77581 captures from 1290 sampling dates. There was a perceived risk that released moths would fly back into the trap the following evening. This should result in an abnormal number of rare moths that are caught multiple times. The number of species caught twice versus the number caught once was no different than a similar ratio for surveys that used more traditional sampling methods. Therefore this concern does not seem to be valid for these data. These data are provided in a supplementary file available for download. There were three previous surveys conducted in nearby natural areas. They documented fewer species than were documented here. To understand this better, we examined several specialized groups of moths that tend to use host plants not typically found in an urban residential yard. More species in Schinia Hübner, Catocala Schrank, Acronicta Ochsenheimer, and Herminiinae Leech were found in this survey than the other local surveys. Only in the Papaipema Smith did we recover fewer species, though it was still above 70% of what was expected. This diversity could be a result of sampling effort, but it shows that this urban location has a very diverse moth fauna. We suggest that this diversity is partly due to the planting of native plant species in the area about the light trap. Therefore we would concur with others that urban landscapes can be planned to increase biodiversity relevant to more natural ecosystems. In this study we looked at the ratio of the number of species of Geometridae divided by the number of species of Noctuidae as one approach to evaluating the level of disturbance in the moth assemblage. Although the yearly average was nearly constant, the seasonal ratio ranged from 0.09 to 0.91 depending on the sampling date. We also calculated alpha diversity and found that seasonal change in alpha diversity greatly exceeded yearly differences. This strong seasonal component means that a comparison between two studies requires a correction for seasonality and similar sampling intervals. In this study, a shift of two weeks would be sufficient to result in a significant difference in alpha diversity. This is the equivalent of increasing temperature by 1.53 °C. Seasonal shifts limit the usefulness of this methodology for environmental assessment because the within season change exceeds the between season change. This problem is compounded when sampling designs interact with this seasonality. In describing our data, we made use of a growing degree day (GDD) model. This approach corrects for simple temperature dependent shifts in moth biology. Consequently, some of the variability in the data was removed, which should improve the power of statistical tests involving survey data. If sampling protocols were based on growing degree days rather than calendar dates, the bias caused by temperature induced shifts in seasonal cycles could be reduced.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roger A Downer
- Department of Entomology, The Ohio State University, 1680 Madison Ave, Wooster, OH 44691
| | - Timothy A Ebert
- Current address: Department of Entomology, University of Florida, 700 Experiment Station Rd., Lake Alfred, FL 33850
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Matte ALL, Müller SC, Becker FG. Forest expansion or fragmentation? Discriminating forest fragments from natural forest patches through patch structure and spatial context metrics. AUSTRAL ECOL 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/aec.12178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ana Luiza Leichter Matte
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS); Porto Alegre Brazil
| | - Sandra Cristina Müller
- Departamento de Ecologia; Instituto de Biociências; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS); Porto Alegre Brazil
| | - Fernando Gertum Becker
- Departamento de Ecologia; Instituto de Biociências; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS); Porto Alegre Brazil
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Hunter MD, Kozlov MV, Itämies J, Pulliainen E, Bäck J, Kyrö EM, Niemelä P. Current temporal trends in moth abundance are counter to predicted effects of climate change in an assemblage of subarctic forest moths. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2014; 20:1723-1737. [PMID: 24421221 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.12529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2013] [Accepted: 12/27/2013] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Changes in climate are influencing the distribution and abundance of the world's biota, with significant consequences for biological diversity and ecosystem processes. Recent work has raised concern that populations of moths and butterflies (Lepidoptera) may be particularly susceptible to population declines under environmental change. Moreover, effects of climate change may be especially pronounced in high latitude ecosystems. Here, we examine population dynamics in an assemblage of subarctic forest moths in Finnish Lapland to assess current trajectories of population change. Moth counts were made continuously over a period of 32 years using light traps. From 456 species recorded, 80 were sufficiently abundant for detailed analyses of their population dynamics. Climate records indicated rapid increases in temperature and winter precipitation at our study site during the sampling period. However, 90% of moth populations were stable (57%) or increasing (33%) over the same period of study. Nonetheless, current population trends do not appear to reflect positive responses to climate change. Rather, time-series models illustrated that the per capita rates of change of moth species were more frequently associated negatively than positively with climate change variables, even as their populations were increasing. For example, the per capita rates of change of 35% of microlepidoptera were associated negatively with climate change variables. Moth life-history traits were not generally strong predictors of current population change or associations with climate change variables. However, 60% of moth species that fed as larvae on resources other than living vascular plants (e.g. litter, lichen, mosses) were associated negatively with climate change variables in time-series models, suggesting that such species may be particularly vulnerable to climate change. Overall, populations of subarctic forest moths in Finland are performing better than expected, and their populations appear buffered at present from potential deleterious effects of climate change by other ecological forces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark D Hunter
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-1048, USA
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Pfeifer M, Lefebvre V, Gardner TA, Arroyo-Rodriguez V, Baeten L, Banks-Leite C, Barlow J, Betts MG, Brunet J, Cerezo A, Cisneros LM, Collard S, D'Cruze N, da Silva Motta C, Duguay S, Eggermont H, Eigenbrod F, Hadley AS, Hanson TR, Hawes JE, Heartsill Scalley T, Klingbeil BT, Kolb A, Kormann U, Kumar S, Lachat T, Lakeman Fraser P, Lantschner V, Laurance WF, Leal IR, Lens L, Marsh CJ, Medina-Rangel GF, Melles S, Mezger D, Oldekop JA, Overal WL, Owen C, Peres CA, Phalan B, Pidgeon AM, Pilia O, Possingham HP, Possingham ML, Raheem DC, Ribeiro DB, Ribeiro Neto JD, Douglas Robinson W, Robinson R, Rytwinski T, Scherber C, Slade EM, Somarriba E, Stouffer PC, Struebig MJ, Tylianakis JM, Tscharntke T, Tyre AJ, Urbina Cardona JN, Vasconcelos HL, Wearn O, Wells K, Willig MR, Wood E, Young RP, Bradley AV, Ewers RM. BIOFRAG - a new database for analyzing BIOdiversity responses to forest FRAGmentation. Ecol Evol 2014; 4:1524-37. [PMID: 24967073 PMCID: PMC4063456 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2013] [Revised: 02/10/2014] [Accepted: 02/18/2014] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Habitat fragmentation studies have produced complex results that are challenging to synthesize. Inconsistencies among studies may result from variation in the choice of landscape metrics and response variables, which is often compounded by a lack of key statistical or methodological information. Collating primary datasets on biodiversity responses to fragmentation in a consistent and flexible database permits simple data retrieval for subsequent analyses. We present a relational database that links such field data to taxonomic nomenclature, spatial and temporal plot attributes, and environmental characteristics. Field assessments include measurements of the response(s) (e.g., presence, abundance, ground cover) of one or more species linked to plots in fragments within a partially forested landscape. The database currently holds 9830 unique species recorded in plots of 58 unique landscapes in six of eight realms: mammals 315, birds 1286, herptiles 460, insects 4521, spiders 204, other arthropods 85, gastropods 70, annelids 8, platyhelminthes 4, Onychophora 2, vascular plants 2112, nonvascular plants and lichens 320, and fungi 449. Three landscapes were sampled as long-term time series (>10 years). Seven hundred and eleven species are found in two or more landscapes. Consolidating the substantial amount of primary data available on biodiversity responses to fragmentation in the context of land-use change and natural disturbances is an essential part of understanding the effects of increasing anthropogenic pressures on land. The consistent format of this database facilitates testing of generalizations concerning biologic responses to fragmentation across diverse systems and taxa. It also allows the re-examination of existing datasets with alternative landscape metrics and robust statistical methods, for example, helping to address pseudo-replication problems. The database can thus help researchers in producing broad syntheses of the effects of land use. The database is dynamic and inclusive, and contributions from individual and large-scale data-collection efforts are welcome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marion Pfeifer
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, SL5 7PY, U.K
| | - Veronique Lefebvre
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, SL5 7PY, U.K
| | | | - Victor Arroyo-Rodriguez
- Centro de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) Morelia, Mexico
| | - Lander Baeten
- Department of Forest & Water Management, Ghent University Ghent, Belgium
| | - Cristina Banks-Leite
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, SL5 7PY, U.K
| | - Jos Barlow
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University Lancaster, U.K
| | - Matthew G Betts
- Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University Corvallis, Oregon
| | - Joerg Brunet
- Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Alnarp, Sweden
| | - Alexis Cerezo
- Departmento de Métodos Cuantitativos y Sistemas de Información, Universidad de Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Laura M Cisneros
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut Storrs, Connecticut ; Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of Connecticut Storrs, Connecticut
| | - Stuart Collard
- Nature Conservation Society of South Australia Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Neil D'Cruze
- The World Society for the Protection of Animals London, U.K
| | - Catarina da Silva Motta
- Departamento de Entomologia, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA) Manaus, Brazil
| | - Stephanie Duguay
- Geomatics and Landscape Ecology Research Laboratory, Carleton University Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | | | - Felix Eigenbrod
- Centre for Biological Sciences, University of Southampton Southampton, U.K
| | - Adam S Hadley
- Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University Corvallis, Oregon
| | - Thor R Hanson
- 351 False Bay Drive, Friday Harbor, Washington, 98250
| | - Joseph E Hawes
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia Norwich, U.K
| | | | - Brian T Klingbeil
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut Storrs, Connecticut ; Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of Connecticut Storrs, Connecticut
| | - Annette Kolb
- Institute of Ecology, FB2, University of Bremen Bremen, Germany
| | - Urs Kormann
- Agroecology, Department of Crop Sciences, Goettingen University Goettingen, Germany
| | - Sunil Kumar
- Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Thibault Lachat
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest Snow and Landscape Research WSL Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | | | | | - William F Laurance
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science and School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University Cairns, Qld, Australia
| | - Inara R Leal
- Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco Recife, Brazil
| | - Luc Lens
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Ghent University Ghent, Belgium
| | - Charles J Marsh
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds Leeds, U.K
| | - Guido F Medina-Rangel
- Instituto de Ciencias Naturales - ICN, National University of Colombia Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Stephanie Melles
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Dirk Mezger
- Department of Zoology, Field Museum of Natural History Chicago, Illinois
| | - Johan A Oldekop
- Sheffield Institute for International Development, University of Sheffield Sheffield, U.K
| | - William L Overal
- Departamento de Entomologia, Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi (MPEG) Belém, Brazil
| | - Charlotte Owen
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, SL5 7PY, U.K
| | - Carlos A Peres
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia Norwich, U.K
| | - Ben Phalan
- Centre for Biological Sciences, University of Southampton Southampton, U.K
| | - Anna M Pidgeon
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, Wisconsin
| | - Oriana Pilia
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, SL5 7PY, U.K
| | - Hugh P Possingham
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, SL5 7PY, U.K ; The University of Queensland Brisbane, Qld, Australia
| | | | - Dinarzarde C Raheem
- Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences Brussels, Belgium ; Life Sciences Department, The Natural History Museum London, U.K
| | - Danilo B Ribeiro
- Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul Campo Grande, Brazil
| | | | - W Douglas Robinson
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University Corvallis, Oregon
| | - Richard Robinson
- Department of Parks and Wildlife, Manjimup Research Centre Manjimup, WA, Australia
| | - Trina Rytwinski
- Department of Biology, Carleton University Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Christoph Scherber
- Agroecology, Department of Crop Sciences, Goettingen University Goettingen, Germany
| | | | - Eduardo Somarriba
- Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE) Turrialba, Costa Rica
| | - Philip C Stouffer
- School of Renewable Natural Resources, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana ; BDFFP, INPA Manaus, Brazil
| | - Matthew J Struebig
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent Canterbury, U.K
| | - Jason M Tylianakis
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, SL5 7PY, U.K ; School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury Canterbury, New Zealand
| | - Teja Tscharntke
- Agroecology, Department of Crop Sciences, Goettingen University Goettingen, Germany
| | - Andrew J Tyre
- School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, Nebraska
| | - Jose N Urbina Cardona
- Ecology and Territory Department, School of Rural and Environmental Studies, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Bogotá, Colombia
| | | | - Oliver Wearn
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, SL5 7PY, U.K ; Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London London, U.K
| | - Konstans Wells
- The Environment Institute, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Adelaide Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Michael R Willig
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut Storrs, Connecticut ; Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of Connecticut Storrs, Connecticut
| | - Eric Wood
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, Wisconsin
| | | | - Andrew V Bradley
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, SL5 7PY, U.K
| | - Robert M Ewers
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, SL5 7PY, U.K
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Jonason D, Franzén M, Ranius T. Surveying moths using light traps: effects of weather and time of year. PLoS One 2014; 9:e92453. [PMID: 24637926 PMCID: PMC3956935 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0092453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2013] [Accepted: 02/21/2014] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Light trapping is an ideal method for surveying nocturnal moths, but in the absence of standardised survey methods effects of confounding factors may impede interpretation of the acquired data. We explored the influence of weather, time of year, and light source on nightly catches of macro moths in light traps, and compared four strategies for sampling by estimating observed species richness using rarefaction. We operated two traps with different light sources for 225 consecutive nights from mid-March to the end of October in eastern Germany in 2011. In total, 49 472 individuals of 372 species were recorded. Species richness and abundance per night were mainly influenced by night temperature, humidity and lamp type. With a limited sample size (<10 nights) it was slightly better to concentrate sampling on the warmest summer nights, but with more sampling nights it was slightly better to sample during the warmest nights in each month (March to October). By exploiting the higher moth activity during warm nights and an understanding of the species' phenology, it is possible to increase the number of species caught and reduce effects of confounding abiotic factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dennis Jonason
- IFM Biology, Division of Ecology, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
- Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Ecology, Uppsala, Sweden
- * E-mail:
| | - Markus Franzén
- UFZ Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Department of Community Ecology, Halle, Germany
| | - Thomas Ranius
- Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Ecology, Uppsala, Sweden
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