Effects of varying retention tree patterns on ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) taxonomic and functional diversity

Sean M. Sultaire; Andrew J. Kroll; Jake Verschuyl; Douglas A. Landis; Gary J. Roloff

doi:10.1002/ecs2.3641

Long-term data reveal unimodal responses of ground beetle abundance to precipitation and land use but no changes in taxonomic and functional diversity

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-96910-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Petr Zajicek ◽

Ellen A. R. Welti ◽

Nathan J. Baker ◽

Kathrin Januschke ◽

Oliver Brauner ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Functional Diversity ◽

Spatial Scales ◽

Ground Beetle ◽

Temporal Trends ◽

Ground Beetles ◽

Community Change ◽

Ecological Communities ◽

Activity Density

AbstractWhile much of global biodiversity is undoubtedly under threat, the responses of ecological communities to changing climate, land use intensification, and long-term changes in both taxonomic and functional diversity over time, has still not been fully explored for many taxonomic groups, especially invertebrates. We compiled time series of ground beetles covering the past two decades from 40 sites located in five regions across Germany. We calculated site-based trends for 21 community metrics representing taxonomic and functional diversity of ground beetles, activity density (a proxy for abundance), and activity densities of functional groups. We assessed both overall and regional temporal trends and the influence of the global change drivers of temperature, precipitation, and land use on ground beetle communities. While we did not detect overall temporal changes in ground beetle taxonomic and functional diversity, taxonomic turnover changed within two regions, illustrating that community change at the local scale does not always correspond to patterns at broader spatial scales. Additionally, ground beetle activity density had a unimodal response to both annual precipitation and land use. Limited temporal change in ground beetle communities may indicate a shifting baseline, where community degradation was reached prior to the start of our observation in 1999. In addition, nonlinear responses of animal communities to environmental change present a challenge when quantifying temporal trends.

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Monoculture and mixture-planting of non-native Douglas fir alters species composition, but promotes the diversity of ground beetles in a temperate forest system

Biodiversity and Conservation ◽

10.1007/s10531-021-02155-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 30 (5) ◽

pp. 1479-1499

Author(s):

Peter Kriegel ◽

Dragan Matevski ◽

Andreas Schuldt

Keyword(s):

Species Composition ◽

Functional Diversity ◽

Tree Species ◽

Ground Beetle ◽

Ground Beetles ◽

Douglas Fir ◽

Assemblage Structure ◽

Species Identity ◽

Native Tree ◽

Native Tree Species

AbstractPlanting non-native tree species, like Douglas fir in temperate European forest systems, is encouraged to mitigate effects of climate change. However, Douglas fir monocultures often revealed negative effects on forest biota, while effects of mixtures with native tree species on forest ecosystems are less well understood. We investigated effects of three tree species (Douglas fir, Norway spruce, native European beech), on ground beetles in temperate forests of Germany. Beetles were sampled in monocultures of each tree species and broadleaf-conifer mixtures with pitfall traps, and environmental variables were assessed around each trap. We used linear mixed models in a two-step procedure to disentangle effects of environment and tree species identity on ground beetle abundance, species richness, functional diversity and species assemblage structure. Contradictory to our expectations, ground beetle abundance and functional diversity was highest in pure Douglas fir stands, while tree mixtures showed intermediate values between pure coniferous and pure beech stands. The main drivers of these patterns were only partially dependent on tree species identity, which highlights the importance of structural features in forest stands. However, our study revealed distinct shifts in assemblage structure between pure beech and pure Douglas fir stands, which were only partially eased through mixture planting. Our findings suggest that effects of planting non-native trees on associated biodiversity can be actively modified by promoting beneficial forest structures. Nevertheless, integrating non-native tree species, even in mixtures with native trees, will invariably alter assemblage structures of associated biota, which can compromise conservation efforts targeted at typical species composition.

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Principal determinants of species and functional diversity of carabid beetle assemblages during succession at post-industrial sites

Bulletin of Entomological Research ◽

10.1017/s0007485316001085 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 107 (4) ◽

pp. 466-477 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

J. Sipos ◽

J. Hodecek ◽

T. Kuras ◽

A. Dolny

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Functional Diversity ◽

Restoration Ecology ◽

Ground Beetle ◽

Late Phase ◽

Species Traits ◽

Ground Beetles ◽

Trophic Niche ◽

Beetle Assemblages ◽

Post Industrial

AbstractAlthough ecological succession is one of the principal focuses of recent restoration ecology research, it is still unclear which factors drive this process and positively influence species richness and functional diversity. In this study we sought to elucidate how species traits and functional diversity change during forest succession, and to identify important factors that determine the species in the observed assemblages. We analyzed species richness and functional diversity of ground beetle assemblages in relation to succession on post-industrial localities after habitat deterioration caused by spoil deposition. We selected ground beetles as they are known to be sensitive to landscape changes (with a large range of responses), and their taxonomy and ecology are generally well-known. Ground beetles were sampled on the spoil heaps during the last 30 years when spontaneous succession occurred. To calculate functional diversity, we used traits related to habitat and trophic niche, i.e. food specialization, wing morphology, trophic level, and bio-indication value. Ground beetle species were found to be distributed non-randomly in the assemblages in the late phase of succession. Ordination analyses revealed that the ground beetle assemblage was significantly associated with the proportion of forested area. Environmental heterogeneity generated assemblages that contained over-dispersed species traits. Our findings indicated that environmental conditions at late successional stages supported less mobile carnivorous species. Overall, we conclude that the decline in species richness and functional diversity in the middle of the studied succession gradient indicated that the assemblages of open habitats had been replaced by species typical of forest ecosystems.

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Drivers of taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversities in dominant ground-dwelling arthropods of coastal heathlands

10.1101/2021.01.04.425176 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Axel Hacala ◽

Denis Lafage ◽

Andreas Prinzing ◽

Jérôme Sawtschuk ◽

Julien Pétillon

Keyword(s):

Functional Diversity ◽

Phylogenetic Trees ◽

Phylogenetic Diversity ◽

Spanning Trees ◽

Feeding Habits ◽

Ground Beetle ◽

Taxonomic Diversity ◽

Ground Beetles ◽

Environmental Constraints ◽

Phylogenetic Lineages

AbstractAlthough functional and phylogenetic diversities are increasingly used in ecology for a large variety of purposes, their relationships remain unclear and likely vary presumably over taxa, yet most recent studies focused on plant communities. Different concepts predict that a community becomes functionally more diverse by adding phylogenetic lineages, subtracting lineages, adding species, reducing or increasing environmental constraints. In this study, we investigated ground-dwelling spider, ground beetle and ant assemblages in coastal heathlands (>11 000 individuals, 216 species), and their estimated functional and phylogenetic diversities as minimum spanning trees using several traits related to the morphology, feeding habits and dispersal of species, and phylogenetic trees, respectively. Correlations were overall positive and high between functional and phylogenetic diversities. Accounting for taxonomic diversities and environments made disappear this relationship in ants, but maintained them in spiders and ground beetles, where taxonomic diversity related to functional diversity only via increasing phylogenetic diversity. Environmental constraints reduced functional diversity in ants, but affected functional diversity only indirectly via phylogenetic diversity (ground beetles) and taxonomic and then phylogenetic diversity (spiders and ground beetles). Results are consistent with phylogenetic conservatism in traits in spiders and ground beetles, while in ants traits appear more neutral with any new species potentially representing a new trait state. Lineage diversities mostly increased with taxonomic diversities, possibly reflecting un-measured environmental conditions.

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