Habitat continuity matters: Ancient woodlands tend to have higher biomass and catching rate of dung beetles, mainly driven by one large species

Publikation: Beiträge in ZeitschriftenZeitschriftenaufsätzeForschungbegutachtet

Authors

Ancient woodlands differ from recent woodlands by numerous abiotic and biotic factors, including soil properties. Several animal species are more abundant in ancient than in recent woodlands, but this has been only rarely tested for saprophagous taxa and not at all for dung beetles, which are common in temperate woodlands. Beside habitat continuity, tree age can have also an effect on woodland inhabiting animals, especially on saprophagous taxa. To analyze the effects of both habitat continuity and tree age we studied dung beetles in a continuous north-west German woodland with baited pitfall traps on basis of a factorial design. We compared species diversity (Shannon-Wiener-Index and Pielou's Evenness), catching rates, biomass and community composition of dung beetles. With only 18 recorded species from 20 study plots, dung beetle communities were species-poor and dominated by one large tunnelling species. The main result is that catching rate and biomass of dung beetles were higher in ancient woodlands, which was due to the particularly high catching rate of the most dominant tunnelling species and one dweller species. Tree age alone had a minor impact, but affects significantly one rare species. Diverging habitat quality of ancient and recent woodlands likely explains differences in the communities of dung beetles in woodlands of different habitat continuity. Old trees in recent woodlands could not compensate for habitat continuity of ancient woodlands.

OriginalspracheEnglisch
Aufsatznummer103501
ZeitschriftActa Oecologica
Jahrgang102
Anzahl der Seiten7
ISSN1146-609X
DOIs
PublikationsstatusErschienen - 01.01.2020

DOI

Zuletzt angesehen

Publikationen

  1. Social network changes and life events across the life span
  2. Tomorrow the Manifold
  3. Gesundheit im Unternehmen
  4. VET Teacher Education - a Co-Constructive Design Process
  5. Tackling the habitat fragmentation panchreston
  6. Re-storying the Business, Innovation and Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Concepts
  7. Cultural Consumption Analysis: Beyond Structure and Agency
  8. Author Correction: Widening global variability in grassland biomass since the 1980s
  9. Housing in the Margins: Negotiating Urban Formalities in Berlin's Allotment Gardens
  10. Enhancing Employee Self-Care
  11. Das Unvermeidliche vermeiden
  12. With a little help from my website. Firm survial and web presence in times of COVID-19 - Evidence from 10 European Countries
  13. What do we know about meta-analyses in accounting, auditing, and corporate governance?
  14. Ecological-economic modeling for biodiversity management
  15. “It’s not what you say, but how you say it”: How the provision of qualitative, quantitative and monetary environmental information influences companies’ internal decision making
  16. Governing Emotions
  17. Measuring mathematics teachers’ professional competence by using video clips (COACTIV video)
  18. From the Love of Art to a Passion for Investment?
  19. Crown and leaf traits as predictors of subtropical tree sapling growth rates
  20. § 289b Pflicht zur nichtfinanziellen Erklärung, Befreiungen
  21. Entführung in Luxor
  22. 20 years of performance measurement in sustainable supply chain management
  23. Life Together in Diverse Societies
  24. From Revolution to Reformation
  25. A welfare analysis of the electricity transmission regulatory regime in Germany