What shapes ground beetle assemblages in a tree species-rich subtropical forest?

Publikation: Beiträge in ZeitschriftenZeitschriftenaufsätzeForschungbegutachtet

Authors

As woody plants provide much of the trophic basis for food webs in forests their species richness, but also stand age and numerous further variables such as vegetation structure, soil properties and elevation can shape assemblages of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae). However, the combined impact of these numerous variables on ground beetle diversity and community structure has rarely been studied simultaneously. Therefore, ground beetles were studied in 27 plots in a highly diverse and structurally heterogeneous subtropical forest ecosystem, the Gutianshan National Park (southeast China) using pitfall traps and flight interception traps. Both trapping methods collected partly overlapping species spectra. The arboreal fauna was dominated by lebiines and to a smaller extent by tiger beetles and platynines; the epigeic fauna comprised mostly representatives of the genus Carabus and numerous tribes, especially anisodactylines, pterostichines, and sphodrines. Ground beetle species richness, abundance, and biomass of the pitfall trap catches were analyzed with generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs), fitted with seven environmental variables. Four of these variables influenced the ground beetle assemblages: Canopy cover, herb cover, pH-value of the topsoil and elevation. Contrary to our expectations, woody plant species richness and stand age did not significantly affect ground beetle assemblages. Thus, ground beetles seem to respond differently to environmental variables than ants and spiders, two other predominantly predatory arthropod groups that were studied on the same plots in our study area and which showed distinct relationships with woody plant richness. Our results highlight the need to study a wider range of taxa to achieve a better understanding of how environmental changes affect species assemblages and their functioning in forest ecosystems.
OriginalspracheEnglisch
ZeitschriftZooKeys
Jahrgang2021
Ausgabenummer1044
Seiten (von - bis)907-927
Anzahl der Seiten21
ISSN1313-2989
DOIs
PublikationsstatusErschienen - 16.06.2021

Bibliographische Notiz

Funding Information:
We dedicate this work to the memory of the late Terry Erwin (1940–2020). He was one of the pioneers who studied how tree species diversity can affect the diversity of insects, especially ground beetles. One of his publications from a rainforest in Panama stimulated intensive research on tropical species diversity, particularly of arthropods. At the same time, Terry was one of the most dedicated entomologists we have ever met. His ecological work, as well as his contributions to natural history and conservation biology of carabids, has been very stimulating to our own studies. We are grateful for his influence and we will not forget him and his work. We thank the administration of the Gutianshan National Park, and all BEF-China members for their support. We further thank Jiang Zaigen (Gutianshan) for help with trap maintenance, Marianne Peters (Leuphana University Lüneburg) for sorting trap catches, David D. Wrase (Gusow-Platkow), and Thierry Deuve (Natural History Museum Paris) for help with identification. We gratefully acknowledge funding by the German Research Foundation (DFG FOR891/1-3). We also thank John Spence, Nigel Stork, and an anonymous reviewer for useful comments that helped improve this work.

Funding Information:
We thank the administration of the Gutianshan National Park, and all BEF-China members for their support. We further thank Jiang Zaigen (Gutianshan) for help with trap maintenance, Marianne Peters (Leuphana University Lüneburg) for sorting trap catches, David D. Wrase (Gusow-Platkow), and Thierry Deuve (Natural History Museum Paris) for help with identification. We gratefully acknowledge funding by the German Research Foundation (DFG FOR891/1-3).

Publisher Copyright:
© Pascale Zumstein et al.

    Fachgebiete

  • Ökosystemforschung - abundance, BEF-China, biomass, canopy cover, Carabidae, elevational gradient, herb cover, pH-value, species-richness

Dokumente

DOI

Zuletzt angesehen

Publikationen

  1. An overview of current trends in european environmental education
  2. Monoculture and mixture-planting of non-native Douglas fir alters species composition, but promotes the diversity of ground beetles in a temperate forest system
  3. Approaching bolt load retention behaviour of AS41 through compliance and creep deformation
  4. Incorporating the social-ecological approach in protected areas in the anthropocene
  5. Adaptive Speed Tests
  6. Metaphors and metonymies and their impact in mathematical classroom discourses
  7. Priority effects transcend scales and disciplines in biology
  8. Transformative Indikatoren
  9. Developing key competencies in sustainability through project-based learning in graduate sustainability programs
  10. Collective Individuation
  11. Bewegung in die Schulen!
  12. Ull Hohn
  13. Challenges in contrast
  14. Identification of the effective water availability from streamflows in the Zerafshan river basin, Central Asia
  15. Culture as an Engine of Local Development Processes
  16. Dimensionierung von Sicherheitsbeständen
  17. Public reactions to the promotion of nanotechnologies in society
  18. Alcohol intake can reduce gambling behavior
  19. Ist die Einkommenspolarisierung gestiegen?
  20. Mimikbasierte Emotionserfassung anhand von dynamischen Flächen und Streckenveränderung
  21. Anmerkung zu EuGH Rs. C-555/07 (Kücükdeveci)
  22. Article 28 Relationship with Existing International Conventions
  23. Information Communication Technology as Creativity Support Tools?
  24. Ästhetische Langeweile in der Gegenwartskunst
  25. Initiative in work teams
  26. Renewable Energy Law in the EU
  27. Sustainable Development and Conservation of Biodiversity Hotspots in Latin America