Response of saproxylic beetles to small-scale habitat connectivity depends on trophic levels

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

Context: According to the trophic-rank hypothesis, species may be differentially affected by habitat isolation due to their trophic position in the food chain, i.e. high-order trophic levels may be more negatively affected than low-order levels. Objectives: The aim of this paper is to study how species richness, abundance and composition of saproxylic beetle communities are affected by patch (=tree) quality and small-scale patch connectivity. Following the trophic-rank hypothesis, we expected predators to be more negatively affected by patch isolation than wood-feeding beetles. Methods: We studied the beetle community, patch connectivity and patch quality on 28 large oaks. Different connectivity measures were calculated using 50 m-buffers around trees and using distances to the five nearest trees. Results: Beetle species richness increased with the diameter of oaks, i.e. patch quality. No evidence of the trophic-rank hypothesis was found for species richness patterns. In accordance with the trophic-rank hypothesis, abundance of predatory beetles increased with patch connectivity but lower trophic levels were unaffected or even decreased with patch connectivity. Conclusions: The structure of invertebrate communities on trees changes with small-scale patch connectivity due to a differential response of low-order and high-order trophic levels. Isolated trees are more exposed to the sun than the more connected trees, which may affect the beetles; however, it was impossible to distinguish the microclimatic from the spatial effects. Although scattered trees generally have a higher conservation value than trees in forests, we conclude that forest trees may be more important for certain trophic levels.

Original languageEnglish
JournalLandscape Ecology
Volume31
Issue number5
Pages (from-to)939-949
Number of pages11
ISSN0921-2973
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 01.06.2016

Recently viewed

Researchers

  1. Anke Schmidt

Publications

  1. How can employment relations in global value networks be managed towards social responsibility?
  2. Systemanalyse für Softwaresysteme
  3. MindMatters
  4. The use of the online Inverted Classroom Model for digital teaching with gamification in medical studies
  5. Smart cities, smart borders. Sensing networks and security in the urban space
  6. The Influence of Tree Diversity on Natural Enemies—a Review of the “Enemies” Hypothesis in Forests
  7. Der "getarnte" Arbeitnehmer-Geschäftsführer
  8. Anatomical and neuromuscular variables strongly predict maximum knee extension torque in healthy men
  9. Aligning the design of intermediary organisations with the ecosystem
  10. Children's interpretation of ambiguous pronouns based on prior discourse
  11. Klassensprachen - Some Preliminary Theses
  12. Organizational practices for the aging workforce
  13. Safer Spaces
  14. Microtomography on biomaterials using the harwi-2 beamline at desy
  15. Tormentil for active ulcerative colitis
  16. A Dual Kalman Filter to Identify Parameters of a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor
  17. Erwiderung einer Erwiderung
  18. Assessing User Behavior by Mouse Movements
  19. Myth and Metaphor
  20. Ensuring tests of conservation interventions build on existing literature
  21. The Impact of Scale on Children’s Spatial Thought
  22. Criticality and Values in Digital Transformation Research: Insights from a Workshop
  23. Schelling's Naturalism
  24. Evaluating social learning in participatory mapping of ecosystem services
  25. Acquisitional pragmatics
  26. Attachment disorder and attachment theory – Two sides of one medal or two different coins?
  27. Communication
  28. Integrating Art and Education for Sustainable Development. A Transdisciplinary Working Process in the Context of Culture and Sustainability
  29. An inclusive future: disabled populations in the context of climate and environmental change
  30. Do it again
  31. Optimal scheduling for Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV) in blocking job-shops
  32. The importance of product lifetime labelling for purchase decisions
  33. Determination of brand-equity from a consumer-oriented perspective
  34. Learning Analytics an Hochschulen
  35. Minimal conditions of motor inductions of approach-avoidance states
  36. Eye Movements During Mathematical Word Problem Solving-Global Measures and Individual Differences
  37. Depoliticising EU migration policies
  38. Standing up against Discrimination and Exclusion