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

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

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.
Original languageEnglish
JournalZooKeys
Volume2021
Issue number1044
Pages (from-to)907-927
Number of pages21
ISSN1313-2989
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 16.06.2021

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© Pascale Zumstein et al.

    Research areas

  • Ecosystems Research - Abundance, BEF-China, biomass, canopy cover, Carabidae, elevational gradient, herb cover, pH-value, species richness

Documents

DOI

Recently viewed

Publications

  1. The impact of auditor rotation, audit firm rotation and non-audit services on earnings quality, audit quality and investor perceptions: A literature review
  2. The User-Journey in Online Search
  3. Beschreibungsmethodik für AAL-Integrationsprofile
  4. „Rechtsstaatlichkeit muss wehtun” oder: 20 Jahre „InIIS“
  5. Integrating Art and Education for Sustainable Development. A Transdisciplinary Working Process in the Context of Culture and Sustainability
  6. § 354 Verwirkungsklausel
  7. Conduct or Construct Ourselves?
  8. Games
  9. Moderators of intergroup evaluation in disadvantaged groups
  10. Vegetation responses to environmental conditions in floodplain grasslands
  11. How passion in entrepreneurship develops over time
  12. Physico-chemical characteristics affect the spatial distribution of pesticide and transformation product loss to an agricultural brook
  13. Cultural influences on social feedback processing of character traits
  14. Geometric control techniques for manipulation systems
  15. Liebe
  16. The effects of work engagement and self-efficacy on personal initiative and performance
  17. Tablets im Sportunterricht!? Echt? Wow!
  18. A pluralistic and integrated approach to action-oriented knowledge for sustainability
  19. THE SOVIET CRACKDOWN ON LITHUANIAN PARTISAN MOVEMENTS (1946–1956) – A GENOCIDE?
  20. Magnús eiríksson
  21. Don't lapse into temptation
  22. Woanders Zuhause
  23. ephemera: theory and politics in organization. Special issue: "Immaterial and Affective Labour: Explored"
  24. Pädagogische Redeweisen
  25. Öko-Controlling
  26. Introduction
  27. Mysterium? Mysteria!
  28. Edge devices for internet of medical things
  29. Working the Digital Humanities
  30. Can promoting compassion and gratitude through a four-week online training program improve women's mental health? A randomized controlled trial
  31. Maulwurf
  32. Creativity in the classroom
  33. Schnelligkeit trainieren
  34. Jacobi-Otto-Diesel