The Experts below are selected from a list of 5883 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Klaus Birkhofer - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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land use type and intensity differentially filter traits in above and below ground Arthropod Communities
Journal of Animal Ecology, 2017Co-Authors: Wolfgang W Weisser, Klaus Birkhofer, Martin M Gossner, Tim Diekotter, Claudia Drees, Olga Ferlian, Mark Maraun, Stefan Scheu, Volkmar WoltersAbstract:Along with the global decline of species richness goes a loss of ecological traits. Associated biotic homogenization of animal Communities and narrowing of trait diversity threaten ecosystem functioning and human well-being. High management intensity is regarded as an important ecological filter, eliminating species that lack suitable adaptations. Below-ground Arthropods are assumed to be less sensitive to such effects than above-ground Arthropods. Here, we compared the impact of management intensity between (grassland vs. forest) and within land-use types (local management intensity) on the trait diversity and composition in below- and above-ground Arthropod Communities. We used data on 722 Arthropod species living above-ground (Auchenorrhyncha and Heteroptera), primarily in soil (Chilopoda and Oribatida) or at the interface (Araneae and Carabidae). Our results show that trait diversity of Arthropod Communities is not primarily reduced by intense local land use, but is rather affected by differences between land-use types. Communities of Auchenorrhyncha and Chilopoda had significantly lower trait diversity in grassland habitats as compared to forests. Carabidae showed the opposite pattern with higher trait diversity in grasslands. Grasslands had a lower proportion of large Auchenorrhyncha and Carabidae individuals, whereas Chilopoda and Heteroptera individuals were larger in grasslands. Body size decreased with land-use intensity across taxa, but only in grasslands. The proportion of individuals with low mobility declined with land-use intensity in Araneae and Auchenorrhyncha, but increased in Chilopoda and grassland Heteroptera. The proportion of carnivorous individuals increased with land-use intensity in Heteroptera in forests and in Oribatida and Carabidae in grasslands. Our results suggest that gradients in management intensity across land-use types will not generally reduce trait diversity in multiple taxa, but will exert strong trait filtering within individual taxa. The observed patterns for trait filtering in individual taxa are not related to major classifications into above- and below-ground species. Instead, ecologically different taxa resembled each other in their trait diversity and compositional responses to land-use differences. These previously undescribed patterns offer an opportunity to develop management strategies for the conservation of trait diversity across taxonomic groups in permanent grassland and forest habitats.
Lightfoot David - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Pino Gate Prairie Dog Study: Mound-scale Ground-Dwelling Arthropod Plot Data from the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico (2000-2001)
UNM Digital Repository, 2016Co-Authors: Davidson Ana, Lightfoot DavidAbstract:Keystone species have large impacts on community and ecosystem properties, and create important ecological interactions with other species. Prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) and banner-tailed kangaroo rats (Dipodomys spectabilis) are considered keystone species of grassland ecosystems,and create a mosaic of unique habitats on the landscape. These habitats are known to attract a number of animal species, but little is known about how they affect Arthropod Communities. Our research evaluated the keystone roles of prairie dogs and kangaroo rats on Arthropods at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in central New Mexico, USA. We evaluated the impacts of these rodents on ground-dwelling Arthropod and grasshopper Communities in areas where prairie dogs and kangaroo rats co-occurred compared to areas where each rodent species occurred alone. Our results demonstrate that prairie dogs and kangaroo rats have keystone-level impacts on these Arthropod Communities. Their burrow systems provided important habitats for multiple trophic and taxonomic groups of Arthropods, and increased overall Arthropod abundance and species richness on the landscape. Many Arthropods also were attracted to the aboveground habitats around the mounds and across the landscapes where the rodents occurred. Detritivores, predators, ants, grasshoppers, and rare rodent burrow inhabitants showed the strongest responses to prairie dog and kangaroo rat activity. The impacts of prairie dogs and kangaroo rats were unique, and the habitats they created supported different assemblages of Arthropods. Where both rodent species occurred together on the landscape, there was greater habitat heterogeneity and increased Arthropod diversity. there was great habitat heterogeneity and increased Arthropod diversity
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Pino Gate Prairie Dog Study: Landscape-scale Grasshopper Plot Data from the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico (2000-2002)
UNM Digital Repository, 2016Co-Authors: Davidson Ana, Lightfoot DavidAbstract:Keystone species have large impacts on community and ecosystem properties, and create important ecological interactions with other species. Prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) and banner-tailed kangaroo rats (Dipodomys spectabilis) are considered keystone species of grassland ecosystems, and create a mosaic of unique habitats on the landscape. These habitats are known to attract a number of animal species, but little is known about how they affect Arthropod Communities. Our research evaluated the keystone roles of prairie dogs and kangaroo rats on Arthropods at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in central New Mexico, USA. We evaluated the impacts of these rodents on ground-dwelling Arthropod and grasshopper Communities in areas where prairie dogs and kangaroo rats co-occurred compared to areas where each rodent species occurred alone. Our results demonstrate that prairie dogs and kangaroo rats have keystone-level impacts on these Arthropod Communities. Their burrow systems provided important habitats for multiple trophic and taxonomic groups of Arthropods, and increased overall Arthropod abundance and species richness on the landscape. any Arthropods also were attracted to the aboveground habitats around the mounds and across the landscapes where the rodents occurred. Detritivores, predators, ants, grasshoppers, and rare rodent burrow inhabitants showed the strongest responses to prairie dog and kangaroo rat activity. The impacts of prairie dogs and kangaroo rats were unique, and the habitats they created supported different assemblages of Arthropods. Where both rodent species occurred together on the landscape, there was greater habitat heterogeneity and increased Arthropod diversity
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Pino Gate Prairie Dog Study: Mound-scale Grasshopper Plot Data from the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico (2000-2001)
UNM Digital Repository, 2016Co-Authors: Davidson Ana, Lightfoot DavidAbstract:Keystone species have large impacts on community and ecosystem properties, and create important ecological interactions with other species. Prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) and banner-tailed kangaroo rats (Dipodomys spectabilis) are considered keystone species of grassland ecosystems, and create a mosaic of unique habitats on the landscape. These habitats are known to attract a number of animal species, but little is known about how they affect Arthropod Communities. Our research evaluated the keystone roles of prairie dogs and kangaroo rats on Arthropods at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in central New Mexico, USA. We evaluated the impacts of these rodents on ground-dwelling Arthropod and grasshopper Communities in areas where prairie dogs and kangaroo rats co-occurred compared to areas where each rodent species occurred alone. Our results demonstrate that prairie dogs and kangaroo rats have keystone-level impacts on these Arthropod Communities. Their burrow systems provided important habitats for multiple trophic and taxonomic groups of Arthropods, and increased overall Arthropod abundance and species richness on the landscape. Many Arthropods also were attracted to the aboveground habitats around the mounds and across the landscapes where the rodents occurred. Detritivores, predators, ants, grasshoppers, and rare rodent burrow inhabitants showed the strongest responses to prairie dog and kangaroo rat activity. The impacts of prairie dogs and kangaroo rats were unique, and the habitats they created supported different assemblages of Arthropods. Where both rodent species occurred together on the landscape, there was greater habitat heterogeneity and increased Arthropod diversity
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Pino Gate Prairie Dog Study: Landscape-scale Ground-Dwelling Arthropod Plot Data from the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico (2000-2001)
UNM Digital Repository, 2016Co-Authors: Davidson Ana, Lightfoot DavidAbstract:Keystone species have large impacts on community and ecosystem properties, and create important ecological interactions with other species. Prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.), and banner-tailed kangaroo rats (Dipodomys spectabilis) are considered keystone species of grassland ecosystems, and create a mosaic of unique habitats on the landscape. These habitats are known to attract a number of animal species, but little is known about how they affect Arthropod Communities. Our research evaluated the keystone roles of prairie dogs and kangaroo rats on Arthropods at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in central New Mexico, USA. We evaluated the impacts of these rodents on ground-dwelling Arthropod and grasshopper Communities in areas where prairie dogs and kangaroo rats co-occurred compared to areas where each rodent species occurred alone. Our results demonstrate that prairie dogs and kangaroo rats have keystone-level impacts on these Arthropod Communities. Their burrow systems provided important habitats for multiple trophic and taxonomic groups of Arthropods, and increased overall Arthropod abundance and species richness on the landscape. Many Arthropods also were attracted to the aboveground habitats around the mounds and across the landscapes where the rodents occurred. Detritivores, predators, ants, grasshoppers, and rare rodent burrow inhabitants showed the strongest responses to prairie dog and kangaroo rat activity. The impacts of prairie dogs and kangaroo rats were unique, and the habitats they created supported different assemblages of Arthropods. Where both rodent species occurred together on the landscape, there was great habitat heterogeneity and increased Arthropod diversity
Rosemary G. Gillespie - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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The effect of DNA degradation bias in passive sampling devices on metabarcoding studies of Arthropod Communities and their associated microbiota.
PloS one, 2018Co-Authors: Henrik Krehenwinkel, Marisa Fong, Susan Kennedy, Edward Greg Huang, Suzuki Noriyuki, Luis Cayetano, Rosemary G. GillespieAbstract:PCR amplification bias is a well-known problem in metagenomic analysis of Arthropod Communities. In contrast, variation of DNA degradation rates is a largely neglected source of bias. Differential degradation of DNA molecules could cause underrepresentation of taxa in a community sequencing sample. Arthropods are often collected by passive sampling devices, like malaise traps. Specimens in such a trap are exposed to varying periods of suboptimal storage and possibly different rates of DNA degradation. Degradation bias could thus be a significant issue, skewing diversity estimates. Here, we estimate the effect of differential DNA degradation on the recovery of community diversity of Hawaiian Arthropods and their associated microbiota. We use a simple DNA size selection protocol to test for degradation bias in mock Communities, as well as passively collected samples from actual Malaise traps. We compare the effect of DNA degradation to that of varying PCR conditions, including primer choice, annealing temperature and cycle number. Our results show that DNA degradation does indeed bias community analyses. However, the effect of this bias is of minor importance compared to that induced by changes in PCR conditions. Analyses of the macro and microbiome from passively collected Arthropod samples are thus well worth pursuing.
Volkmar Wolters - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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land use type and intensity differentially filter traits in above and below ground Arthropod Communities
Journal of Animal Ecology, 2017Co-Authors: Wolfgang W Weisser, Klaus Birkhofer, Martin M Gossner, Tim Diekotter, Claudia Drees, Olga Ferlian, Mark Maraun, Stefan Scheu, Volkmar WoltersAbstract:Along with the global decline of species richness goes a loss of ecological traits. Associated biotic homogenization of animal Communities and narrowing of trait diversity threaten ecosystem functioning and human well-being. High management intensity is regarded as an important ecological filter, eliminating species that lack suitable adaptations. Below-ground Arthropods are assumed to be less sensitive to such effects than above-ground Arthropods. Here, we compared the impact of management intensity between (grassland vs. forest) and within land-use types (local management intensity) on the trait diversity and composition in below- and above-ground Arthropod Communities. We used data on 722 Arthropod species living above-ground (Auchenorrhyncha and Heteroptera), primarily in soil (Chilopoda and Oribatida) or at the interface (Araneae and Carabidae). Our results show that trait diversity of Arthropod Communities is not primarily reduced by intense local land use, but is rather affected by differences between land-use types. Communities of Auchenorrhyncha and Chilopoda had significantly lower trait diversity in grassland habitats as compared to forests. Carabidae showed the opposite pattern with higher trait diversity in grasslands. Grasslands had a lower proportion of large Auchenorrhyncha and Carabidae individuals, whereas Chilopoda and Heteroptera individuals were larger in grasslands. Body size decreased with land-use intensity across taxa, but only in grasslands. The proportion of individuals with low mobility declined with land-use intensity in Araneae and Auchenorrhyncha, but increased in Chilopoda and grassland Heteroptera. The proportion of carnivorous individuals increased with land-use intensity in Heteroptera in forests and in Oribatida and Carabidae in grasslands. Our results suggest that gradients in management intensity across land-use types will not generally reduce trait diversity in multiple taxa, but will exert strong trait filtering within individual taxa. The observed patterns for trait filtering in individual taxa are not related to major classifications into above- and below-ground species. Instead, ecologically different taxa resembled each other in their trait diversity and compositional responses to land-use differences. These previously undescribed patterns offer an opportunity to develop management strategies for the conservation of trait diversity across taxonomic groups in permanent grassland and forest habitats.
Wolfgang W Weisser - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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plant diversity induces shifts in the functional structure and diversity across trophic levels
Oikos, 2018Co-Authors: Anne Ebeling, Michael Rzanny, Markus Lange, Nico Eisenhauer, Lionel R Hertzog, Sebastian T Meyer, Wolfgang W WeisserAbstract:Changes to primary producer diversity can cascade up to consumers and affect ecosystem processes. Although the effect of producer diversity on higher trophic groups have been studied, these studies often quantify taxonomy-based measures of biodiversity, like species richness, which do not necessarily reflect the functioning of these Communities. In this study, we assess how plant species richness affects the functional composition and diversity of higher trophic levels and discuss how this might affect ecosystem processes, such as herbivory, predation and decomposition. Based on six different consumer traits, we examined the functional composition of Arthropod Communities sampled in experimental plots that differed in plant species richness. The two components we focused on were functional variation in the consumer community structure (functional structure) and functional diversity, expressed as functional richness, evenness and divergence. We found a consistent positive effect of plant species richness on the functional richness of herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores, but not decomposers, and contrasting patterns for functional evenness and divergence. Increasing plant species richness shifted the omnivore community to more predatory and less mobile species, and the herbivore community to more specialized and smaller species. This was accompanied by a shift towards more species occurring in the vegetation than in the ground layer. Our study shows that plant species richness strongly affects the functional structure and diversity of aboveground Arthropod Communities. The observed shifts in body size (herbivores), specialization (herbivores), and feeding mode (omnivores) together with changes in the functional diversity may underlie previously observed increases in herbivory and predation in plant Communities of higher diversity.
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land use type and intensity differentially filter traits in above and below ground Arthropod Communities
Journal of Animal Ecology, 2017Co-Authors: Wolfgang W Weisser, Klaus Birkhofer, Martin M Gossner, Tim Diekotter, Claudia Drees, Olga Ferlian, Mark Maraun, Stefan Scheu, Volkmar WoltersAbstract:Along with the global decline of species richness goes a loss of ecological traits. Associated biotic homogenization of animal Communities and narrowing of trait diversity threaten ecosystem functioning and human well-being. High management intensity is regarded as an important ecological filter, eliminating species that lack suitable adaptations. Below-ground Arthropods are assumed to be less sensitive to such effects than above-ground Arthropods. Here, we compared the impact of management intensity between (grassland vs. forest) and within land-use types (local management intensity) on the trait diversity and composition in below- and above-ground Arthropod Communities. We used data on 722 Arthropod species living above-ground (Auchenorrhyncha and Heteroptera), primarily in soil (Chilopoda and Oribatida) or at the interface (Araneae and Carabidae). Our results show that trait diversity of Arthropod Communities is not primarily reduced by intense local land use, but is rather affected by differences between land-use types. Communities of Auchenorrhyncha and Chilopoda had significantly lower trait diversity in grassland habitats as compared to forests. Carabidae showed the opposite pattern with higher trait diversity in grasslands. Grasslands had a lower proportion of large Auchenorrhyncha and Carabidae individuals, whereas Chilopoda and Heteroptera individuals were larger in grasslands. Body size decreased with land-use intensity across taxa, but only in grasslands. The proportion of individuals with low mobility declined with land-use intensity in Araneae and Auchenorrhyncha, but increased in Chilopoda and grassland Heteroptera. The proportion of carnivorous individuals increased with land-use intensity in Heteroptera in forests and in Oribatida and Carabidae in grasslands. Our results suggest that gradients in management intensity across land-use types will not generally reduce trait diversity in multiple taxa, but will exert strong trait filtering within individual taxa. The observed patterns for trait filtering in individual taxa are not related to major classifications into above- and below-ground species. Instead, ecologically different taxa resembled each other in their trait diversity and compositional responses to land-use differences. These previously undescribed patterns offer an opportunity to develop management strategies for the conservation of trait diversity across taxonomic groups in permanent grassland and forest habitats.
