Functional roles affect diversity-succession relationships for boreal beetles.

Species diversity commonly increases with succession and this relationship is an important justification for conserving large areas of old-growth habitats. However, species with different ecological roles respond differently to succession. We examined the relationship between a range of diversity me...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Heloise Gibb, Therese Johansson, Fredrik Stenbacka, Joakim Hjältén
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2013-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3748087?pdf=render
_version_ 1818042071440687104
author Heloise Gibb
Therese Johansson
Fredrik Stenbacka
Joakim Hjältén
author_facet Heloise Gibb
Therese Johansson
Fredrik Stenbacka
Joakim Hjältén
author_sort Heloise Gibb
collection DOAJ
description Species diversity commonly increases with succession and this relationship is an important justification for conserving large areas of old-growth habitats. However, species with different ecological roles respond differently to succession. We examined the relationship between a range of diversity measures and time since disturbance for boreal forest beetles collected over a 285 year forest chronosequence. We compared responses of "functional" groups related to threat status, dependence on dead wood habitats, diet and the type of trap in which they were collected (indicative of the breadth of ecologies of species). We examined fits of commonly used rank-abundance models for each age class and traditional and derived diversity indices. Rank abundance distributions were closest to the Zipf-Mandelbrot distribution, suggesting little role for competition in structuring most assemblages. Diversity measures for most functional groups increased with succession, but differences in slopes were common. Evenness declined with succession; more so for red-listed species than common species. Saproxylic species increased in diversity with succession while non-saproxylic species did not. Slopes for fungivores were steeper than other diet groups, while detritivores were not strongly affected by succession. Species trapped using emergence traps (log specialists) responded more weakly to succession than those trapped using flight intercept traps (representing a broader set of ecologies). Species associated with microhabitats that accumulate with succession (fungi and dead wood) thus showed the strongest diversity responses to succession. These clear differences between functional group responses to forest succession should be considered in planning landscapes for optimum conservation value, particularly functional resilience.
first_indexed 2024-12-10T08:40:29Z
format Article
id doaj.art-2dd45758923d4c599fb182dead5e3e37
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1932-6203
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-10T08:40:29Z
publishDate 2013-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS ONE
spelling doaj.art-2dd45758923d4c599fb182dead5e3e372022-12-22T01:55:52ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032013-01-0188e7276410.1371/journal.pone.0072764Functional roles affect diversity-succession relationships for boreal beetles.Heloise GibbTherese JohanssonFredrik StenbackaJoakim HjälténSpecies diversity commonly increases with succession and this relationship is an important justification for conserving large areas of old-growth habitats. However, species with different ecological roles respond differently to succession. We examined the relationship between a range of diversity measures and time since disturbance for boreal forest beetles collected over a 285 year forest chronosequence. We compared responses of "functional" groups related to threat status, dependence on dead wood habitats, diet and the type of trap in which they were collected (indicative of the breadth of ecologies of species). We examined fits of commonly used rank-abundance models for each age class and traditional and derived diversity indices. Rank abundance distributions were closest to the Zipf-Mandelbrot distribution, suggesting little role for competition in structuring most assemblages. Diversity measures for most functional groups increased with succession, but differences in slopes were common. Evenness declined with succession; more so for red-listed species than common species. Saproxylic species increased in diversity with succession while non-saproxylic species did not. Slopes for fungivores were steeper than other diet groups, while detritivores were not strongly affected by succession. Species trapped using emergence traps (log specialists) responded more weakly to succession than those trapped using flight intercept traps (representing a broader set of ecologies). Species associated with microhabitats that accumulate with succession (fungi and dead wood) thus showed the strongest diversity responses to succession. These clear differences between functional group responses to forest succession should be considered in planning landscapes for optimum conservation value, particularly functional resilience.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3748087?pdf=render
spellingShingle Heloise Gibb
Therese Johansson
Fredrik Stenbacka
Joakim Hjältén
Functional roles affect diversity-succession relationships for boreal beetles.
PLoS ONE
title Functional roles affect diversity-succession relationships for boreal beetles.
title_full Functional roles affect diversity-succession relationships for boreal beetles.
title_fullStr Functional roles affect diversity-succession relationships for boreal beetles.
title_full_unstemmed Functional roles affect diversity-succession relationships for boreal beetles.
title_short Functional roles affect diversity-succession relationships for boreal beetles.
title_sort functional roles affect diversity succession relationships for boreal beetles
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3748087?pdf=render
work_keys_str_mv AT heloisegibb functionalrolesaffectdiversitysuccessionrelationshipsforborealbeetles
AT theresejohansson functionalrolesaffectdiversitysuccessionrelationshipsforborealbeetles
AT fredrikstenbacka functionalrolesaffectdiversitysuccessionrelationshipsforborealbeetles
AT joakimhjalten functionalrolesaffectdiversitysuccessionrelationshipsforborealbeetles