Hay meadows' overriding effect shapes ground beetle functional diversity in mountainous landscapes
Abstract Mountain regions are hotspots of biodiversity, and are particularly sensitive to human activities and global changes. Characterizing biodiversity using trait‐based approaches may improve the understanding of the evolutionary and mechanistic basis of ecological patterns in species distributi...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Ecosphere |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4193 |
| _version_ | 1828431564194709504 |
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| author | Mauro Gobbi Luca Corlatti Marco Caccianiga Cajo J. F. ter Braak Luca Pedrotti |
| author_facet | Mauro Gobbi Luca Corlatti Marco Caccianiga Cajo J. F. ter Braak Luca Pedrotti |
| author_sort | Mauro Gobbi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Mountain regions are hotspots of biodiversity, and are particularly sensitive to human activities and global changes. Characterizing biodiversity using trait‐based approaches may improve the understanding of the evolutionary and mechanistic basis of ecological patterns in species distribution. The investigation of trait–environment relationships, however, is challenging, especially when a hierarchical sampling design is used, as this may lead to misidentification of associations. Here, we investigate how functional traits in ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae), a taxon often used as a bioindicator of climate and environmental changes, vary with environmental features in a mountainous landscape. The study was conducted in the Stelvio National Park (Central Italian Alps), collecting individuals with pitfall traps deployed within plots (small spatial scale), located along altitudinal transects (large spatial scale). To investigate the trait–environment association, we used double constrained correspondence analysis, which permits the selection of important traits and environmental variables while accounting for the hierarchical structure of the sampling design. The trait–environment association was largely one‐dimensional, with hay meadow acting as main environmental driver, negatively related to brachypterous wing‐form (indicator of poor dispersal ability) and, to a lesser extent, to specialized diet and (only for the large scale) body length. Secondarily, these traits were related negatively to soil pH and, for the larger spatial scale, positively to canopy cover and elevation. Double constrained correspondence analysis with specialized permutation schemes for statistical testing was effective and robust to analyze the data of the hierarchical sampling. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T18:05:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8cda5f0073a24d0d857335f7081ce4c5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2150-8925 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T18:05:12Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-8cda5f0073a24d0d857335f7081ce4c52022-12-22T01:38:38ZengWileyEcosphere2150-89252022-08-01138n/an/a10.1002/ecs2.4193Hay meadows' overriding effect shapes ground beetle functional diversity in mountainous landscapesMauro Gobbi0Luca Corlatti1Marco Caccianiga2Cajo J. F. ter Braak3Luca Pedrotti4Research and Museum Collections Office, Climate and Ecology Unit, MUSE—Museo delle Scienze Trento ItalyStelvio National Park Bormio ItalyDepartment of Biosciences University of Milan Milan ItalyBiometrics Wageningen University and Research Wageningen The NetherlandsStelvio National Park Bormio ItalyAbstract Mountain regions are hotspots of biodiversity, and are particularly sensitive to human activities and global changes. Characterizing biodiversity using trait‐based approaches may improve the understanding of the evolutionary and mechanistic basis of ecological patterns in species distribution. The investigation of trait–environment relationships, however, is challenging, especially when a hierarchical sampling design is used, as this may lead to misidentification of associations. Here, we investigate how functional traits in ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae), a taxon often used as a bioindicator of climate and environmental changes, vary with environmental features in a mountainous landscape. The study was conducted in the Stelvio National Park (Central Italian Alps), collecting individuals with pitfall traps deployed within plots (small spatial scale), located along altitudinal transects (large spatial scale). To investigate the trait–environment association, we used double constrained correspondence analysis, which permits the selection of important traits and environmental variables while accounting for the hierarchical structure of the sampling design. The trait–environment association was largely one‐dimensional, with hay meadow acting as main environmental driver, negatively related to brachypterous wing‐form (indicator of poor dispersal ability) and, to a lesser extent, to specialized diet and (only for the large scale) body length. Secondarily, these traits were related negatively to soil pH and, for the larger spatial scale, positively to canopy cover and elevation. Double constrained correspondence analysis with specialized permutation schemes for statistical testing was effective and robust to analyze the data of the hierarchical sampling.https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4193carabidsdouble constrained correspondence analysisfunctional traitshierarchical samplingmountains |
| spellingShingle | Mauro Gobbi Luca Corlatti Marco Caccianiga Cajo J. F. ter Braak Luca Pedrotti Hay meadows' overriding effect shapes ground beetle functional diversity in mountainous landscapes Ecosphere carabids double constrained correspondence analysis functional traits hierarchical sampling mountains |
| title | Hay meadows' overriding effect shapes ground beetle functional diversity in mountainous landscapes |
| title_full | Hay meadows' overriding effect shapes ground beetle functional diversity in mountainous landscapes |
| title_fullStr | Hay meadows' overriding effect shapes ground beetle functional diversity in mountainous landscapes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Hay meadows' overriding effect shapes ground beetle functional diversity in mountainous landscapes |
| title_short | Hay meadows' overriding effect shapes ground beetle functional diversity in mountainous landscapes |
| title_sort | hay meadows overriding effect shapes ground beetle functional diversity in mountainous landscapes |
| topic | carabids double constrained correspondence analysis functional traits hierarchical sampling mountains |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4193 |
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