In the Shadow of Cormorants: Succession of Avian Colony Affects Selected Groups of Ground Dwelling Predatory Arthropods
(1) Nesting of the great cormorants strongly influences terrestrial ecosystems by physical destruction of vegetation and chemical changes in the soil and around the nesting colonies. (2) We investigated spider, harvestmen, and centipede assemblages in different influenced plots (starting colony, act...
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MDPI AG
2022-02-01
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| Series: | Forests |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/13/2/330 |
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| author | Ondřej Machač Povilas Ivinskis Jolanta Rimšaitė Ondřej Horňák Ivan Hadrián Tuf |
| author_facet | Ondřej Machač Povilas Ivinskis Jolanta Rimšaitė Ondřej Horňák Ivan Hadrián Tuf |
| author_sort | Ondřej Machač |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | (1) Nesting of the great cormorants strongly influences terrestrial ecosystems by physical destruction of vegetation and chemical changes in the soil and around the nesting colonies. (2) We investigated spider, harvestmen, and centipede assemblages in different influenced plots (starting colony, active dense colony, and partly abandoned colony) in the biggest Lithuanian cormorant colony in pine woods on the shore of the Baltic Sea in the Curonian Spit National Park in Lithuania. Selected groups of ground dwelling predatory arthropods were collected by pitfall traps in 2012–2014. (3) We recorded a total of 4299 spider specimens (102 species), 451 harvestmen specimens (9 species), and 1537 centipede specimens (7 species). The coverage of moss and herb vegetation, mean Ellenberg value for light, bare ground without vegetation, and number of nests significantly influenced the abundance, species richness, and ecological groups of arthropod predators. (4) Active ground hunters represented by spider <i>Trochosa terricola</i> and centipede <i>Lithobius forficatus</i> were positively influenced by bare ground without vegetation and a higher density of nests, and negatively influenced by an increasing coverage of moss and herbs. The opposite effect was found for web builder spiders and less movable species, represented by dominant spider species <i>Diplostyla concolor</i> and harvestmen <i>Nemastoma lugubre</i> and <i>Oligolophus tridens</i>. (5) The results show how cormorant influence the forest vegetation structure and affect the abundance and species diversity of ground dwelling predatory arthropods. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T21:56:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f8fb8a1787c34018bd93a494fc04fa5f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4907 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T21:56:16Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Forests |
| spelling | doaj.art-f8fb8a1787c34018bd93a494fc04fa5f2023-11-23T19:57:50ZengMDPI AGForests1999-49072022-02-0113233010.3390/f13020330In the Shadow of Cormorants: Succession of Avian Colony Affects Selected Groups of Ground Dwelling Predatory ArthropodsOndřej Machač0Povilas Ivinskis1Jolanta Rimšaitė2Ondřej Horňák3Ivan Hadrián Tuf4Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Palacký University Olomouc, Šlechtitelů 27, 77900 Olomouc, Czech RepublicInstitute of Ecology, Nature Research Centre, Akademijos 2, 08412 Vilnius, LithuaniaInstitute of Ecology, Nature Research Centre, Akademijos 2, 08412 Vilnius, LithuaniaDepartment of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Palacký University Olomouc, Šlechtitelů 27, 77900 Olomouc, Czech RepublicDepartment of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Palacký University Olomouc, Šlechtitelů 27, 77900 Olomouc, Czech Republic(1) Nesting of the great cormorants strongly influences terrestrial ecosystems by physical destruction of vegetation and chemical changes in the soil and around the nesting colonies. (2) We investigated spider, harvestmen, and centipede assemblages in different influenced plots (starting colony, active dense colony, and partly abandoned colony) in the biggest Lithuanian cormorant colony in pine woods on the shore of the Baltic Sea in the Curonian Spit National Park in Lithuania. Selected groups of ground dwelling predatory arthropods were collected by pitfall traps in 2012–2014. (3) We recorded a total of 4299 spider specimens (102 species), 451 harvestmen specimens (9 species), and 1537 centipede specimens (7 species). The coverage of moss and herb vegetation, mean Ellenberg value for light, bare ground without vegetation, and number of nests significantly influenced the abundance, species richness, and ecological groups of arthropod predators. (4) Active ground hunters represented by spider <i>Trochosa terricola</i> and centipede <i>Lithobius forficatus</i> were positively influenced by bare ground without vegetation and a higher density of nests, and negatively influenced by an increasing coverage of moss and herbs. The opposite effect was found for web builder spiders and less movable species, represented by dominant spider species <i>Diplostyla concolor</i> and harvestmen <i>Nemastoma lugubre</i> and <i>Oligolophus tridens</i>. (5) The results show how cormorant influence the forest vegetation structure and affect the abundance and species diversity of ground dwelling predatory arthropods.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/13/2/330AraneaeChilopodaOpiliones<i>Phalacrocorax carbo</i>Curonian spitnesting colony |
| spellingShingle | Ondřej Machač Povilas Ivinskis Jolanta Rimšaitė Ondřej Horňák Ivan Hadrián Tuf In the Shadow of Cormorants: Succession of Avian Colony Affects Selected Groups of Ground Dwelling Predatory Arthropods Forests Araneae Chilopoda Opiliones <i>Phalacrocorax carbo</i> Curonian spit nesting colony |
| title | In the Shadow of Cormorants: Succession of Avian Colony Affects Selected Groups of Ground Dwelling Predatory Arthropods |
| title_full | In the Shadow of Cormorants: Succession of Avian Colony Affects Selected Groups of Ground Dwelling Predatory Arthropods |
| title_fullStr | In the Shadow of Cormorants: Succession of Avian Colony Affects Selected Groups of Ground Dwelling Predatory Arthropods |
| title_full_unstemmed | In the Shadow of Cormorants: Succession of Avian Colony Affects Selected Groups of Ground Dwelling Predatory Arthropods |
| title_short | In the Shadow of Cormorants: Succession of Avian Colony Affects Selected Groups of Ground Dwelling Predatory Arthropods |
| title_sort | in the shadow of cormorants succession of avian colony affects selected groups of ground dwelling predatory arthropods |
| topic | Araneae Chilopoda Opiliones <i>Phalacrocorax carbo</i> Curonian spit nesting colony |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/13/2/330 |
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