Ground Beetle Community Structure and Function in Restored Tallgrass Prairie
Title | Ground Beetle Community Structure and Function in Restored Tallgrass Prairie PDF eBook |
Author | Melissa Nelson |
Publisher | |
Pages | 49 |
Release | 2019 |
Genre | Conservation biology |
ISBN | 9781085597906 |
With the removal and destruction of natural areas for human use, there is a push to restore natural habitats. However, most restoration activities focus on reestablishing plant communities, while less is known about the recovery of organisms in higher trophic levels and their functional roles. Considering functional traits (those that explain an organisms' response to environmental change and impacts on ecosystems) of restored communities may reveal how communities, and the ecosystem functions they drive, recover. Of particular interest are ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) because of their diversity and important ecological roles as consumers. This study focused on the ground beetle community's taxonomic and functional responses to time since restoration, presence of bison, and prescribed fire to make predictions of how ground beetles influence restoration outcomes in tallgrass prairie. Specifically, the functional responses of interest were seed and arthropod predation. FDiv and FDis, two measures of functional diversity, were negatively affected by prescribed fire and presence of bison, but older restored sites had higher FDiv and FDis values. Predation rates, related to ecosystem functioning, also declined with recent fire. Older sites also had a higher activity density (abundance) of ground beetles, and bison created particularly favorable habitat for carnivorous and flightless species. While there was no clear pattern of how site age or bison impacted the ground beetle community, prescribed fire tended to reduce functional diversity and predatory function. Therefore, land managers should consider the timeframe between prescribed burns in order to allow the ground beetle community to reestablish, if the goal is to increase ground beetle community diversity and functional diversity.
Seasonal Diversity, Species Composition, and Functional Trait Diversity of Ground Beetle Communities in Tallgrass Prairies at Nachusa Grasslands in Northern Illinois
Title | Seasonal Diversity, Species Composition, and Functional Trait Diversity of Ground Beetle Communities in Tallgrass Prairies at Nachusa Grasslands in Northern Illinois PDF eBook |
Author | Katie A. LaMagdeleine-Dent |
Publisher | |
Pages | 80 |
Release | 2018 |
Genre | |
ISBN | 9780438806498 |
Ground Beetle Diversity in Sand Prairies and Restored Tallgrass Prairies of West-central Illinois
Title | Ground Beetle Diversity in Sand Prairies and Restored Tallgrass Prairies of West-central Illinois PDF eBook |
Author | Jessi L. Edmiston |
Publisher | |
Pages | 64 |
Release | 2018 |
Genre | |
ISBN | 9780438353909 |
Dung Beetle Functional Traits Related to Restoration Management Practices in Tallgrass Prairie
Title | Dung Beetle Functional Traits Related to Restoration Management Practices in Tallgrass Prairie PDF eBook |
Author | Sheryl C. Hosler |
Publisher | |
Pages | 67 |
Release | 2019 |
Genre | Ecology |
ISBN | 9781085596640 |
The restoration of degraded ecosystems often focuses on reestablishing species richness and diversity of native organisms, especially plants. However, functional trait descriptions of communities are emerging as a more comprehensive approach to evaluating restorations, including consumer communities. I examined the species composition and functional traits of dung beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabeidae) communities across a chronosequence of restored tallgrass prairie in Illinois, in which sites varied in the presence of bison and the application of prescribed fire during the study. Data were collected on behavioral guild and body measurements, and functional diversity metrics (functional richness, evenness, divergence, and dispersion) were analyzed using generalized linear models. I also performed a dung decomposition experiment to measure an ecosystem function driven by these insects. Bison sites had higher beetle abundance and biomass than non-bison sites. Bison sites also had lower functional divergence and functional dispersion than non-bison sites, but bison presence and prescribed fire interacted to affect functional richness. Dung beetles and other arthropods did contribute significantly to dung decomposition, and decomposition decreased with site age. My research reinforces the use of dung beetles as indicators of functional restoration in grasslands. I recommend that restoration managers consider the arthropod community and its functional characteristics when making management decisions.
Ground Beetle Community Structure as a Bioindicator of Forest Health
Title | Ground Beetle Community Structure as a Bioindicator of Forest Health PDF eBook |
Author | Jaime Villa Castillo |
Publisher | |
Pages | 212 |
Release | 2000 |
Genre | Forest health |
ISBN |
The Ground Beetles (Coleoptera--Carabidae) of Tallgrass Prairie Remnants in Western Minnesota
Title | The Ground Beetles (Coleoptera--Carabidae) of Tallgrass Prairie Remnants in Western Minnesota PDF eBook |
Author | Paul Phillip Tinerella |
Publisher | |
Pages | 366 |
Release | 2000 |
Genre | Ground beetles |
ISBN |
A study of predatory ground beetle community structure
Title | A study of predatory ground beetle community structure PDF eBook |
Author | Elizabeth Hamilton |
Publisher | |
Pages | 0 |
Release | 1998 |
Genre | Beetles |
ISBN |