[go: up one dir, main page]
More Web Proxy on the site http://driver.im/ Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

Bottom-up control of carabid beetle communities in early successional wetlands: mediated by vegetation structure or plant diversity?

  • Plant Animal Interactions
  • Published:
Oecologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Two hypotheses of bottom-up control that predict that the species richness of Carabidae will depend either on the taxonomic diversity of plants ("taxonomic diversity hypothesis") or on the structural heterogeneity of the vegetation ("structural heterogeneity hypothesis") were tested. Plant species were classified into nine plant structural groups through cluster analysis of morphological traits (e.g. total height) at 30 early successional temporary wetlands in the east-German agricultural landscape. In a linear regression analysis, the heterogeneity of vegetation structures explained 55% of the variation in carabid beetle diversity. According to a partial correlation analysis, plant taxonomic diversity did not have a significant effect, consistent with the "structural heterogeneity hypothesis," and contradicting previous studies which concluded that plant taxonomic diversity would be the most important factor in early successional habitats. An experimental study was used to test hypotheses on the processes underlying this bottom-up control by vegetation structure: the "hunting efficiency hypothesis," the "enemy-free space hypothesis," and the "microhabitat specialization hypothesis." The composition of plant structural groups in 15 vegetation plots (1 m2) was manipulated, creating a gradient from dense vegetation to open plots. Subsequent pitfall catches revealed significant differences in the activity-abundances of the carabid species. Large species preferred dense vegetation plots, consistent with the enemy-free space hypothesis that large species are more vulnerable to predation on the open plots and prefer dense vegetation to escape from natural enemies. The results indicate that bottom-up control is not mediated only by plant taxonomic or functional group diversity and that vegetation structures may be more important than previously suggested.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
£29.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price includes VAT (United Kingdom)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 4.

References

  • Barndt D, Brase S, Glauche M, Gruttke H, Kegel B, Platen R, Winkelmann H (1991) Die Laufkäferfauna von Berlin (Wet) – mit Kennzeichnung und Auswertung der verschollenen und gefährdeten Arten (Rote Liste, 3. Fassung). In: Auhagen A, Platen R, Sukopp H (eds.) Rote Listen der gefährdeten Pflanzen und Tiere in Berlin. Landschaftsentwicklung und Umweltforschung, pp 243–275

  • Blake S, Foster GN, Eyre MD, Luff ML (1994) Effects of habitat type and grassland management practices on the body size distribution of carabid beetles. Pedobiologia 38: 502-512

    Google Scholar 

  • Brose U (2001a) Artendiversität der Pflanzen- und Laufkäfergemeinschaften (Coleoptera, Carabidae) von Naßstellen auf mehreren räumlichen Skalenebenen. Borntraeger, Berlin

  • Brose U (2001b) Relative importance of isolation, area and habitat heterogeneity for vascular plant species richness of temporary wetlands in East-German farmland. Ecography 24:722–730

    Google Scholar 

  • Brose U (2002) Estimating species richness of pitfall catches by non-parametric estimators. Pedobiologia 46:101–107

    Google Scholar 

  • Burnham KP, Overton WS (1979) Robust estimation of population size when capture probabilities vary among animals. Ecology 60:927–936

    Google Scholar 

  • Costello MJ, Daane KM (1998) Influence of ground cover on spider populations in a table grape vineyard. Ecol Entomol 23:33–40

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dennis P, Young MR, Howard CL, Gordon IJ (1997) The response of epigeal beetles (Col.: Carabidae, Staphylinidae) to varied grazing regimes on upland Nardus stricta grasslands. J Appl Ecol 34:433–443

    Google Scholar 

  • Dennis P, Young MR, Gordon IJ (1998) Distribution and abundance of small insects and arachnids in relation to structural heterogeneity of grazed, indigenous grasslands. Ecol Entomol 23:253–264

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hatley CL, MacMahon JA (1980) Spider community organization: seasonal variation and the role of vegetation architecture. Environ Entomol 9:632–639

    Google Scholar 

  • Heck KL, Crowder LB (1991) Habitat structure and predator-prey interactions in vegetated aquatic systems. In: Bell SS, McCoy ED, Mushinsky HR (eds) Habitat structure: the physical arrangement of objects in space. Chapman and Hall, London, pp 281–299

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunter MD, Price PW (1992) Playing chutes and ladders: heterogeneity and the relative roles of bottom-up and top-down forces in natural communities. Ecology 73:724–732

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaspari M, Joern A (1993) Prey choice by three insectivorous grassland birds: reevaluating opportunism. Oikos 68:414–430

    Google Scholar 

  • Lawton JH (1983) Plant architecture and the diversity of phytophagous insects. Annu Rev Entomol 28:23–39

    Google Scholar 

  • McCoy ED, Bell SS (1991) Habitat structure: the evolution and diversification of a complex topic. In: Bell SS, McCoy ED, Mushinsky HR (eds.) Habitat structure: the physical arrangement of objects in space. Chapman and Hall, London, pp 3–27

    Google Scholar 

  • Morse DH (1980) Behavioral mechanisms in ecology. Harvard University Press, Cambridge

  • Murdoch WW, Evans FC, Peterson CH (1972) Diversity and pattern in plants and insects. Ecology 53:819–829

    Google Scholar 

  • Price WP, Bouton CE, Gross P, McPheron BA, Thompson JN, Weis AE (1980) Interactions among three trophic levels: influence of plants on interactions between herbivores and natural enemies. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 11:41–65

    Google Scholar 

  • Provencher L, Vickery W (1988) Territoriality, vegetation complexity, and biological control: the case for spiders. Am Nat 132:257–266

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rypstra AL (1983) The importance of food and space in limiting web-spider densities; a test using field enclosures. Oecologia 59:312–316

    Google Scholar 

  • Siemann E (1998) Experimental tests of effects of plant productivity and diversity on grassland arthropod diversity. Ecology 79:2057–2070

    Google Scholar 

  • Siemann E, Tilman D, Haarstad J, Ritchie M (1998) Experimental tests of the dependence of arthropod diversity on plant diversity. Am Nat 152:738–750

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Southwood TRE (1978) The components of diversity. In: Mound LA, Waloff N (eds) Diversity of insect faunas. Blackwell, Oxford, pp 19–40

  • Southwood TRE, Brown VK, Reader PM (1979) The relationships of plant and insect diversities in succession. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 12:327–348

    Google Scholar 

  • Symstad AJ, Siemann E, Haarstad J (2000) An experimental test of the effect of plant functional group diversity on arthropod diversity. Oikos 89:243–253

    Google Scholar 

  • Uetz GW (1991) Habitat structure and spider foraging. In: Bell SS, McCoy ED, Mushinsky HR (eds) Habitat structure: the physical arrangement of objects in space. Chapman and Hall, London, pp 325–348

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank U. Stachow, S. Samu, J. Dunne and T. Dennard for their valuable comments on this manuscript. I acknowledge D. Wrase for help in determining the species. This work was funded through a grant from the state of Brandenburg.

Author information

Author notes

  1. U. Brose

    Present address: Department of Biology, Romberg Tiburon Center, San Francisco State University, 3152 Paradise Drive, Tiburon, CA 94920, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Agricultural Landscape and Land-Use Research, Institute of Land-Use Systems and Landscape Ecology, Muencheberg, Germany

    U. Brose

Authors
  1. U. Brose
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to U. Brose.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Brose, U. Bottom-up control of carabid beetle communities in early successional wetlands: mediated by vegetation structure or plant diversity?. Oecologia 135, 407–413 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-003-1222-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-003-1222-7

Keywords