Dataset Information

Arthropod Distribution in a Tropical Rainforest: Tackling a Four Dimensional Puzzle.

ABSTRACT: Quantifying the spatio-temporal distribution of arthropods in tropical rainforests represents a first step towards scrutinizing the global distribution of biodiversity on Earth. To date most studies have focused on narrow taxonomic groups or lack a design that allows partitioning of the components of diversity. Here, we consider an exceptionally large dataset (113,952 individuals representing 5,858 species), obtained from the San Lorenzo forest in Panama, where the phylogenetic breadth of arthropod taxa was surveyed using 14 protocols targeting the soil, litter, understory, lower and upper canopy habitats, replicated across seasons in 2003 and 2004. This dataset is used to explore the relative influence of horizontal, vertical and seasonal drivers of arthropod distribution in this forest. We considered arthropod abundance, observed and estimated species richness, additive decomposition of species richness, multiplicative partitioning of species diversity, variation in species composition, species turnover and guild structure as components of diversity. At the scale of our study (2 km of distance, 40 m in height and 400 days), the effects related to the vertical and seasonal dimensions were most important. Most adult arthropods were collected from the soil/litter or the upper canopy and species richness was highest in the canopy. We compared the distribution of arthropods and trees within our study system. Effects related to the seasonal dimension were stronger for arthropods than for trees. We conclude that: (1) models of beta diversity developed for tropical trees are unlikely to be applicable to tropical arthropods; (2) it is imperative that estimates of global biodiversity derived from mass collecting of arthropods in tropical rainforests embrace the strong vertical and seasonal partitioning observed here; and (3) given the high species turnover observed between seasons, global climate change may have severe consequences for rainforest arthropods.

SUBMITTER: Basset Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4669110 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Arthropod Distribution in a Tropical Rainforest: Tackling a Four Dimensional Puzzle.

Basset Yves Y Cizek Lukas L Cuénoud Philippe P Didham Raphael K RK Novotny Vojtech V Ødegaard Frode F Roslin Tomas T Tishechkin Alexey K AK Schmidl Jürgen J Winchester Neville N NN Roubik David W DW Aberlenc Henri-Pierre HP Bail Johannes J Barrios Héctor H Bridle Jonathan R JR Castaño-Meneses Gabriela G Corbara Bruno B Curletti Gianfranco G Duarte da Rocha Wesley W De Bakker Domir D Delabie Jacques H C JH Dejean Alain A Fagan Laura L LL Floren Andreas A Kitching Roger L RL Medianero Enrique E Gama de Oliveira Evandro E Orivel Jérôme J Pollet Marc M Rapp Mathieu M Ribeiro Sérvio P SP Roisin Yves Y Schmidt Jesper B JB Sørensen Line L Lewinsohn Thomas M TM Leponce Maurice M

PloS one 20151203 12

Quantifying the spatio-temporal distribution of arthropods in tropical rainforests represents a first step towards scrutinizing the global distribution of biodiversity on Earth. To date most studies have focused on narrow taxonomic groups or lack a design that allows partitioning of the components of diversity. Here, we consider an exceptionally large dataset (113,952 individuals representing 5,858 species), obtained from the San Lorenzo forest in Panama, where the phylogenetic breadth of arthro ...[more]

PMID: 26633187

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Project description:In stark contrast to the wealth of detail about C. elegans developmental biology and molecular genetics, biologists lack basic data for understanding the abundance and distribution of Caenorhabditis species in natural areas that are unperturbed by human influence.Here we report the analysis of dense sampling from a small, remote site in the Amazonian rain forest of the Nouragues Natural Reserve in French Guiana.Sampling of rotting fruits and flowers revealed proliferating populations of Caenorhabditis, with up to three different species co-occurring within a single substrate sample, indicating remarkable overlap of local microhabitats. We isolated six species, representing the highest local species richness for Caenorhabditis encountered to date, including both tropically cosmopolitan and geographically restricted species not previously isolated elsewhere. We also documented the structure of within-species molecular diversity at multiple spatial scales, focusing on 57 C. briggsae isolates from French Guiana. Two distinct genetic subgroups co-occur even within a single fruit. However, the structure of C. briggsae population genetic diversity in French Guiana does not result from strong local patterning but instead presents a microcosm of global patterns of differentiation. We further integrate our observations with new data from nearly 50 additional recently collected C. briggsae isolates from both tropical and temperate regions of the world to re-evaluate local and global patterns of intraspecific diversity, providing the most comprehensive analysis to date for C. briggsae population structure across multiple spatial scales.The abundance and species richness of Caenorhabditis nematodes is high in a Neotropical rainforest habitat that is subject to minimal human interference. Microhabitat preferences overlap for different local species, although global distributions include both cosmopolitan and geographically restricted groups. Local samples for the cosmopolitan C. briggsae mirror its pan-tropical patterns of intraspecific polymorphism. It remains an important challenge to decipher what drives Caenorhabditis distributions and diversity within and between species.

Dataset Information

Arthropod Distribution in a Tropical Rainforest: Tackling a Four Dimensional Puzzle.

Publications

Arthropod Distribution in a Tropical Rainforest: Tackling a Four Dimensional Puzzle.

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