Dataset Information

Taxonomic and functional diversity of insect herbivore assemblages associated with the canopy-dominant trees of the Azorean native forest.

ABSTRACT: Oceanic islands have been providing important insights on the structuring of ecological communities and, under the context of the present biodiversity crisis, they are paramount to assess the effects of biological invasions on community assembly. In this study we compare the taxonomic and functional diversity of insect herbivore assemblages associated with the dominant tree species of Azorean native forests and investigate the ecological processes that may have originated current patterns of plant-herbivore associations. Five dominant trees-Erica azorica, Ilex perado subsp. azorica, Juniperus brevifolia, Laurus azorica and Vaccinium cylindraceum-were sampled in the remnants of the native forest of Terceira Island (Azores) using a standardised methodology. The taxonomic and functional diversity of insect herbivore assemblages was assessed using complementary metrics and beta diversity partitioning analysis (species replacement and richness differences) aiming to evaluate the variation in insect herbivore assemblages within and between the study plant species. Sixty two insect species, mostly bugs (Hemiptera) and caterpillars (Lepidoptera), were found in the five study plants with indigenous (endemic and native non-endemic) insects occurring with higher species richness and abundance than introduced ones. Species replacement was the most important component of insect herbivore taxonomic beta diversity while differences in trait richness played a major role on functional beta diversity. The endemic E. azorica stands out from the other study plants by having associated a very distinct insect herbivore assemblage with a particular set of functional attributes, mainly composed by large bodied and long shaped species that feed by chewing. Despite the progressive biotic homogenization witnessed in the Azores during the last few decades, several strong associations between the endemic trees and their indigenous insect herbivores remain.

SUBMITTER: Rego C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6629062 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Taxonomic and functional diversity of insect herbivore assemblages associated with the canopy-dominant trees of the Azorean native forest.

Rego Carla C Boieiro Mário M Rigal François F Ribeiro Sérvio P SP Cardoso Pedro P Borges Paulo A V PAV

PloS one 20190715 7

Oceanic islands have been providing important insights on the structuring of ecological communities and, under the context of the present biodiversity crisis, they are paramount to assess the effects of biological invasions on community assembly. In this study we compare the taxonomic and functional diversity of insect herbivore assemblages associated with the dominant tree species of Azorean native forests and investigate the ecological processes that may have originated current patterns of pla ...[more]

PMID: 31306456

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Project description:Landscape-scale deforestation poses a major threat to global biodiversity, not only because it limits habitat availability, but also because it can drive the degradation of the remaining habitat. However, the multiple pathways by which deforestation directly and indirectly affects wildlife remain poorly understood, especially for elusive forest-dependent species such as arboreal mammals. Using structural equation models, we assessed the direct and indirect effects of landscape forest loss on arboreal mammal assemblages in the Lacandona rainforest, Mexico. We placed camera traps in 100 canopy trees, and assessed the direct effect of forest cover and their indirect effects via changes in tree basal area and canopy openness on the abundance and diversity (i.e., species richness and exponential of Shannon entropy) of arboreal mammals. We found that forest loss had negative indirect effects on mammal richness through the increase of tree canopy openness. This could be related to the fact that canopy openness is usually inversely related to resource availability and canopy connectivity for arboreal mammals. Furthermore, independently of forest loss, the abundance and richness of arboreal mammals was positively related to tree basal area, which is typically higher in old-growth forests. Thus, our findings suggest that arboreal mammals generally prefer old-growth vegetation with relatively low canopy openness and high tree basal area. However, unexpectedly, forest loss was directly and positively related to the abundance and richness of mammals, probably due to a crowding effect, a reasonable possibility given the relatively short history (~40 years) of deforestation in the study region. Conversely, the Shannon diversity was not affected by the predictors we evaluated, suggesting that rare mammals (not the common species) are the ones most affected by these changes. All in all, our findings emphasize that conservation measures ought to focus on increasing forest cover in the landscape, and preventing the loss of large trees in the remaining forest patches.

Dataset Information

Taxonomic and functional diversity of insect herbivore assemblages associated with the canopy-dominant trees of the Azorean native forest.

Publications

Taxonomic and functional diversity of insect herbivore assemblages associated with the canopy-dominant trees of the Azorean native forest.

Similar Datasets

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