Biodiversity and pollen analysis: modern pollen studies and the recent history of a floodplain woodland in S. W. Ireland

One of the problems with biodiversity for palynologists is that their samples come from an unbounded area and source area varies with both pollen/spore type and vegetation type. There have been two broad approaches to the problem of inferring diversity from pollen/spore samples; firstly the use of pollen type richness as a proxy for species richness, and secondly the ‘identification’ of past vegetation communities aided by ecological inference and historical or modern data concerning species affinities and typical diversity. The estimation of biodiversity from pollen analysis depends upon the pollen count, taxonomic precision, source strength for individual types and dispersal/transport of pollen from source areas to the site. A transect of surface pollen samples is used here to test the effect of a vegetation boundary on pollen/spore diversity and compare the pollen/spore diversity with the species richness of the woodland. Palynological richness (at a constant count sum) does, to some extent, reflect changing local vegetation along the transect. Type count curves also reflect the changes in vegetation type along the transect due to the partial influence of species richness on pollen/spore richness. This study suggests that depending upon the woodland composition, the woodland may not entirely drown-out the pollen signal of the surrounding vegetation, and that a small woodland may be more representative (as a sampling site) of the valley floor diversity than a raised mire. The surface transect is also used in the interpretation of Medieval pollen levels from The Gearagh.     

Use of sonar transects to improve efficiency and reduce potential bias in visual surveys of reef fishes

A sonar transect method has been found to be a useful alternative to traditional tape-transect methods in quantification of the species richness and abundance of reef fish. No significant difference was found between species richness measured by the methods, and high Jaccard’s similarity coefficients were calculated for each site using the two methods, indicating a similar response to fish of both the sonar and tape transects. Abundance estimates of one species only (Chaetodon tricinctus) were greater when the transect tape method was used, probably because fish were being attracted to the divers who deployed the transect tape. Substantial time saving was also noted for the sonar transects, indicating overall that estimating distance using sonar rather than transect tape may enable increased efficiency and accuracy in␣underwater visual surveys for both ecological␣and management-related research on reef fishes.     

红外相机技术与其他几种森林鸟类多样性调查方法的比较

为了探讨红外相机技术、网捕法、固定距离样线法和固定半径样点法对森林鸟类多样性调查的有效性和实用性, 我们于2011-2016年, 用这几种方法调查了广东南岭国家级自然保护区和车八岭国家级自然保护区的鸟类多样性。在南岭, 固定距离样线法和固定半径样点法记录鸟类222种, 网捕鸟类43种, 红外相机拍到鸟类47种; 其中1种鸟仅网捕到, 6种鸟仅被红外相机拍到, 164种鸟仅被固定距离样线法和固定半径样点法记录到。在车八岭, 固定距离样线法和固定半径样点法记录鸟类109种, 网捕鸟类42种, 红外相机拍到鸟类27种, 其中9种鸟仅网捕到, 3种鸟仅被红外相机拍到, 97种鸟仅被固定距离样线法和固定半径样点法记录到。随着鸟类的体重、体长、翅长和跗蹠增加, 网捕到的鸟类个体数量减少, 鸟类身体大小与网捕到的鸟类数量呈显著负相关; 而红外相机拍到的鸟类数量随鸟类的身体大小增大而增加, 并且呈显著的正相关。本文的结果显示, 网捕法和红外相机技术针对不同类群的鸟类调查效力不同, 但都是固定距离样线法和固定半径样点法的有效补充。建议今后开展森林鸟类多样性调查与监测时, 尽量采用多种研究方法相结合, 以求达到最优的效果。     

Assessing bee species richness in two Mediterranean communities: importance of habitat type and sampling techniques

The decline of bees has raised concerns regarding their conservation and the maintenance of ecosystem services they provide to bee-pollinated wild flowers and crops. Although the Mediterranean region is a hotspot for bee species richness, their status remains poorly studied. There is an urgent need for cost-effective, reliable, and unbiased sampling methods that give good bee species richness estimates. This study aims: (a) to assess bee species richness in two common Mediterranean habitat types: semi-natural scrub (phrygana) and managed olive groves; (b) to compare species richness in those systems to that of other biogeographic regions, and (c) to assess whether six different sampling methods (pan traps, variable and standardized transect walks, observation plots and trap nests), previously tested in other European biogeographic regions, are suitable in Mediterranean communities. Eight study sites, four per habitat type, were selected on the island of Lesvos, Greece. The species richness observed was high compared to other habitat types worldwide for which comparable data exist. Pan traps collected the highest proportion of the total bee species richness across all methods at the scale of a study site. Variable and standardized transect walks detected the highest total richness over all eight study sites. Trap nests and observation plots detected only a limited fraction of the bee species richness. To assess the total bee species richness in bee diversity hotspots, such as the studied habitats, we suggest a combination of transect walks conducted by trained bee collectors and pan trap sampling.     

Predicting Coral Species Richness: The Effect of Input Variables,Diversity and Scale

Coral reefs are facing a biodiversity crisis due to increasing human impacts, consequently, one third of reef-building corals have an elevated risk of extinction. Logistic challenges prevent broad-scale species-level monitoring of hard corals; hence it has become critical that effective proxy indicators of species richness are established. This study tests how accurately three potential proxy indicators (generic richness on belt transects, generic richness on point-intercept transects and percent live hard coral cover on point-intercept transects) predict coral species richness at three different locations and two analytical scales. Generic richness (measured on a belt transect) was found to be the most effective predictor variable, with significant positive linear relationships across locations and scales. Percent live hard coral cover consistently performed poorly as an indicator of coral species richness. This study advances the practical framework for optimizing coral reef monitoring programs and empirically demonstrates that generic richness offers an effective way to predict coral species richness with a moderate level of precision. While the accuracy of species richness estimates will decrease in communities dominated by species-rich genera (e.g. Acropora), generic richness provides a useful measure of phylogenetic diversity and incorporating this metric into monitoring programs will increase the likelihood that changes in coral species diversity can be detected.     

Additive partitioning of reef fish diversity variation: a promising marine biodiversity management tool

Additive partitioning was applied to variation in reef fish spatial diversity at Isla Isabel National Park, Nayarit state, Mexico, and to identify the environmental and spatial variables that best explains it. Analyses included expected and observed species curves, rare species analysis, additive partitioning of alpha- and beta-diversity, and canonical redundancy analysis. A total of 10,517 individuals were recorded from 75 species and 33 reef fish families, representing 85% of expected richness. Species richness beta-diversity was dependent on the site scale, while the alpha-diversity of the Shannon diversity was most significant at the transect scale. Canonical partitioning showed species richness and Shannon diversity was explained by spatially-structured environmental components. Variation in species composition and abundance was explained by a purely environmental component. Therefore, elements of habitat structure (especially corals), topographic complexity, and refuge availability determine fish species diversity. Our results suggest that greater emphasis is required to conserve sites that promote β-diversity, increasing fish spatial diversity. In Isla Isabel, these sites would be mostly those located at eastern and southern of protected sides, where coral reef patches are well represented. The results of this multi-scale analysis are valuable and useful as an addition and complement to the holistic management strategies implemented at Isla Isabel.     

Effectiveness and utility of acoustic recordings for surveying tropical birds

ABSTRACT Although acoustic recordings have recently gained popularity as an alternative to point counts for surveying birds, little is known about the relative performance of the two methods for detecting tropical bird species across multiple vegetation types. During June and July 2008, we collected species detection/nondetection data to compare the performance of a quadraphonic acoustic recording system and point counts for estimating species richness and composition and detection probabilities of 15 rare, moderately common, and common tropical bird species across six structurally distinct vegetation types (coastal dune scrub, mangrove, low‐stature deciduous thorn forest, early and late successional medium‐stature semievergreen forest, and grazed pastures) in the northern Yucatan Peninsula. We selected five rare species endemic to the Yucatan Peninsula and 10 moderately common and common species that also occur in other tropical regions. Species richness and composition did not differ between survey methods in any of the vegetation types. At the population level, however, we found support for an effect of method on detection probability for most species. For 13 species, regardless of their abundance, acoustic recordings yielded detection probabilities as high as or higher than those for point counts across all vegetation types. The remaining two species were better detected by point counts in pastures and coastal scrub, where greater visibility likely improved sightings of these species. However, these species were detected as well as or better by acoustic recordings in forests and mangroves where detections were primarily auditory. In tropical regions where experienced field observers may not be available and funding for field surveys may be limited, acoustic recordings offer a practical solution for determining species richness and composition and the occupancy patterns of most species. However, for some species, a combination of methods will provide the most reliable data. Regardless of the method selected, analyses that account for variation in detection probability among vegetation types will be necessary because most species in our study demonstrated vegetation‐dependent detection probabilities.     

Species richness and assemblages of bats along a forest elevational transect in Papua New Guinea

Over the past decades, elevational gradients have become a powerful tool with which to understand the underlying cause(s) of biodiversity. The Mt. Wilhelm elevational transect is one such example, having been used to study the birds, insects, and plants of Papua New Guinea (PNG). However, a survey of mammals from this forest elevational transect was lacking. We thus aimed to investigate patterns in the community structure and species richness of bats (Chiroptera) along the transect, link the species to available regional data, and explain the observed patterns by including environmental characteristics. Bat assemblages were surveyed between 200 m and a timberline at 3700 m a.s.l. at eight study sites separated by 500 m in elevation. We conducted mist-netting and acoustic surveys to detect and identify species at each site. Regional data were compiled to compare local with regional diversity. Finally, biotic (i.e., food availability, habitat features) and abiotic (i.e., mean daily temperature) factors were included in our analyses to disentangle the ecological drivers underlying bat diversity. Results revealed that species richness decreases with ascending elevation and was best explained by a corresponding decrease in temperature. We observed both turnover and nestedness of the species composition at regional scale whereas turnover was dominant at local scale. Extensions and shifts of bat elevational ranges were also found in Mt. Wilhelm. Consequently, despite that the study was restricted to one mountain in PNG, it demonstrates how basic inventory surveys can be used to address ecological questions in other similar and undisturbed tropical mountains.     

Species richness estimation and determinants of species detectability in butterfly monitoring programmes

Abstract 1. Species richness is the most widely used biodiversity index, but can be hard to measure. Many species remain undetected, hence raw species counts will often underestimate true species richness. In contrast, capture–recapture methods estimate true species richness and correct for imperfect and varying detectability. 2. Detectability is a crucial quantity that provides the link between a species count and true species richness. For insects, it has hardly ever been estimated, although this is required for the interpretation of species counts. 3. In the Swiss butterfly monitoring programme about 100 transect routes are surveyed seven times a year using a highly standardised protocol. In July 2003, control observers made two additional surveys on 38 transects. Data from these 38 quadrats were analysed to see whether currently available capture–recapture models can provide quadrat‐specific estimates of species richness, and to estimate species detectability in relation to transect, observer, survey, region, and abundance. 4. Species richness over the entire season cannot be estimated using current capture–recapture methods. The species pool was open, preventing use of closed population models, and detectability varied by species, preventing use of current open population models. Assuming a closed species pool during two mid‐season (July) surveys, a Jackknife capture–recapture method was used that accounts for heterogeneity to estimate mean detectability and species richness. 5. In every case, more species were present than were counted. Mean species detectability was 0.61 (SE 0.01) with significant differences between observers (range 0.37–0.83). Species‐specific detection at time t+ 1 was then modelled for those species seen at t for three mid‐season surveys. Detectability averaged 0.50 (range 0.17–0.81) for individual species and 0.65, 0.44, and 0.42 for surveys. Abundant species were detected more easily, although this relationship explained only 5% of variation in species detectability. 6. These are important, although not entirely unexpected, results for species richness estimation of short‐lived animals. Raw counts of species may be misleading species richness indicators unless many surveys are conducted. Monitoring programmes should be calibrated, i.e. the assumption of constant detectability over dimensions of interest needs to be tested. The development of capture–recapture or similar models that can cope with both open populations and heterogeneous species detectability to estimate species richness should be a research priority.     

Diversity of galling arthropods and host plants in a subtropical forest of Porto Alegre, southern Brazil

Many hypotheses have been proposed to explain diversity patterns of galling insects. However, there are contradictory evidences on the evolutionary and ecological factors responsible for the trends. Furthermore, questions such as arthropod seasonality, sampling sufficiency and sampling team experience have been almost ignored. This study records galling arthropod diversity while paying attention to these questions. Seasonal sampling of galling arthropods and host plants were conducted in a humid subtropical forest of southern Brazil. Four transects were sampled twice per season, with two persons searching the vegetation for galls during 1h30min. After 96h.persons of sampling, 130 gall morphotypes on 84 species of host plants were recorded. An analysis of the numbers of galls and gall morphotypes found per transect along time showed that sampling team experience influences galler richness results and the interpretation of galler seasonality patterns. Different species had distinct seasonal patterns. Galling arthropod richness was bound to plant richness. Our results suggest that sampling team experience is an important factor that must be explicitly considered, as well as seasonality patterns of different galling species, at least for tropical/subtropical areas. Although sampling sufficiency was not reached, fauna heterogeneity at small spatial scales seems substantial: despite the proximity of the sampled transects (500 m), they harboured significantly specific faunas. This work adds to the literature records suggesting that both plant richness and specific composition of the vegetation have a strong influence on galler richness at least for local scales.     

鸟类调查的样线法和样点法比较:以崇明东滩春季盐沼鸟类调查为例

为了探讨样线法和样点法对盐沼湿地鸟类调查的有效性及适用性, 我们于2008年3–5月采用固定距离样线法和固定半径样点法对崇明东滩盐沼鸟类进行了调查。5次调查共记录到鸟类24种, 其中样线法记录到19种, 样点法记录到21种, 两种调查方法平均每次记录到的鸟类种数没有显著差异, 表明两种方法对盐沼鸟类种类的发现能力相似。两种方法得到的鸟类密度之间有显著的相关性,说明两种方法在反映鸟类群落中每种鸟类的相对数量方面具有可比性。但除了仅在一种调查方法中记录到的种类, 样点法调查得到的每种鸟类密度和鸟类总密度均高于样线法的调查结果。因此, 在对鸟类种群或群落的时空特征进行比较时, 需要考虑所采用的调查方法对调查结果的影响。     

Macroecology of Aquatic Insects: A Quantitative Analysis of Taxonomic Richness and Composition in the Andes Mountains of Northern Ecuador

To determine the spatial dynamics of Neotropical lotic insect species, specimens were collected from 41 streams on the eastern and western flanks of the Andes Mountains in Ecuador. We examined the manner in which taxonomic richness and composition differed with elevation, latitude, and versant. Statistical analyses were limited to 5 families (Ephemeroptera: Baetidae, Leptohyphidae, Oligoneuriidae; Heteroptera: Naucoridae; Coleoptera: Elmidae), comprising 32 genera and 85 species, for which identifications or morphospecies assignments were reliable. Assessment of taxonomic diversity was based on the richness of genera and species at each site. In addition, each site was characterized by species richness within each of 4 families with more than 10 species. The effects of versant and transect on composition and structure were family‐specific. Mean site differences between versants in elmid richness at generic and specific levels depended on transect. Only baetid richness was affected by versant and transect in a consistent manner. Variation among sites in composition based on all genera and species was captured using multidimensional scaling (MDS). Subsequent MANOVAs based on scores from MDS axes revealed that differences between versants were much stronger in the southern transect, although transects differed from each other at specific and generic levels. A Jaccard's similarity matrix was computed for each family to reflect the spatial organization of taxonomic composition. Mesogeographic patterns of species composition for each of the four families were correlated (Mantel analysis) at both the regional level and at the level of the entire study area. At the regional level, the only pair of families to exhibit correlated patterns of species composition was elmids and naucorids in the southwestern region. The pattern of species composition for each family was correlated with the patterns for one or more other families at the level of the entire study area. Thus, spatial dynamics of species composition was similar for the families examined, suggesting that the Andes exert a consistent influence on species distributions within families, regardless of ordinal affiliation. At a local scale, however, the way in which taxonomic composition changed with latitude and versant was family‐specific. Mayflies, the most vagile of the taxa studied, had the highest percentage of species overlap between versants. Of three genera of Naucoridae collected, species of Ambrysus, of probable Mexican origin, were found only on the eastern versant, corroborating other evidence that the genus is recent in South America. Moreover, dispersion by Ambrysus across the Andes Mountains may not have occurred, as it has for Cryphocricos and Limnocoris, which are of probable South American origin.     

Effect of sampling grain on patterns of species richness and turnover in Amazonian forests

Grain (size of sampling units) affects the spatial resolution at which ecological patterns can be observed and analysed, and potentially has an important effect on the results of broad‐scale studies on diversity gradients. Here we examine the effect of grain on patterns of species richness and turnover in lowland rainforests of western Amazonia (Peru and Colombia). We inventoried pteridophytes (ferns and lycophytes), melastomes (Melastomataceae) and palms (Arecaceae) in four line transects of 22–29 km length. Different grains were obtained by aggregating original 100‐m‐long sampling units into larger segments up to 19.2 km long. With any given grain and plant group, local species richness varied considerably both within and among transects, and a transect segment that was species‐rich with one grain could be relatively species‐poor with another. Which transect had the highest vs lowest mean species richness per sampling unit (α richness) differed among plant groups. It also varied to some degree with grain, as transects differed in how rapidly local species richness increased with increasing grain. Patterns of species turnover were more consistently correlated among plant groups than patterns of species richness were, and NMDS ordinations were rather similar with all grains and plant groups. Floristic heterogeneity within the Amazonian terra firme rainforest seems to contain a general compositional pattern that is sufficiently robust to be detectable with various sampling schemes, but patterns of species richness appear more case‐specific. Therefore, using one plant group as an indicator for patterns in other plant groups can be expected to work better for species turnover than for species richness.     

Abundance – distribution relationships in fish assembly of the Amazonas floodplain lakes

This study shows that patterns in some community assemblages are not mainly governed by local factors but also by regional ones. Using field data from 36 floodplain forest lakes in the Amazon basin, we present transect count data on the richness, abundance and distribution of floodplain lake fish species. A total of 194 fish species were collected, of which 43 were classified as short-distance migrants. A positive relation was found for local migratory and sedentary species abundances with distribution at a regional scale. The study also suggests that the probability of the presence of a migratory species is more affected by aspects of river-lake connectivity than sedentary species. Our results seem to indicate that migratory species play an important role in local dynamics of floodplain lakes.     

样线法和网捕法在机场鸟情调查中的应用比较

鸟击事件主要发生在机场范围内,对机场周边生境的鸟类组成进行调查,是制定鸟击防范对策的重要前提。国内多数机场已经开展了相关的鸟类组成调查,但是选用的调查方法却存在较大差异。以样线法和网捕法两种常用的调查方法对沈阳桃仙国际机场周边的迁徙期鸟类进行了研究,旨在比较两种调查方法在机场鸟类群落组成调查中的效果及调查的鸟类群落组成差异。结果表明：两种方法均适合机场鸟类调研,共记录到鸟类97种,网捕法记录的鸟类种数(83种vs. 57种)高于样线法,网捕法单独记录的鸟类种数(40种vs. 14种)也高于样线法。尽管两种方法每期(半个月)调查的物种数和目的数量无明显差别,但随调查强度(如调查次数)增加,网捕法累计记录到的鸟类种类明显高于样线法,且较晚达到渐近线。另外,两种方法调查记录的鸟类群落组成也具有显著的差别,如网捕法记录到较多鹌鹑和鸮形目等夜间迁徙或活动鸟类,而样线法可记录到鹭科和雁鸭类水鸟等。这说明两种调研方法在鸟类调查中有较好的互补性。因此,本研究认为机场鸟情调研时应该根据鸟情特点,选择合适的鸟类调研方法,综合采用多种调研方法可更有利于获得科学的鸟情信息。     

Efficiency of sampling methods for accurate estimation of species richness of corticolous microlichens in the Atlantic rainforest of northeastern Brazil

Three different sampling methods were compared with regard to accurate estimation of species richness of crustose and microfoliose lichens in Atlantic rainforest remnants of northeastern Brazil. Quantitative transect sampling yielded three times as many species as non-quantitative opportunistic sampling, even if the number of sampled phorophyte trees was higher on average for the latter method. Repetitive non-quantitative opportunistic sampling of a single site resulted in twice the number of species than one-time sampling, but only two thirds of the number recovered by means of quantitative transect sampling, even of the number of sampled phorophyte trees was highest for this method. The analysis showed that opportunistic sampling fails to detect rare, inconspicuous, sterile, and/or cryptic species, usually neglected or overlooked even by the experienced collector upon visual inspection in the field. On the other hand, quantitative sampling forces even the inexperienced collector to sample lichen thalli or pieces of bark which only after detailed morphological, anatomical, and chemical study in the laboratory reveal themselves as distinct species. Accordingly, of the 456 lichen species collected and identified across the 22 studied localities, no less than 76 were unique to the quantitatively sampled transect, and the lichen species sampled with this method had a significantly higher proportion of rare, inconspicuous, sterile, and/or cryptic species. It is also apparent that it is not the higher number of specimens collected via quantitative sampling that results in a higher number of species, but the method of selection of the specimens, which is subjective and biased towards abundant, conspicuous, fertile and/or distinctive species in opportunistic sampling, but objective and unbiased in quantitative sampling.     

稀有种和常见种对植物群落物种丰富度格局的相对贡献

物种丰富度格局的形成不仅依赖于群落的构建过程, 同样也依赖于群落中的物种组成(如稀有种和常见种)。本文以黄土高原子午岭林区的辽东栎(Quercus wutaishanica)林为研究对象, 根据频度大小对物种进行排序, 形成稀有-常见种和常见-稀有种两条物种序列, 通过逐一添加(去除)物种, 分析引起的总体物种丰富度及其成分(α多样性和β多样性)的变化, 确定稀有种和常见种对物种丰富度格局的相对贡献。结果表明: (1)常见-稀有种序列与群落总体物种丰富度的相关性呈先剧增后平稳的对数增长曲线, 而稀有-常见种序列与群落总体的相关性与前者刚好相反, 呈先平稳后剧增的指数增长曲线; (2) α多样性在常见-稀有种序列中呈明显的对数变化曲线, 而在稀有-常见种序列中呈指数增长曲线; (3)与α多样性变化相反, β多样性在常见-稀有种序列中随物种的进入先迅速降低后逐渐平稳, 而在稀有-常见种序列中先平稳后急剧降低。可以看出, 常见种不仅主导群落的总体物种丰富度格局, 同时也是α多样性和β多样性格局的重要贡献者。因此, 常见种是群落物种丰富度格局的指示者, 也应该是优先保护的物种。     

Bleaching Susceptibility and Recovery of Colombian Caribbean Corals in Response to Water Current Exposure and Seasonal Upwelling

Coral bleaching events are globally occurring more frequently and with higher intensity, mainly caused by increases in seawater temperature. In Tayrona National Natural Park (TNNP) in the Colombian Caribbean, local coral communities are subjected to seasonal wind-triggered upwelling events coinciding with stronger water currents depending on location. This natural phenomenon offers the unique opportunity to study potential water current-induced mitigation mechanisms of coral bleaching in an upwelling influenced region. Therefore, coral bleaching susceptibility and recovery patterns were compared during a moderate and a mild bleaching event in December 2010 and 2011, and at the end of the subsequent upwelling periods at a water current-exposed and -sheltered site of an exemplary bay using permanent transect and labeling tools. This was accompanied by parallel monitoring of key environmental variables. Findings revealed that in 2010 overall coral bleaching before upwelling was significantly higher at the sheltered (34%) compared to the exposed site (8%). Whereas 97% of all previously bleached corals at the water current-exposed site had recovered from bleaching by April 2011, only 77% recovered at the sheltered site, but 12% had died there. In December 2011, only mild bleaching (<10% at both sites) was observed, but corals recovered significantly at both sites in the course of upwelling. No differences in water temperatures between sites occurred, but water current exposure and turbidity were significantly higher at the exposed site, suggesting that these variables may be responsible for the observed site-specific mitigation of coral bleaching. This indicates the existence of local resilience patterns against coral bleaching in Caribbean reefs.     

Contribution of rarity and commonness to patterns of species richness

There is little understanding in ecology as to how biodiversity patterns emerge from the distribution patterns of individual species. Here we consider the question of the contributions of rare (restricted range) and common (widespread) species to richness patterns. Considering a species richness pattern, is most of the spatial structure, in terms of where the peaks and troughs of diversity lie, caused by the common species or the rare species (or neither)? Using southern African and British bird richness patterns, we show here that commoner species are most responsible for richness patterns. While rare and common species show markedly different species richness patterns, most spatial patterning in richness is caused by relatively few, more common, species. The level of redundancy we found suggests that a broad understanding of what determines the majority of spatial variation in biodiversity may be had by considering only a minority of species.