Active military training areas as refugia for disturbance-dependent endangered insects

Oedipoda caerulescens (blue-winged grasshopper) and Cicindela hybrida (northern dune tiger beetle) are protected insects in Germany and elsewhere. They are known to occur on sparsely vegetated, sandy soil. Populations of the two insects were evaluated in relation to physical soil disturbance on four military training areas in Germany to determine if the military disturbance regime occurring there is conducive to the survival of the species and to provide insight into the nature of the disturbance that may be necessary as conservationists seek ways to maintain, establish or re-establish suitable habitat. Adults of O. caerulescens exhibited statistically significant preference for areas with between 60% and 100% surface disturbance, corresponding to 50–70% plant cover, depending on the location. C. hybrida adults preferentially occupied areas with >40% disturbance resulting in an average of 61% plant cover. The results confirm suggestions that both species are disturbance-dependent. Military training areas represent some of the last, large remnants of sparse, dry, sandy grasslands in Europe. The nature of land-based military training creates suitable habitat patches as well as habitat connectivity needed for the maintenance of metapopulations. As a result, military training areas represent some of the last remaining vestiges of a habitat and disturbance regime that are highly favored by O. caerulescens and C. hybrida and other species with similar habitat requirements.     

Habitat gradient and reproductive habits of the sevenStellaria species in Japan

The author studied the habitat preference, life form, life cycle and reproductive characteristics of the seven species of the genusStellaria along a valley in the northeastern part of Kyoto City. Along the valley 150 quadrats were set from the village up to the hills. The quadrats were sorted into 15 quadrat groups by their affinity in the environment. The quadrat groups were ordinated by the quotients of community and the Bray-Curtis method in order to reveal the complex gradient in the environment. The complex gradient could be best understood by the degree of human disturbance. The seven species showed a continuous distribution along the complex gradient. There existed three patterns in their habitat preference and reproductive characteristics: (1)S. media andS. neglecta grew as annuals in the habitat of severe human disturbance. (2)S. tomentella, S. sessiliflora, andS. diversiflora grew as perennials in the habitat of slight human disturbance. (3)S. aquatica andS. alsine grew as facultative annuals either in the habitat of severe or slight human disturbance.     

Sphagnum growth and ecophysiology during mire succession

Sphagnum mosses are widespread in areas where mires exist and constitute a globally important carbon sink. Their ecophysiology is known to be related to the water level, but very little is currently known about the successional trend in Sphagnum. We hypothesized that moss species follow the known vascular plant growth strategy along the successional gradient (i.e., decrease in production and maximal photosynthesis while succession proceeds). To address this hypothesis, we studied links between the growth and related ecophysiological processes of Sphagnum mosses from a time-since-initiation chronosequence of five wetlands. We quantified the rates of increase in biomass and length of different Sphagnum species in relation to their CO₂ assimilation rates, their photosynthetic light reaction efficiencies, and their physiological states, as measured by the chlorophyll fluorescence method. In agreement with our hypothesis, increase in biomass and CO₂ exchange rate of Sphagnum mosses decreased along the successional gradient, following the tactics of more intensely studied vascular plants. Mosses at the young and old ends of the chronosequence showed indications of downregulation, measured as a low ratio between variable and maximum fluorescence (F _v/F _m). Our study divided the species into three groups; pioneer species, hollow species, and ombrotrophic hummock formers. The pioneer species S. fimbriatum is a ruderal plant that occurred at the first sites along the chronosequence, which were characterized by low stress but high disturbance. Hollow species are competitive plants that occurred at sites with low stress and low disturbance (i.e., in the wet depressions in the middle and at the old end of the chronosequence). Ombrotrophic hummock species are stress-tolerant plants that occurred at sites with high stress and low disturbance (i.e., at the old end of the chronosequence). The three groups along the mire successional gradient appeared to be somewhat analogous to the three primary strategies suggested by Grime.     

Emergence patterns and ecological associations of some haematophagous blackfly species along an oligotrophic hydrosystem

Emergence patterns of blackflies (Diptera: Simuliidae) were investigated for 2 years at nine sites in the Plitvice Lakes area of Croatia, using pyramid‐type traps. A total of 38 012 specimens representing 10 haematophagous species were collected. The dominant species was Simulium angustipes Edwards, 1915, a vector transmitting avian trypanosomes. Water temperature, alkalinity, conductivity and habitat type represented the factors with the greatest degree of influence on blackfly species composition, structure and distribution along a longitudinal gradient of this oligotrophic karstic hydrosystem. Simulium angustipes was highly associated with lake outlets. The blackfly communities at all sites were dominated by species typical of the rhithral zone, but there was a shift in species composition along a longitudinal gradient from the hypocrenal–epirhithral to the epirhithral–metarhithral zone. Multiple generations per year were detected in S. angustipes, whereas in Simulium costatum Friederichs, 1920, the number of generations differed between sites with constant and those with variable water temperature.     

The stream as a habitat templet for bryophytes: species' distributions along gradients in disturbance and substratum heterogeneity

1. The structure of bryophyte communities in streams in relation to habitat characteristics, especially disturbance, is described. Disturbance in rivers is quantified as movement of the stream bed, whereas in small streams water level fluctuation is used as an indicator of disturbance frequency. 2. Canonical correspondence analysis differentiated frequently disturbed sites from more stable ones. The existence of a disturbance gradient was confirmed in a subset of the study sites using long-term records of discharge variation. A parallel change was detected in the species composition of bryophyte communities with low-statured, potentially fast colonizers dominating the disturbed end and large perennial species the stable end of the gradient. 3. A consistent pattern of zonation of bryophyte species was found along the gradient from continually submersed to persistently dry conditions in small streams and lake outlets. An abrupt increase in species richness occurred at or just above the water line, where facultatively aquatic species tolerant of both conditions formed the bulk of the community. 4. The relationship between species richness and standing crop in stream bryophyte communities was consistent with the hump-backed model of Grime (1979), especially at the within-habitat scale. Quadrats of low and very high standing crop were characterized by low species richness, while peak richness was observed at intermediate standing crops. 5. A few perennial species (e.g. Fontinalis spp. and Rhynchostegium riparioides) capable of monopolizing space dominated the most stable habitats. Species composition in low biomass sites was more variable, yet only one basic growth-form (small-statured species with high allocation to spore production) seemed possible in these highly disturbed streams. In habitats of intermediate biomass, small-scale disturbances apparently allow the formation of a more varied bryophyte community. 6. A habitat templet for stream bryophyte life strategies and community structure is presented. Disturbance is proposed to be the factor filtering out traits unsuitable for a given environment. The potential of stream bryophytes for testing and developing general ecological theory is emphasized.     

Developmental instability and inbreeding in natural bird populations exposed to different levels of habitat disturbance

As habitat disturbance and inbreeding increasingly stress natural populations, ecologists are in urgent need of simple estimators to measure their impact. It has been argued that developmental instability (DI) could be such a measure. Observed associations between DI and environmental or genetic stress, however, are largely inconsistent. We here test whether an interaction between habitat disturbance and inbreeding could, at least partly, explain these discordant patterns. We therefore studied individual estimates of fluctuating asymmetry (FA) and of inbreeding in three populations of the critically endangered Taita thrush that are differentially exposed to habitat disturbance following severe forest fragmentation. As predicted, the relationship between DI and inbreeding was pronounced under high levels of disturbance, but weak or nonexistent under less disturbed conditions. Examining this relationship with mean d², an allelic distance estimator assumed to reflect ancestral inbreeding, did not reveal any significant trend, hence suggesting that inbreeding effects in the Taita thrush are fairly recent.     

Differential seed mortality among habitats limits the distribution of the invasive non-native shrub Ardisia elliptica

During the early phases of biological invasions, both limited dispersal and habitat preference may contribute to observed patterns of distribution for non-native species. In a disturbed area of Everglades National Park, the non-native Ardisia elliptica (Myrsinaceae) does not occur in all habitat types nor is it evenly distributed among habitats where it does occur. One goal of this study was to determine whether the patchy distribution of A. elliptica may be due to differential effects of habitat on seed fates and germination. Screen mesh bags containing seeds of A. elliptica were buried in the surface litter of five habitats and were later sampled periodically over a three month period to measure seed germination, survival and death. Seed mortality and mean germination speed was higher in open exposed habitats relative to closed canopied forests. During the study period, which coincided with the dry season, there was no germination of seeds that had been placed in pine forests or in Schinus thickets that were highly disturbed pine forests. Because hydroperiod is a critical determinant of habitat type in the Everglades ecosystem, a second goal of this study was to determine whether water availability was correlated with seed germination and seedling survival in five sites where A. elliptica has invaded. Seeds were sown under mesh boxes and monitored for germination and seedling survival for ten months. Estimates of water availability taken as predawn water potentials on A. elliptica were positively correlated with percent seed germination but not with percent seedling survival. Additionally, pre-dawn water potential of A. elliptica differed among sites. This study suggests that differential water availability among habitats may have influenced the patchy distribution of A. elliptica in Everglades National Park. Lack of sufficient moisture availability for seeds in exposed habitats such as pine forests and wetland prairies during the dry season has contributed to its distribution. Because some of the habitats where A. elliptica currently occurs were pine forests and wetland prairies prior to disturbance, this study suggests that substrate disturbance and canopy formation have altered the soil microenvironment, favoring the establishment of A. elliptica.     

An appraisal of the fitness consequences of forest disturbance for wildlife using habitat selection theory

Isodar theory can help to unveil the fitness consequences of habitat disturbance for wildlife through an evaluation of adaptive habitat selection using patterns of animal abundance in adjacent habitats. By incorporating measures of disturbance intensity or variations in resource availability into fitness-density functions, we can evaluate the functional form of isodars expected under different disturbance-fitness relationships. Using this framework, we investigated how a gradient of forest harvesting disturbance and differences in resource availability influenced habitat quality for snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) and red-backed voles (Myodes gapperi) using pairs of logged and uncut boreal forest. Isodars for both species had positive intercepts, indicating reductions to maximum potential fitness in logged stands. Habitat selection by hares depended on both conspecific density and differences in canopy cover between harvested and uncut stands. Fitness-density curves for hares in logged stands were predicted to shift from diverging to converging with those in uncut forest across a gradient of high to low disturbance intensity. Selection for uncut forests thus became less pronounced with increasing population size at low levels of logging disturbance. Voles responded to differences in moss cover between habitats which reflected moisture availability. Lower moss cover in harvested stands either reduced maximum potential fitness or increased the relative rate of decline in fitness with density. Differences in vole densities between harvested and uncut stands were predicted, however, to diminish as populations increased. Our findings underscore the importance of accounting for density-dependent behaviors when evaluating how changing habitat conditions influence animal distribution.     

Stability in prey abundance may buffer Black Sparrowhawks Accipiter melanoleucus from health impacts of urbanization

As the global trend towards urbanization continues, the need to understand its impact on wildlife grows. Species may have different levels of tolerance to urban disturbance; some even appear to thrive in urban areas and use human‐subsidized resources. However, the physiological costs and trade‐offs faced by urban‐dwelling species are still poorly understood. We assess the evidence for a negative impact of urbanization on the Black Sparrowhawk Accipiter melanoleucus, a raptor that recently colonized Cape Town, South Africa, and explore the potential mechanisms behind any such effect. We predicted that birds in more urbanized areas may be in poorer health and that this may be partially driven by differences in prey quantity and quality along an urban habitat gradient. The health of Black Sparrowhawk nestlings was evaluated through measures of their physiological stress (heterophil/lymphocyte ratio), body condition and blood parasite infection (infection risk and intensity of Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon). Diet composition was determined through an analysis of prey remains collected around nests, and prey abundance was determined through point counts in different habitat types. We could find no negative effects of urbanization on nestling health, with no significant relationships with heterophil/lymphocyte ratio, body condition, risk and intensity of infection by Haemoproteus or intensity of infection by Leucocytozoon. Risk of infection by Leucocytozoon did, however, decline with increasing urban cover, perhaps because urbanized areas contain less habitat for blackflies, the vectors of this parasite, which require moving fresh water. We found no change in diet breadth or composition with increasing urban cover. Although some prey species were abundant or less abundant in certain habitat types, all habitat types contained ample prey for Black Sparrowhawks. The widespread abundance of food resources and resulting lack of nutritional stress may explain why Black Sparrowhawks are seemingly free of the negative health impacts expected to arise from urbanization. These findings may explain the success of the species in Cape Town and suggest that for urban‐dwelling, bird‐eating raptors the abundance of prey in cities may override any potential negative impacts of urbanization on health due to disturbance or other sources of stress.     

Edge effects and intraguild predation in native and introduced centipedes: evidence from the field and from laboratory microcosms

Human alteration of habitat has increased the proportion of forest edge in areas of previously continuous forest. This edge habitat facilitates invasion of exotic species into remaining fragments. The ability of native species to resist invasion varies and may depend on intrinsic variables such as dispersal and reproductive rates as well as external factors such as rate of habitat change and the density of populations of introduced species in edge habitat. We examined the distributional and competitive relationships of two members of the class Chilopoda, Scolopocryptops sexspinosus, a centipede native to the eastern US, and Lithobius forficatus, an exotic centipede introduced from Europe. We found that L. forficatus was most abundant in edge habitat and S. sexspinosus was most abundant in the interior habitat at our field sites. Although L. forficatus was present in habitat interiors at 11 of 12 sites, there was no correlation between fragment size and numbers of L. forficatus in interior habitat. The native centipede was rarely found occupying fragment edges. We used laboratory microcosms to examine potential competitive interactions and to indirectly assess prey preferences of the two species. In microcosms both species consumed similar prey, but the native centipede, S. sexspinosus, acted as an intraguild predator on the introduced centipede. Native centipedes were competitively superior in both intraspecific and interspecific pairings. Our results suggest that intraguild predation may aid native centipedes in resisting invasion of introduced centipedes from edge habitat.     

The contribution of epipelon to total sediment microalgae in a shallow temperate eutrophic loch (Loch Leven, Scotland)

Benthic microalgae are known to perform important ecosystem functions in shallow lakes. As such it is important to understand the environmental variables responsible for regulating community structure, positioning and biomass. We tested the hypothesis that the positioning (across a depth gradient of 2–22 m overlying water depth) and relative biomass (determined using bulk and lens tissue harvested chlorophyll (Chl) a concentrations) of the epipelon community would vary independently with season (12 monthly samples) and across natural gradients of light and habitat disturbance relative to the total benthic algal community (i.e. all viable microalgae in the surface sediments) in a shallow eutrophic loch. Total sediment microalgal Chl a concentrations (TS-Chl; range: 5–874 μg Chl a g⁻¹ dw) were highest in winter and in the deepest site (20 m overlying water depth), apparently as a result of phytoplanktonic settling and sediment focussing processes. Epipelic Chl a concentrations (Epi-Chl; range: <0.10–6.0 μg Chl a g⁻¹ dw) were highest in winter/spring, a period when water clarity was highest and TS-Chl lowest. Principal components analysis highlighted strong associations between Epi-Chl and sites of intermediate depths (2.5–5.5 m) in all seasons except autumn/winter. Autumn/winter represented the season with the highest average wind speeds preceding sampling, during which the highest Epi-Chl concentrations were associated with the deepest sites. Epi-Chl was associated with intermediate light and habitat disturbance during spring/summer and summer/autumn and varied positively with habitat disturbance, only, in autumn/winter and winter/spring. The epipelon community structure also varied with depth; diatoms dominated shallow water sediments, cyanobacteria dominated deep water sediments, and sediments at sites of intermediate depth returned the highest biovolume estimates and the most diverse communities. This study has strengthened the hypothesis that the structure and biomass of benthic microalgal communities in lakes are regulated by habitat disturbance and water clarity, both of which are expected to respond to climate change and eutrophication. The degree to which these structural responses reflect functional performance requires clarification.     

The effects of drought and disturbance on the growth and developmental instability of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.)

Ecological indicators provide early warning of adverse environmental change, helping land managers adaptively manage their resources while minimizing costly remediation. In 1999 and 2000, we studied two such indicators, growth and developmental instability, of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) influenced by mechanized infantry training at Fort Benning, Georgia. Disturbed areas were used for military training; tracked and wheeled vehicles damaged vegetation and soils. Highly disturbed sites had fewer trees, diminished ground cover, warmer soils in the summer, and more compacted soils with a shallower A-horizon. We hypothesized that disturbance would decrease the growth of needles, branches, and tree rings, increase the complexity of tree rings, and increase the developmental instability of needles. Contrary to our expectations, however, disturbance enhanced growth in the first year of the study, possibly by reducing competition. In the second year, a drought reduced growth of branches and needles, eliminating the stimulatory effect of disturbance. Growth-ring widths increased with growing-season precipitation, and decreased with growing-season temperature over the last 40 years. Disturbance had no effect on tree-ring complexity, as measured by the Hurst exponent. Within-fascicle variation of current-year needle length, a measure of developmental instability, differed among the study populations, but appeared unrelated to mechanical disturbance or drought.     

Modification of developmental instability and fitness: Malathion-resistance in the Australian sheep blowfly,Lucilia cuprina

The evolution of resistance to malathion byLucilia cuprina initially results in an increase in fluctuating asymmetry. Resistant flies are at a selective disadvantage, relative to susceptibles, in the absence of the insecticide. A fitness/asymmetry modifier of diazinon-resistant phenotypes ameliorates these effects resulting in malathion-resistant phenotypes of relative fitness and asymmetry similar to susceptibles. For the nine genotypic combinations of the modifier and malathion-resistance alleles, developmental time increases linearly with increasing asymmetry. Percentage egg hatch decreases linearly with increasing asymmetry. The initially disruptive effect of the malathion-resistant allele was partially dominant, the effect of the modifier dominant. The results are discussed in terms of developmental perturbation, asymmetry estimation and relative fitness to consider whether it is adequate to use changes in fluctuating asymmetry alone as measures of developmental instability. It is suggested that in some circumstances antisymmetry may indicate developmental instability and that the diazinon/malathion-resistance systems inL. cuprina may allow the relative importance of genetical and/or environmental developmental perturbations to be ascertained.     

Overstory vegetation and successional trends of Land Between The Lakes,USA

133 stands from the uplands of Land Between The Lakes (LBL) were sampled. Stand data were ordinated to identify clinal patterns in the overstory vegetation. A coeno-cline, accounting for 52% of the species variance, was developed from the first ordination axis. Classification of stands identified nine dominance types: Pinus echinata-Quercus spp., Q. prinus, Q. prinus-Q. alba, Q. stellata-Q. alba, Q. velutina-Q. alba, Q. alba, Q. alba-Q. rubra, Acer saccharum-Q. alba-Fagus grandifolia sadF. grandifolia-A. saccharum. Compositionally-stable (climax) and unstable (successional) stands were analyzed separately. Trajectories of unstable stands include the succession of P. echinata to Quercus-dominated communities on xeric sites and of Quercus types to more mesophytic communities (e.g. A. saccharum and F. grandifolia) onmesic sites. These shifts indicate the nature of the future climax overstory composition at LBL. The first axis DCCA ordination for climax stands accounted for 45% of the vegetation variance. Factor Analysis identified two significant suites of variables related to vegetation: soil chemistry/soil moisture and soil texture. Specific variables related to variation in the climax vegetation include soil pH, calcium and magnesium, effective soil depth, available water capacity, percent rock in the soil, slope position, aspect, elevation and distance to the opposing slope. Modal positions of species along the direct gradient ordination were similar in rank order to those derived from the indirect gradient ordination of all stands. The latter ordination represents the present forest vegetation pattern at LBL. Climax stands showed a shift in modes of Quercus spp. toward the xeric end of the gradient and increases in habitat width of mesophytic species. Following a reduction in disturbance, species appear to adjust to changes in competition and available habitat. That is, the dimensions of realized niches (i.e. habitat widths) change with succession. The climax vegetation at LBL appears to show centrifugal organization.     

Effects of an Experimental Increase of Temperature and Drought on the Photosynthetic Performance of Two Ericaceous Shrub Species Along a North–South European Gradient

Plant ecophysiological changes in response to climatic change may be different in northern and southern European countries because different abiotic factors constrain plant physiological activity. We studied the effects of experimental warming and drought on the photosynthetic performance of two ericaceous shrubs (Erica multiflora and Calluna vulgaris) along a European gradient of temperature and precipitation (UK, Denmark, The Netherlands, and Spain). At each site, a passive warming treatment was applied during the night throughout the whole year, whereas the drought treatment excluded rain events over 6–10 weeks during the growing season. We measured leaf gas exchange, chlorophyll a fluorescence, and leaf carbon isotope ratio (¹³C) during the growing seasons of 1999 and 2000. Leaf net photosynthetic rates clearly followed a gradient from northern to southern countries in agreement with the geographical gradient in water availability. Accordingly, there was a strong correlation between net photosynthetic rates and the accumulated rainfall over the growing season. Droughted plants showed lower leaf gas exchange rates than control plants in the four sites. Interestingly, although leaf photosynthetic rates decreased along the precipitation gradient and in response to drought treatment, droughted plants were able to maintain higher leaf photosynthetic rates than control plants in relation to the accumulated rainfall over the months previous to the measurements. Droughted plants also showed higher values of potential photochemical efficiency (F _v/F _m) in relation to controls, mainly at midday. The warming treatment did not affect significantly any of the studied instantaneous ecophysiological variables..     

Geographic distribution and population characteristics of the endangered white-fronted spider monkey (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Ateles marginatus</Emphasis>) on the lower Tapajós River in central Brazilian Amazonia

The white-fronted spider monkey, Ateles marginatus, is endemic to Brazilian Amazon between the Tapajós and Xingu Rivers, and is classified as endangered due primarily to habitat loss. This study presents data on the distribution and relative abundance of the species in the northwestern corner of its distribution, on the lower Tapajós River, centered on the 545,000 ha Tapajós National Forest (Flona Tapajós). Quantitative data were collected in line transect surveys at 14 sites, and confirmatory interviews were conducted at these, and a further four sites. The results indicate that A. marginatus is extinct or extremely rare at sites in the northern extreme of the study area, but is relatively widespread further south, except in very small fragments (<100 ha). While the present-day occurrence of A. marginatus is clearly affected by habitat fragmentation, the species’ original distribution appears to have been characterized by local lacunas, determined by factors relating to habitat quality. While hunting pressure does not seem to be a major threat at the present time, competition with a second atelid, Alouatta discolor, may have reinforced the effects of habitat disturbance in some areas, especially smaller fragments. Grouping patterns were typical of the genus, including an apparent female bias in the sex ratio of adults. Overall, the results indicate an ongoing decline in the occurrence of A. marginatus within the study area, local extinction, especially in smaller fragments, and an urgent need for the establishment of effective conservation measures.     

Habitat preferences of red-listed fungi and bryophytes in woodland key habitats in southern Sweden – analyses of data from a national survey

The aim of this study was to identify habitat preferences of red-listedepiphytic and epixylic bryophyte, lichenized and non-lichenized fungi speciesinwoodland key habitats (WKHS) (areas less than 10 ha, where foreststructures indicate occurrence of red-listed species) in southern Sweden. Therelative importance of different groups of environmental factors was assessedwith partial canonical correspondence analysis techniques and across-validationapproach using data from 7196 selected WKHs. Different woody substrates (oldtrees, logs and snags) made up the most important variable group for occurrenceof red-listed species (30% unique explainable variation). Species associatedwith Fagus sylvatica and Picea abieshabitats, but also species associated with Quercus spp.andPopulus tremula habitats showed distinct habitatpreferences. The second most important variable group (16% unique explainablevariation) was geographical location. A west–east gradient was identified, andspecies concentrated to Baltic islands in the east were separated from otherspecies. This gradient, and an identified south–north gradient, probablyreflect differences in temperatures and rainfall between different regions.Among the remaining variable groups, historical land-use, ground conditions andforest stand composition were of similar importance (5–7% uniqueexplainable variation). Traditional management regimes resulting in semi-openforest habitats (leaf harvesting, forest grazing and selective cutting) wereassociated with the occurrence of many species, probably due to differences inmicroclimate between sites of different openness. Furthermore, a groundmoisturegradient extending from species associated with dry sites (mainly lichenizedfungi) to species associated with wet sites (mainly bryophytes), and a nutrientgradient from species associated with nutrient-poor sites to species occurringat nutrient-rich sites, were identified. Thus, conservation measures are neededin a broad spectrum of habitats with different substrates. Also sites withsimilar substrates, but situated in different regions (and climates), or withdifferent ground moisture and nutrient conditions are needed to cover the fullspectrum of habitat conditions suitable for different red-listed bryophytes andfungi.     

Ant Diversity in Dominant Vegetation Types of Southern Cameroon

Ants have been shown as particularly affected by land disturbance through deforestation and conversion of forest to agriculture. The effect of land use change on ant diversity in the Congo Basin is not well known. We conducted intensive sampling along a gradient of increasing vegetation disturbance to test the effect of habitat disturbance on ant diversity and Functional Groups composition. Sampling was conducted in 30 plots (5 study sites × 3 habitat × 2 plots/habitat), replicated six times in 1 year. In each plot, ants were monitored with pitfall traps, quadrats and baits. We recorded 237 ant morphospecies grouped in 10 subfamilies and 43 genera. Myrmicaria opaciventris was the most abundant species followed by Anoplolepis tenella. Forest had greater ant diversity compared with fallows and mixed‐crop fields. Functional groups were dominated by Opportunists, followed by Omnivorous Arboreal Dominants and Generalized Mymicinae. Their composition was not affected by the disturbance, but occurrence of Specialist Predators decreased with increasing disturbance. Occurrence of Generalized Myrmicinae, Opportunists and Subordinate Camponotini increased with disturbance. These results indicate that forest conversion into mixed‐crop fields reduce ant diversity. It can also increase abundance of species with generalized diet that predominates where stress and disturbance limits other ants.     

Effects of Degradation and Replacement of Southern Brazilian Coastal Sandy Vegetation on the Dung Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)

In this paper we address the effects of anthropogenic disturbance and replacement of Brazilian Coastal sandy vegetation (restingas) on dung beetles communities. We sampled dung beetles in the four main vegetative physiognomies of Guriri Island, Espírito Santo State: forest restinga, restinga Clusia, disturbed restinga (from burning events), and pastures. We placed four sets of two pitfall traps (baited with horse and human dung) in four independent areas of each vegetation type, and collected 14,534 individuals of 13 dung beetle species. Neither log₁₀ of individuals nor log₁₀ of species richness were good predictors of restinga disturbance. However, a significant amount of variation in dung beetle abundance and richness could be explained by bait type. Ordination of these sites using hybrid multidimensional scaling revealed a gradient of habitat disturbance from undisturbed restinga samples to pasture. Dung beetle communities along this gradient demonstrated a complete turnover in species composition, from restinga‐specialists to invasive and generalists species respectively. This complete turnover signals the local extirpation of forest‐adapted species in disturbed and converted areas. Only a single dung beetle species in preserved restingas is protected by Brazilian law (Dichotomius schiffleri). Given the extent of the clearing of restinga habitat, the conservation status of dung beetles associated with restinga forest gives cause for concern.