A COMPARISON OF ARTHROPOD COMMUNITIES AT BURNT AND NON-BURNT MOUNTAIN SIDES

Transcription

1 National & Kapodistrian University of Athens A COMPARISON OF ARTHROPOD COMMUNITIES AT BURNT AND NON-BURNT MOUNTAIN SIDES Ioannis ANASTASIOU 1, Spyros SFENTHOURAKIS 2, Dimitris TSAPARIS 1 & Anastasios LEGAKIS ZOOLOGICAL MUSEUM, DEPT. OF BIOLOGY, UNIV. OF ATHENS, GR ATHENS, GREECE 2. SECTION OF ANIMAL BIOLOGY, DEPT. OF BIOLOGY, UNIV. OF PATRAS, GR-265 PATRAS, GREECE 9 th International Congress on the Zoogeography and Ecology of Greece and Adjacent Regions, Thessaloniki, Greece, 22-25/5/22

2 Introduction Fires are a major source of habitat change in Mediterranean ecosystems Fires are more common at low elevations, but they do occur at medium and high elevations too The effects of mountain fires on the diversity of animal communities have not received so much attention In this work we attack the question: Are the communities of terrestrial invertebrates showing any differences among burnt and nonburnt mountainous sites?

3 Methods Sampling Period Sampling Frequency Sampling Method April November 21 (7 months) Monthly Standard Pitfall Traps (plastic cups of 25ml containing about 5ml of ethylene glycol) 8 traps per biotope laying on a transect lines, and having a distance of 15m between them (in AL biotope 12 traps due to higher heterogeneity)

4 Study Area South-East Peloponnisos North slopes of Mt. Taygetos 37 o 6' North 22 o 15' East Altitudinal Range m

5 Biotopes Sub-Alpine [AL] Mixed Coniferous Forest (Pinus nigra & Abies cephalonica) [MF] Burnt Forest [K1 K5] Neighboring Burnt [KA] And Non-Burnt (Pinus nigra forest) [AK]

6 Open Biotopes Sub-Alpine [AL] Altitudinal Range: 165 m. Aspect: West Coverage: Rocks, Bushes, Shrubs, Bare Soil. Vegetation: Juniperus communis, Astragalus sp., Poa sp., Daphne oleoides, Abies cephalonica, Ranunculus sp., Compositae, Gramineae.

7 Open Biotopes Burnt [K1] [K3] Altitudinal Range: m. Aspect: Varying Coverage: Shrubs, Burned Logs. Vegetation: Trifolium sp., Pteridium aquilinum, Verbascum sp., Poa sp., Hypericum sp., Fragaria sp., Compositae, Gramineae. [K5]

8 Mixed Coniferous Forest [MF] Altitudinal Range: 15 m. Aspect: South, South-East Coverage: Trees, Leaf Litter, Shrubs. Vegetation: Pinus nigra, Abies cephalonica, Pteridium aquilinum, Fragaria sp., Gramineae.

9 Neighboring Burnt and Non-Burnt Forest [KA] Altitudinal Range: 14 m. Aspect: South-East Coverage: Shrubs, Rocks, Bare Soil, Logs. Vegetation: Trifolium sp., Cerastium sp., Sonchus sp., Arabidopsis thaliana, Pteridium aquilinum, Compositae. [AK] Altitudinal Range: 14 m. Aspect: North-West Coverage: Trees, Leaf Litter, Shrubs. Vegetation: Pinus nigra, Pteridium aquilinum.

10 Calathus corax Platyderus graecus Molops spartanus Carabus merlini Microlestes luctuosus Syntomus obscuroguttatus Calosoma inquisitor Zabrus graecus Tapinopterus duponcheli Lebia trimaculata Masoreus wetterhallii Trechus austriacus Leistus spinibarbis Carabus convexus Laemostenus peloponnesiacus Tapinopterus rebellis Zabrus aetolus hellenicus Zabrus robustus Carabus coriaceus Harpalus honestus Calosoma sycophanta Notiophilus rufipes Leistus magnicollis Aptinus lugubris Ophonus krueperi Leistus rufomarginatus Cymindis axillaris Notiophilus interstitialis Harpalus sulphuripes Cymindis sinuata Zabrus validus Carabus preslii Acinopus baudii Ophonus cribricollis Ophonus taygetanus Ophonus cordatus Harpalus serripes Amara aenea Harpalus rubripes Harpalus saxicola Harpalus rufipalpis Amara montivaga Amara eurynota Bembidion sp Calathus cinctus Pseudophonus rufipes Cymindis lineata Leistus parvicollis AL MF AK KA K1 K4 K5 Presence of Carabidae Species per Biotope Legend Widely Distributed Coniferous Forest Sub-Alpine Mainly in Forests Open Biotopes Burnt Biotopes Various

11 Carabidae abundance per month AL apr may jun jul aug sep oct K5 K apr may jun jul aug sep oct apr may jun jul aug sep oct

12 Carabidae abundance per month AK KA apr may jun jul aug sep oct apr may jun jul aug sep oct MF K apr may jun jul aug sep oct apr may jun jul aug sep oct

13 Carabidae abundance (pooled samples) AL MF AK KA K1 K4 K5

14 Carabidae diversity (pooled samples)

15 ANOVA of diversities (Shannon index) CARABIDAE (June),8,6,4,2 BU NB F = 5.52 P =.23

16 Carabidae (clustering of monthly samples)

17 Carabidae (pooled samples per station)

18 Presence of Tenebrionidae Species per Biotope Laena sp B Cylindronotus tuberculiger Pedinus affinis alziari Stenosis orientalis Dendarus plicatulus Asida fairmairei Calyptopsis caraboides Dailognatha quadricollis Dendarus messenius Idastraniella taygetanus Nalassus graecus Pedinus fatuus Pedinus quadratus Pedinus subdepressus Pedinus taygetanus AL MF AK KA K1 K4 K5 Widely Distributed Legend Sub-Alpine Open Biotopes

19 Tenebrionidae abundance per month AL apr may jun jul aug sep K5 K ,5 1 apr may jun jul aug sep apr may jun jul aug sep

20 Tenebrionidae abundance per month AK KA 1 2 1,5,5 1,5 apr may jun jul aug sep apr may jun jul aug sep MF K ,5,5 1,5 apr may jun jul aug sep apr may jun jul aug sep

21 Tenebrionidae abundance (pooled samples) AL MF AK KA K1 K4 K5

22 Tenebrionidae diversity (pooled samples)

23 Tenebrionidae (clustering of monthly samples)

24 Tenebrionidae (pooled samples per station)

25 Presence of Isopoda per Biotope Armadillidium kalamatense Orthometopon dalmatinum Porcellio obsoletus Trichoniscus pusillus Porcellio peloponnesius Trachelipus palustris Ligidium euboicum Armadillidium tripolitzense Porcellionides pruinosus AL MF AK KA K1 K4 K5 Widely Distributed Coniferous Forest Legend Mainly in Forests Open Biotopes Burnt Biotopes

26 Isopoda abundance per month 6 5 AL K Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct 6 5 K K Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct 2 Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct

27 Isopoda abundance per month 6 5 MF Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct 2 2 AK KA Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct

28 Isopoda abundance (pooled samples) AL MF AK KA K1 K4 K5

29 Isopoda diversity (pooled samples)

30 ANOVA of diversities (Shannon index) ISOPODA (June) 1,2 1,8,6,4,2 BU NB F = 6,55 P =,17

31 Isopoda (clustering of monthly samples)

32 Isopoda (pooled samples per station)

33 Conclusions Highest abundance in sub-alpine habitat The pine forest has the lowest abundance Burnt habitats are not poorer than non-burnt Burnt habitats are generally more diverse than non-burnt (except for the sub-alpine habitat) The three groups analyzed herein do not show particularly consistent diversity patterns Open habitats (sub-alpine and burnt) are more similar in community structure The markedly increased diversity of (the carnivorous) Carabidae in burnt habitats might be due to species coming from other habitats to opportunistically exploit available resources

34 Fire does not seem to have significant shortand medium-termed effects on the epigeic invertebrate communities we studied We must note that there were almost no post-fire human activities in these habitats

35 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We wish to thank the following colleagues for their assistance during the project: Christos GEORGIADIS Anna PAPADOPOULOU Eleni GOURGOU