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Brändle, Martin; Amarell, Uwe; Auge, Harald; Klotz, Stefan; Brandl, Roland

doi:10.1023/a:1011815325503

Cited by 40 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…We considered butterfly species and sex as fixed effects, the log-transformed distance from the smelter (a proxy of pollution load: Kozlov et al [9]) as a covariate, and the site as a random effect. Following the practice commonly accepted in observational studies [28][29][30], we preferred to use the distance from the polluter rather than the concentration of one of the main pollutants (nickel or copper) in plant foliage or in a litter. This was done to avoid misinterpretation of our results, because we do not know which of the pollution-related factors (which all change with the distance from the smelter in a coordinated manner) may have affected the butterflies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Fluctuating Asymmetry of the Butterfly Wing Pattern Does Not Change along an Industrial Pollution Gradient

Zverev

Kozlov

2021

Symmetry

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The rapid and selective responses to changes in habitat structure and climate have made butterflies valuable environmental indicators. In this study, we asked whether the decline in butterfly populations near the copper-nickel smelter in Monchegorsk in northwestern Russia is accompanied by phenotypic stress responses to toxic pollutants, expressed as a decrease in body size and an increase in fluctuating asymmetry. We measured the concentrations of nickel and copper, forewing length, and fluctuating asymmetry in two elements of wing patterns in Boloria euphrosyne, Plebejus idas, and Agriades optilete collected 1–65 km from Monchegorsk. Body metal concentrations increased toward the smelter, confirming the local origin of the collected butterflies. The wings of butterflies from the most polluted sites were 5–8% shorter than those in unpolluted localities, suggesting adverse effects of pollution on butterfly fitness due to larval feeding on contaminated plants. However, fluctuating asymmetry averaged across two hindwing spots did not change systematically with pollution, thereby questioning the use of fluctuating asymmetry as an indicator of habitat quality in butterfly conservation projects.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Fluctuating Asymmetry of the Butterfly Wing Pattern Does Not Change along an Industrial Pollution Gradient

Zverev

Kozlov

2021

Symmetry

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“…Heteroptera are affected by the amount of resources available ('consumer rarity hypothesis ' Siemann 1998) as well as by the diversity of plant species ('specialisation hypothesis': DeAngelis 1994; Srivastava and Lawton 1998). The latter conclusion is also supported by the study of Brändle et al (2001) on Heteroptera and plant diversity in pine forests along a pollution gradient. There, however, abundance of Heteroptera was negatively correlated with plant species density.…”

Section: Effect Of Site Historymentioning

confidence: 91%

Plant and arthropod communities in young oak stands: are they determined by site history?

2008

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Effect of site history on forest plant and insect communities was studied by comparing afforestations on former agricultural land with reafforestations on ancient woodland sites. Vascular plants, mosses, true bugs, lacewings and saproxylic beetles were surveyed at 18 young broadleaved forest sites dominated by oak (Quercus robur), established between 1986 and 1994 in three different growth regions in Bavaria, Germany. Two strata, near ground level and the canopy, were sampled. Compared to woodland reafforestations greater species density and abundance of plants and true bugs were observed in field layer of afforestation sites. Proportion of forest species among plants and true bugs was however significantly lower in afforestations than on ancient woodland sites. In the canopy, zoo-phytophagous true bugs were significantly better represented in afforestations and zoophagous true bugs in reafforestations. Saproxylic beetles, especially inhabitants of old dead wood, were species-poor in afforestations. Results indicate that site history affects both producer and consumer communities in multiple ways, even 20 years after afforestation of former agricultural land. However, afforestations adjacent to existing forest stands can be regarded as valuable to nature conservation in effectively extending forest habitats. Investment in such afforestation therefore represents more than just an agricultural subsidy.Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (

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“…Fountain and Hopkin (2004a) confirmed the same pattern for Collembola communities in polluted areas. One explanation of this fairly consistent pattern might be that pollutant-caused changes in environmental conditions can lead to the emergence of new niches for new species, as described in detail in work on sulphur dioxide and Heteroptera (Brändle et al 2001, 2006): higher SO 2 deposition had altered the soil conditions, making it possible for new species of plants to appear in the area. In turn, the new plant species provided a food source for new monophagous species of Heteroptera , and new herbivore arthropods attracted new narrowly specialized arthropod predators.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Biodiversity and structure of spider communities along a metal pollution gradient

Żmudzki

Laskowski

2012

Ecotoxicology

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The objective of the study was to determine whether long-term metal pollution affects communities of epigeal spiders (Aranea), studied at three taxonomic levels: species, genera, and families. Biodiversity was defined by three indices: the Hierarchical Richness Index (HRI), Margalef index (DM) and Pielou evenness index (J). In different ways the indices describe taxa richness and the distribution of individuals among taxa. The dominance pattern of the communities was described with four measures: number of dominant species at a site, percentage of dominant species at a site, average dominant species abundance at a site, and the share of the most numerous species (Alopecosa cuneata) at a site. Spiders were collected along a metal pollution gradient in southern Poland, extending ca. 33 km from zinc and lead smelter to an uncontaminated area. The zinc concentration in soil was used as the pollution index.The study revealed a significant effect of metal pollution on spider biodiversity as described by HRI for species (p = 0.039), genera (p = 0.0041) and families (p = 0.0147), and by DM for genera (p = 0.0259) and families (p = 0.0028). HRI correlated negatively with pollution level, while DM correlated positively. This means that although broadly described HRI diversity decreased with increasing pollution level, species richness increased with increasing contamination. Mesophilic meadows were generally richer. Pielou (J) did not show any significant correlations. There were a few evidences for the intermediate disturbance hypothesis: certain indices reached their highest values at moderate pollution levels rather than at the cleanest or most polluted sites.

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Untitled

Cited by 40 publications

References 31 publications

The Fluctuating Asymmetry of the Butterfly Wing Pattern Does Not Change along an Industrial Pollution Gradient

The Fluctuating Asymmetry of the Butterfly Wing Pattern Does Not Change along an Industrial Pollution Gradient

Plant and arthropod communities in young oak stands: are they determined by site history?

Biodiversity and structure of spider communities along a metal pollution gradient

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