Biogeography and ecology of endemic invertebrate species in Austria: A cross-taxon analysis

Rabitsch, Wolfgang; Graf, Wolfram; Huemer, Peter; Kahlen, Manfred; Komposch, Christian; Paill, Wolfgang; Reischütz, Alexander; Reischütz, Peter L.; Moser, Dietmar; Essl, Franz

doi:10.1016/j.baae.2015.11.002

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Other organism groups may remain resistant or may be similarly affected, which would be of particular concern owing to the above-average level of endemic invertebrates compared to elevations below the timberline in the Alps (Rabitsch et al 2016). For alpine soil arthropod abundance, experimental warming was most effective when combined with nutrient addition (Hågvar and Klanderud 2009), whereas a long-term warming experiment had no effect on richness and abundance of springtails in alpine subarctic ecosystems (Alatalo, Jägerbrand, and Čuchta 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Side by side? Vascular plant, invertebrate, and microorganism distribution patterns along an alpine to nival elevation gradient

Winkler

Illmer

Querner

et al. 2018

Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research

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High mountain areas above the alpine zone are, despite the low-temperature conditions, inhabited by evolutionary and functionally differing organism groups. We compared the abundance and species richness of vascular plants, oribatid mites, springtails, spiders, and beetles, as well as bacterial and methanogenic archaeal prokaryotes (only abundance), at 100 m vertical intervals from 2,700-3,400 m in the Central Alps. We hypothesized that the less mobile microarthropods and microorganisms are more determined by and respond in similar ways to soil properties as do vascular plants. In contrast, we expected the more mobile surface-dwelling groups to forage also in places devoid of vegetation and thus to show patterns that deviate from that of vascular plants.Surprisingly, the observed patterns were diametrically opposed to our expectations: soil-living oribatid mites and springtails showed high individual numbers at high elevations, even where vascular plants barely occurred. Springtails also showed a rather constant species richness throughout the entire gradient. In contrast, patterns of surface-dwelling organisms and of archaeal prokaryotes did not differ significantly from vascular plants, because of either comparable climate sensitivity or their dependency on vegetated habitats.This study may serve as a baseline to estimate the risks of biodiversity losses in response to climate change across different biotic ecosystem components and to explore the potential and limitations of vascular plants as proxy for other organism groups that are far more challenging to monitor. ARTICLE HISTORY

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Side by side? Vascular plant, invertebrate, and microorganism distribution patterns along an alpine to nival elevation gradient

Winkler

Illmer

Querner

et al. 2018

Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research

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“…Dirnböck, Essl, & Babitsch, ; Payne, Spehn, Snethlage, & Fischer, ), and they also harbour a number of endemic and endangered species (e.g. Negro, Casale, Migliore, Palestrini, & Rolando, ; Rabitsch et al, ). As a result of both climate and land use changes, carabid beetles have tended to shift towards summits over the past decades (Pizzolotto, Gobbi, & Brandmayr, ), and changes in vegetation have resulted in a reduced area of open habitats, with subsequent negative effects for high elevation species (Pizzolotto et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trait‐modulated decline of carabid beetle occurrence along elevational gradients across the European Alps

Chamberlain

Gobbi

Negro

et al. 2020

Journal of Biogeography

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Aim: To assess how species traits modulate the responses of carabids to elevational gradients, and how consistent these relationships are across different Alpine regions.Location: Italian Alps. Taxon: Coleoptera, Carabidae (ground beetles).Methods: Carabid communities were sampled using pitfall traps along elevational gradients (697-2,840 m) in 416 study sites comprising a range of habitat types. The probability of carabid occurrence was modelled in relation to elevation and its interaction with two key traits, body size and wing development, using a mixed-modelling framework. The consistency of these associations was then assessed across three geographically separated regions. Results:Carabid occurrence declined with increasing elevation, although this relationship was modulated by both body size and wing development. Smaller species were less likely to occur than larger-bodied species at lower elevations. There was a steep decline in occurrence of larger species from low to high elevation, but a slight increase in smaller species, when considering all regions combined. All wing development types declined with elevation, most notably for brachypterous (reduced wings) species. However, these patterns also varied regionally, especially for wing development, indicating that trait-elevation interactions are not geographically consistent.Habitat could not explain the differences between regions for body size, but was likely an important driver of regional differences in the role of wing development on carabid occurrence. Main conclusions:Species traits are important in explaining the distribution of carabids along elevational gradients in mountains, and they may help to identify the species that are the most vulnerable, and the most resilient, to future environmental change. Increased probability of occurrence of smaller species at higher elevations suggests that they may be particularly vulnerable to environmental change in the future. However, the difference in responses to elevation between regions has important implications for modelling species distributions, as it suggests low model transferability, that is, a trait-based model derived from one region cannot necessarily be used to project relative elevational shifts in a wider area. | 1031 CHAMBERLAIN Et AL.

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“…Other beetles are known to have small ranges. For example, the most endemic species in Austria occurred within the order Coleoptera, with 80% of these species having ranges ,875 km 2 (Rabitsch et al 2016). The federally Endangered Hungerford's Crawling Water Beetle Brychius hungerfordi (Haliplidae) is known from six streams in Ontario and Michigan (ESA 1973;Tansy 2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Species Distribution Models to Guide Field Surveys for an Apparently Rare Aquatic Beetle

Tronstad

Brown

Andersen

2018

Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management

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Surveying for rare animals can be difficult but using models to predict suitable habitat can guide sampling efforts. We used models to predict suitable habitat for the Narrow-footed Hygrotus Diving Beetle Hygrotus diversipes (diving beetle hereafter), a dytiscid beetle that is known from 10 streams in central Wyoming. The diving beetle was a category-2 Candidate species for listing as Threatened or Endangered in the Endangered Species Act between 1989 and 1996, and was petitioned for listing in 2007, 2008, and 2013. Suitable habitat for the diving beetle was predicted using Maximum Entropy and Random Forest models in Wyoming. Both models predicted that the diving beetle was more likely to occur in intermittent streams with a gentle gradient, shallow water table, variable precipitation pattern, and high soil electrical conductivity, and in the warmest areas of Wyoming. We conducted surveys for the diving beetle at sites where the species had previously been found, and in new areas that were predicted suitable by our models to evaluate whether it is more widely distributed than indicated by previous estimates. We sampled beetles using dip nets and bottle-traps, and assessed water quality at each site. We collected the diving beetle at three sites in central Wyoming between 2010 and 2012 in small, alkaline, intermittent streams with disconnected pools. The aquatic habitat of the diving beetle is dynamic and our results suggest that annual precipitation patterns have a strong influence on the biogeography of this habitat. Our results also suggest that maintaining the hydrologic integrity of prairie streams in Wyoming is vital to the conservation of the diving beetle.

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Biogeography and ecology of endemic invertebrate species in Austria: A cross-taxon analysis

Cited by 9 publications

References 29 publications

Side by side? Vascular plant, invertebrate, and microorganism distribution patterns along an alpine to nival elevation gradient

Side by side? Vascular plant, invertebrate, and microorganism distribution patterns along an alpine to nival elevation gradient

Trait‐modulated decline of carabid beetle occurrence along elevational gradients across the European Alps

Using Species Distribution Models to Guide Field Surveys for an Apparently Rare Aquatic Beetle

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