Bromeliads as biodiversity amplifiers and habitat segregation of spider communities in a Neotropical rainforest

Gonçalves‐Souza, Thiago; Brescovit, Antonio D.; Rossa‐Feres, Denise de Cerqueira; Romero, Gustavo Q.

doi:10.1636/p09-58.1

Cited by 41 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…For example, a single epiphytic bird's nest fern in the lowland rainforest canopy of Borneo may contain double the invertebrate biomass of the entire host tree (Ellwood & Foster, ). Similarly, bromeliads in the Neotropics, which are functionally equivalent to phytotelms and Asplenium bird's nest ferns, increase spider richness by 41% (Gonçalves‐Souza et al ., ), increase the suitability of hot and dry habitats for frogs (da Silva et al ., ), and serve as foraging habitats that amplify the richness and abundance of resident birds (Nadkarni & Matelson, ; Cruz‐Angόn & Greenberg, ). Entire frog communities in our study area are obligate breeders within bird's nest ferns, phytotelm, and vegetative habitats and, therefore, their persistence is directly linked to microhabitat conditions (Scheffers et al ., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microhabitats reduce animal's exposure to climate extremes

Scheffers

Edwards

Diesmos

et al. 2013

Global Change Biology

397

362

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Extreme weather events, such as unusually hot or dry conditions, can cause death by exceeding physiological limits, and so cause loss of population. Survival will depend on whether or not susceptible organisms can find refuges that buffer extreme conditions. Microhabitats offer different microclimates to those found within the wider ecosystem, but do these microhabitats effectively buffer extreme climate events relative to the physiological requirements of the animals that frequent them? We collected temperature data from four common microhabitats (soil, tree holes, epiphytes, and vegetation) located from the ground to canopy in primary rainforests in the Philippines. Ambient temperatures were monitored from outside of each microhabitat and from the upper forest canopy, which represent our macrohabitat controls. We measured the critical thermal maxima (CTmax ) of frog and lizard species, which are thermally sensitive and inhabit our microhabitats. Microhabitats reduced mean temperature by 1-2 °C and reduced the duration of extreme temperature exposure by 14-31 times. Microhabitat temperatures were below the CTmax of inhabitant frogs and lizards, whereas macrohabitats consistently contained lethal temperatures. Microhabitat temperatures increased by 0.11-0.66 °C for every 1 °C increase in macrohabitat temperature, and this nonuniformity in temperature change influenced our forecasts of vulnerability for animal communities under climate change. Assuming uniform increases of 6 °C, microhabitats decreased the vulnerability of communities by up to 32-fold, whereas under nonuniform increases of 0.66 to 3.96 °C, microhabitats decreased the vulnerability of communities by up to 108-fold. Microhabitats have extraordinary potential to buffer climate and likely reduce mortality during extreme climate events. These results suggest that predicted changes in distribution due to mortality and habitat shifts that are derived from macroclimatic samples and that assume uniform changes in microclimates relative to macroclimates may be overly pessimistic. Nevertheless, even nonuniform temperature increases within buffered microhabitats would still threaten frogs and lizards.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microhabitats reduce animal's exposure to climate extremes

Scheffers

Edwards

Diesmos

et al. 2013

Global Change Biology

397

362

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“…In this study, we analysed the combined effect of epiphyte size, spatial position and isolation on the species richness, the relative proportion of rare species, and the community similarity of epiphyte‐inhabiting spiders. Spiders and epiphytes have a mutualistic relationship in which the plants provide spiders with a suitable habitat for foraging, reproduction, egg laying, and finding shelter (Gonçalves‐Souza, Brescovit, Rossa‐Feres, & Romero, ; Scheffers, Edwards, Diesmos, Williams, & Evans, ), and spiders reduce herbivore populations through predation and can make nutrients available to the plants (e.g., via excretion) (Gonçalves, Mercier, Mazzafera, & Romero, ; Romero, Mazzafera, Vasconcellos‐Neto, & Trivelin, ). Spiders are highly sensitive to subtle changes in habitat structure (Gonçalves‐Souza et al., ) and microclimatic conditions and they show active habitat selection (Omena & Romero, ; Rao, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Islands in the trees: A biogeographic exploration of epiphyte‐dwelling spiders

Méndez‐Castro

Bader

Mendieta‐Leiva

et al. 2018

Journal of Biogeography

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Aim Epiphytic plants are isolated from each other by nonhabitat canopy elements and are thus expected to act as islands, the biodiversity of their inhabitants (e.g., spiders) conforming to island biogeographic predictions of species‐richness patterns. Although it has been shown that arthropod diversity decreases with decreasing epiphyte size, the effects of isolation have not yet been addressed. We studied the joint effect of isolation, spatial position, and size of epiphytic plants (canopy islands) on species richness, relative rareness, and similarity of spider communities. Location A shade‐coffee plantation in central Veracruz, Mexico. Taxon Spiders (Araneae), vascular epiphytes (Bromeliaceae, Piperaceae, Orchidaceae, Araceae, Pteridophyta). Methods We collected all canopy islands occurring on three trees and recorded their three‐dimensional spatial position. In the laboratory, we disassembled the plants and collected all spiders present. We analysed the effects of island size, isolation, and spatial position on the species richness and the relative rareness of spider communities using generalized linear models (GLM), on the distribution of different spider guilds using a CCA, and on community composition using a permutational multivariate analysis of variance (Permanova). Isolation and spatial position were addressed using five distance measures representing isolation from different potential species sources. We tested how the similarity in spider community composition changed with the distance between islands using Mantel correlograms. Results As predicted by island biogeography theory, spider species richness increased with canopy‐island size and decreased with isolation. In comparison to island size, the effect of isolation was weak, though significant. Relative rareness was hardly affected by island size but more by isolation. Compositional similarity was affected by island size and decreased with increasing spatial distance up to ca. 4 m. Guilds separated along the main CCA axes, this ordination being driven by epiphyte size and position. Main conclusions Epiphytic plants behaved like canopy islands in that their size and isolation influenced the diversity and composition of spider communities. However, the effect of isolation was only a fraction of that of island size, perhaps because spatial relationships are taxon‐specific. This may be due to differences in hunting behaviour and dispersal capacities, for example, between guilds of hunting and web‐building spiders, which is a dimension deserving more attention. For a better understanding of biogeographic principles driving the diversity of canopy island inhabitants, further research on this topic should include position and isolation, at scales matching the mobility of different functional groups, as part of their explanatory variables.

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“…, Gonçalves‐Souza et al . ) might account for compositional changes at these scales. Testing how species turnover varies in response to broad‐scale processes ( e.g ., among sites in a Neotropical latitudinal gradient) and fine‐scale processes ( e.g ., in different microhabitats) could elucidate a variety of mechanisms that drive species distribution.…”

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confidence: 99%

Fine‐scale Beta‐diversity Patterns Across Multiple Arthropod Taxa Over a Neotropical Latitudinal Gradient

et al. 2015

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Documenting how diversity patterns vary at fine‐ and broad scales may help answer many questions in theoretical and applied ecology. However, studies tend to compare diversity patterns at the same scale and within the same taxonomic group, which limits the applicability and generality of the results. Here, we have investigated whether vegetation‐dwelling arthropods from different trophic ranks and with distinct life histories (i.e., ants, caterpillars, cockroaches, and spiders) have different beta‐diversity patterns at multiple scales. Specifically, we compared their beta diversity across architecturally distinct plant species (fine‐scale process) and a latitudinal gradient of sites (broad‐scale process) along 2040 km of coastal restinga vegetation in the Neotropics. Over 50 percent of the compositional changes (β‐diversity) in ants, caterpillars, and spiders and 41 percent of those in cockroaches were explained by plant identity within each site. Even groups that do not feed on plant tissues, such as omnivores and predators, were strongly affected by plant identity. Fine‐scale variation was more important than large‐scale processes for all studied groups. Performing a cross‐scale comparison of diversity patterns of groups with distinct life histories helps elucidate how processes that act at regional scales, such as dispersal, interact with local processes to assemble arthropod communities.

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Bromeliads as biodiversity amplifiers and habitat segregation of spider communities in a Neotropical rainforest

Abstract: Bromeliads as biodiversity amplifiers and habitat segregation of spider communities in aNeotropical rainforest

Cited by 41 publications

References 40 publications

Microhabitats reduce animal's exposure to climate extremes

Microhabitats reduce animal's exposure to climate extremes

Islands in the trees: A biogeographic exploration of epiphyte‐dwelling spiders

Fine‐scale Beta‐diversity Patterns Across Multiple Arthropod Taxa Over a Neotropical Latitudinal Gradient

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