Community assembly of Diptera following restoration of mined boreal bogs: taxonomic and functional diversity

Abstract

Peat mining causes major degradation to bogs and natural regeneration of these sites is slow and often incomplete. Thus, restoration is an important tool for re-establishing natural ecosystem properties (although perhaps not the original species pool) in mined bogs. Because faunal recovery cannot be taken for granted following plant restoration, we assessed community assembly of higher flies (Diptera: Brachycera) in previously mined bogs 7 years after restoration. Species assemblages in restored sites were compared to those in nearby natural and abandoned mined sites. The three treatment types did not differ significantly in overall species composition, suggesting high resilience to disturbance. However, species richness and evenness were generally lower in abandoned sites than restored and natural sites, which had similar abundance distributions, indicating that restoration enhanced recovery of species diversity and community structure. Functional traits (trophic group, body size) provided a different insight into the status of restored sites. Trophic and small size-class (\5 mm) composition in restored sites were similar to those in abandoned sites. However, high species richness estimates indicated that predators and saprophages successfully colonized restored sites. Species assemblages were mostly affected by coverage of bare peat, Sphagnum mosses and ericaceous shrubs; trophic assemblages were affected by variables directly linked to feeding habits. Our results suggest that active restoration is needed for the renewal of high species and trophic diversity, although it is clear from environmental conditions and functional traits that the restored sites are not yet fully functioning peatlands 7 years after restoration.

Lowbush blueberry plantation age influences natural biodiversity on an abandoned extracted peatland

“…Watts et al (2008) found that age and vegetation structure complexity were the major factors influencing convergence of arthropods diversity in restored and undisturbed peatlands. Taillefer and Wheeler (2012) assessed community assembly of higher flies (Diptera: Brachycera) in mined bogs and they mentioned environmental conditions and functional traits were not yet fully functioning peatlands seven years after restoration. Present study showed that species richness and abundance in blueberry plantations were in a state of flux for 14 years.…”

“…They found that, plant diversity had a positive impact on arthropod richness but not always on arthropod abundance. Taillefer and Wheeler (2012) found that in mined boreal bog experiment species assemblages of Brachycera (Diptera) were mostly affected by coverage of bare peat, Sphagnum mosses and ericaceous shrubs; trophic assemblages were affected by variables directly linked to feeding habits.…”

If we build – they mostly come: partial functional recovery but persistent compositional differences in wetland beetle community restoration

“…Numerous studies have shown the disruption of insect community trophic structure due to habitat loss and isolation (see review in Tscharntke et al ; Watts & Didham ). A few studies have shown that these can recover with restoration (Watts & Didham ; Gregoire Taillefer & Wheeler ). However, a meta‐analysis of wetland restoration sites found that biological structure and biogeochemical functioning remained approximately 25% lower than reference sites, even after a century of restoration (Moreno‐Mateos et al ).…”

“…The insect fauna of wetlands is often regarded as distinctive with an abundance of wetland specialists sensitive to environmental variations (Watts et al 2008;Gregoire Taillefer & Wheeler 2012). Therefore, it is imperative that we restore this integral ecosystem component.…”

The effect of habitat fragmentation on the bee visitor assemblages of three Australian tropical rainforest tree species

“…All organisms have measureable functional traits that are ecologically important and that have the potential to affect performance and fitness (Cadotte et al, 2011). Although functional traits have been best studied in plants (e.g., Diaz et al, 2004;Pérez-Harguindeguy et al, 2013), studies of insect communities that incorporate functional trait diversity are becoming more common (e.g., Horgan, 2008;Taillefer & Wheeler, 2012). We are only aware of one study of tropical bee communities, however, that investigates any functional traits (see Kambach, Guerra, Beck, Hensen, & Schleuning, 2013).…”