Habitat edges as a potential ecological trap for an insect predator

Ries, Leslie; Fagan, William F.

doi:10.1046/j.1365-2311.2003.00550.x

Cited by 74 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Despite this preference, survivorship was lowest at the edge, possibly because of host-plant-induced mortality (McGeoch & Gaston, 2000). Similarly, Ries & Fagan (2003) found the density of mantid egg cases was greatest at the edges of cottonwood and desert shrub riparian zones, where bird predation rates were significantly higher.…”

Section: (2 ) Edges As Ecological Trapsmentioning

confidence: 94%

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Confounding factors in the detection of species responses to habitat fragmentation

2005

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Habitat loss has pervasive and disruptive impacts on biodiversity in habitat remnants. The magnitude of the ecological impacts of habitat loss can be exacerbated by the spatial arrangement -or fragmentation -of remaining habitat. Fragmentation per se is a landscape-level phenomenon in which species that survive in habitat remnants are confronted with a modified environment of reduced area, increased isolation and novel ecological boundaries. The implications of this for individual organisms are many and varied, because species with differing life history strategies are differentially affected by habitat fragmentation. Here, we review the extensive literature on species responses to habitat fragmentation, and detail the numerous ways in which confounding factors have either masked the detection, or prevented the manifestation, of predicted fragmentation effects.Large numbers of empirical studies continue to document changes in species richness with decreasing habitat area, with positive, negative and no relationships regularly reported. The debate surrounding such widely contrasting results is beginning to be resolved by findings that the expected positive species-area relationship can be masked by matrix-derived spatial subsidies of resources to fragment-dwelling species and by the invasion of matrix-dwelling species into habitat edges. Significant advances have been made recently in our understanding of how species interactions are altered at habitat edges as a result of these changes. Interestingly, changes in biotic and abiotic parameters at edges also make ecological processes more variable than in habitat interiors. Individuals are more likely to encounter habitat edges in fragments with convoluted shapes, leading to increased turnover and variability in population size than in fragments that are compact in shape. Habitat isolation in both space and time disrupts species distribution patterns, with consequent effects on metapopulation dynamics and the genetic structure of fragment-dwelling populations. Again, the matrix habitat is a strong determinant of fragmentation effects within remnants because of its role in regulating dispersal and dispersalrelated mortality, the provision of spatial subsidies and the potential mediation of edge-related microclimatic gradients.We show that confounding factors can mask many fragmentation effects. For instance, there are multiple ways in which species traits like trophic level, dispersal ability and degree of habitat specialisation influence specieslevel responses. The temporal scale of investigation may have a strong influence on the results of a study, with short-term crowding effects eventually giving way to long-term extinction debts. Moreover, many fragmentation effects like changes in genetic, morphological or behavioural traits of species require time to appear. By contrast, synergistic interactions of fragmentation with climate change, human-altered disturbance regimes, species interactions and other drivers of population decline may magnify the impacts...

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Section: (2 ) Edges As Ecological Trapsmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…This phenomenon has been termed an 'ecological trap ' and was originally introduced in the avian literature (Gates & Gysel, 1978;Flaspohler, Temple & Rosenfield, 2001 ;Ries & Fagan, 2003). However, two recent studies of edge effects have expanded the concept to include invertebrates.…”

Section: (2 ) Edges As Ecological Trapsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Confounding factors in the detection of species responses to habitat fragmentation

2005

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“…Finally, there may be edge-related variation in predation pressures, which Schlaepfer et al (2002) have referred to as an ecological trap. An ecological trap occurs when habitat disturbance alters environments and then organisms mistakenly occupy heterogeneous habitats that are no longer suitable for long-term survival and reproductive success owing to increased predation pressures (Battin, 2004;Ries and Fagan, 2003;Schlaepfer et al, 2002Schlaepfer et al, , 2005. In undisturbed forest landscapes, heterogeneous habitats provide improved foraging opportunities and protection from predation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Edge Effects on the Density of Cheirogaleus major

2006

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“…Hedin et al 2008;Horváth et al 2009;Horváth et al 2007;Kriska et al 2006;Ries and Fagan 2003) and can serve as valuable indicators of disturbance (Uehara-Prado et al 2009). Harvestmen are among the most abundant arthropods in tropical forests (Wade et al 2011) and are strongly affected by habitat fragmentation and other anthropogenic disturbances (Bragagnolo et al 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Communal roosting sites are potential ecological traps: experimental evidence in a Neotropical harvestman

Grether

Levi

Antaky

et al. 2014

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Situations in which animals preferentially settle in low-quality habitat are referred to as ecological traps, and species that aggregate in response to conspecific cues, such as scent marks, that persist after the animals leave the area may be especially vulnerable. We tested this hypothesis on harvestmen (Prionostemma sp.) that roost communally in the rainforest understory. Based on evidence that these animals preferentially settle in sites marked with conspecific scent, we predicted that established aggregation sites would continue to attract new recruits even if the animals roosting there perished. To test this prediction, we simulated intense predation by repeatedly removing all individuals from 10 established roosts, and indeed, these sites continued to attract new harvestmen. A more likely reason for an established roost to become unsuitable is a loss of overstory canopy cover caused by treefalls. To investigate this scenario, without felling trees, we established 16 new communal roosts by translocating harvestmen into previously unused sites. Half the release sites were located in intact forest, and half were located in treefall gaps, but canopy cover had no significant effect on the recruitment rate. These results support the inference that communal roost sites are potential ecological traps for species that aggregate in response to conspecific scent.

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Habitat edges as a potential ecological trap for an insect predator

Cited by 74 publications

References 35 publications

Confounding factors in the detection of species responses to habitat fragmentation

Confounding factors in the detection of species responses to habitat fragmentation

Edge Effects on the Density of Cheirogaleus major

Communal roosting sites are potential ecological traps: experimental evidence in a Neotropical harvestman

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