Ignoring ecological demands masks the real effect of urbanization: a case study of ground‐dwelling spiders along a rural–urban gradient in a lowland forest in Hungary

Horváth, Roland; Magura, Tibor; Tóthmérész, Béla

doi:10.1007/s11284-012-0988-7

Cited by 32 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 44 publications

(38 reference statements)

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“…), xerophilous spiders (Horvath et al. ), and macropterous carabids (Venn , Gobbi and Fontaneto , Pedley and Dolman ) have been recorded in large numbers in city cores along urbanization gradients. Interestingly, we did not find differences in body size among habitat types, despite studies reporting that beetle body size decreased as urbanization, fragmentation, and management intensified (Halme and Niemela , Alaruikka et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Patch and landscape‐scale variables influence the taxonomic and functional composition of beetles in urban greenspaces

et al. 2017

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Abstract. Urbanization is a leading cause of species extinction; however, interest in urban greenspaces as sites for conservation has grown considerably in recent decades, raising questions about the ability of these habitats to support desired wildlife. Our goal was to determine how distinct forms of urban greenspace and their landscape context influenced the species composition of ground-dwelling beetle communities. We examined the taxonomic and functional composition of Carabidae and Staphylinidae in urban vacant lots, urban farms, and planted urban prairies within the City of Cleveland, Ohio. Beetles were collected using pitfall traps across 23 sites. We found that the three habitats examined varied significantly in beetle composition, with several unique species found within each type of greenspace. Carabidae abundance and richness were greater in urban prairies and urban farms relative to vacant lots. The abundance and taxonomic richness of Staphylinidae were highest within urban farms. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) and partial CCA revealed that both local features and landscape variables influenced beetle community assembly. Most beetle taxa were negatively associated with buildings within the surrounding 1-km landscape, whereas grass was the most important local habitat feature. Additionally, we found variation in the distribution of species traits among habitats; ecological traits such as moisture tolerance and dispersal capacity differed significantly among urban greenspaces. Most interesting from a conservation perspective was a greater abundance of brachypterous carabids found in urban prairies, which suggests that these habitats provide overwintering and breeding habitat for some beetle species. Our findings demonstrate that urban greenspaces play important roles in shaping arthropod diversity in cities, and maintaining habitats that vary in design and management is important for their conservation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…) and increase (Horvath et al. , Lowenstein et al. ) with human population density and the proportion of impervious surface in the surrounding landscape.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patch and landscape‐scale variables influence the taxonomic and functional composition of beetles in urban greenspaces

et al. 2017

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“…(urbanization and fragmenta-45 tion), natural disturbance (e.g., fire, flood, and drought), and 46 management regime (mowing, grazing, and burning) are also 47 important factors (Cattin et al, 2003;Horváth et al, 2009Horváth et al, , 201248 Malumbres- Olarte et al, 2014 (Batáry et al, 2008).…”

Section: Q5mentioning

confidence: 99%

In stable, unmanaged grasslands local factors are more important than landscape-level factors in shaping spider assemblages

Horváth

Magura

Szinetár

et al. 2015

Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment

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A B S T R A C TPrevious studies reported that landscape-level factors are vital to support diversity of spiders in strongly modified arable lands and disturbed habitats such as managed semi-natural grasslands. Cropland management (ploughing, fertilization, and pest management) Q3 and agricultural practices (mowing and grazing) destroy and/or modify regularly the spider assemblages; thus, continuous recolonization from the surrounding landscape is vital to sustain the species pool. On the contrary, we hypothesized that in unmanaged grasslands, the spider assemblages are stable and the importance of recolonization is limited, the local factors become much more important drivers in shaping spider assemblages than landscape-level factors. We tested the importance of local and landscape-level factors on the abundance and species richness of spiders in unmanaged grasslands. At the landscape-level, we found that only the isolation had significant effect on the total abundance, on the abundance of hunting and habitat specialist species, and on the abundance of a frequent species (Gnaphosa mongolica). At the local scale, however, four out of five studied factors influenced significantly the species richness and abundance of spider assemblages and the abundance of two frequent species (Alopecosa psammophila, Berlandia cinerea). Species richness and abundance increased by plant cover, litter cover, and patch size, while decreased by bare ground cover. We found that in unmanaged grasslands, the local factors had vital role in maintaining the spider species richness; this is just the opposite conclusion that was earlier reported for agricultural ecosystems, where landscape-level effects had crucial role providing the species for continuous recolonization.2015 Published by Elsevier B.V. the local scale and the landscape-level scale) in these habitats 33 (Tscharntke et al., , 2012Batáry et al., 2008

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“…These taxa taxonomically well known and they could be easily collected by pitfall trapping or litter sifting (8,10).…”

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Group selection harvesting supports the diversity of epigaeic arthropod assemblages (Coleoptera: Carabidae; Araneidae: Araneae; Isopoda: Oniscidae)

Debnár¹

2016

Period Biol

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Background and purpose Timber-oriented forest management alters the environmental conditions, threatening the survival of many native and rare arthropod species. Recognition of the scale and effects of the forest loss has resulted in a considerable degree of interest in the reforestation. Nowadays, the uneven-aged management is recommended during the reforestation procedure, because this is less intensive and could be less harmful than evenaged practices. Our aim was to test the effects of clear-cutting (as even-aged method) and group selection harvesting (as uneven-aged method) on forest specialist epigaeic arthropods. Material and methods Epigaeic arthropod assemblages (ground beetles, spiders and woodlice) in gaps harvested IntroductIonT he widespread timber-oriented forest managements cause increased fragmentation and considerable environmental changes in almost all European native forests. These alterations in the original habitats threaten the survival of many native organisms (1, 2). In Europe 36% of the land surface are forested, however only 1.7% of these forests are considered natural (1). The unmanaged forests support the formation of microhabitats and food resources (such as decaying materials, old and large trees, cavities) required by forest specialist species (2, 3). While generally, the managed forests have homogeneous tree composition, homogeneous vertical stratification and age structure (4, 5).During the even-aged management a large part of a forest is harvested and then reforested, which creates monocultural stands with the same age and structure (1). It also has significant effect on the composition of the original arthropod fauna (6, 7). Conventional clear-cutting of mature forest with site preparation (grubbing, tilling, and deep-loosening) is one of the most inappropriate method among the even-aged silvicultural practices, because it increases the evaporation rate and the soil and air temperature due to removed roots with rhizomes and the ploughed soil (1, 8).Uneven-aged management methods could be a useful in the maintenance of forest biodiversity (1). During this management trees are removed individually (single tree method) or in small groups (group selection method) from the forest; thus, forest structure and age become diverse ensuring continuous forest cover in the forested area. Multi-aged reforestations may provide more favourable condition for sensitive species compared to even-aged stands, contributing to the maintenance and regeneration of the original arthropod fauna (1, 6, 9). However, only a few papers studied the effects of uneven-aged forest management on arthropods, although there is a growing need for comprehensive researches (1, 6).Ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae), spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) and woodlice (Isopoda: Oniscidae) are commonly used indicator organisms during the forest management studies. These taxa taxonomically well known and they could be easily collected by pitfall trapping or litter sifting (8, 10).The aim of our study was to explore the...

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Ignoring ecological demands masks the real effect of urbanization: a case study of ground‐dwelling spiders along a rural–urban gradient in a lowland forest in Hungary

Cited by 32 publications

References 44 publications

Patch and landscape‐scale variables influence the taxonomic and functional composition of beetles in urban greenspaces

Patch and landscape‐scale variables influence the taxonomic and functional composition of beetles in urban greenspaces

In stable, unmanaged grasslands local factors are more important than landscape-level factors in shaping spider assemblages

Group selection harvesting supports the diversity of epigaeic arthropod assemblages (Coleoptera: Carabidae; Araneidae: Araneae; Isopoda: Oniscidae)

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