Is there a bottom-up cascade on the assemblages of trees, arboreal insects and spiders in a semiarid Caatinga?

Sousa-Souto, Leandro; Santos, Eugene; Figueiredo, Priscilla; Santos, Adalberto J.; Neves, Frederico S.

doi:10.1007/s11829-014-9341-0

Cited by 11 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…These changes become clear since we observe the differences in species composition of arboreal ants between different successional stages. Similar results were observed in previous studies (Arnan et al, 2011;Neves et al, 2013;Sousa-Souto et al, 2014), indicating that changes in habitat structure tends to affect the species composition of ants. This turnover of ant species can be determined by factors specific to each successional stage (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…As the forest regeneration occurs, gradual changes take place in the composition, abundance and richness of vegetation, thus driving changes in species composition in the assemblages of organisms associated (Bazzaz, 1975;Neves et al, 2014;Sousa-Souto et al, 2014). These changes become clear since we observe the differences in species composition of arboreal ants between different successional stages.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 55%

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Composition and Richness of Arboreal ants in Fragments of Brazilian Caatinga: Effects of Secondary Succession

et al. 2016

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Ecological succession is a complex processes involving changes in the structure of plant community and it is an important factor determining the structure of arboreal ants assemblages, but little is known about the effects of succession on ant assemblages in regions of Tropical Dry Forests (TDFs), such as the Brazilian Caatinga. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of ecological succession on the richness and species composition of arboreal ants in fragments of Caatinga, testing the following hypothesis: i) the richness of arboreal ants increases along a gradient of forest succession, in response to tree richness and/or density; ii) species composition of arboreal ants differs among stages of forest succession due to differences in vegetation structure in theses stages. This study was conducted in 15 plots distributed in three areas with different stages of secondary succession (early, intermediate and late). Tree density and richness were used as surrogate of vegetation structure. Ants were sampled using the technique of beating the foliage and baited pitfall traps, where five trees were sampled per plot, totaling 75 individual trees sampled. We sampled 37 species of ants, distributed in 16 genera and five subfamilies. Ant richness differed among stages of succession and seasons, with higher number of species in the late succession and rainy period, also increasing with tree richness and density. Besides, there was a distinct composition of ant species among stages of succession and seasons. Results obtained in this study reinforce the importance of using ants as environmental bioindicators, since the sensitivity to environmental variations of this group enables us to differentiate early and late successional stages of forest succession in Caatinga environment.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 55%

Composition and Richness of Arboreal ants in Fragments of Brazilian Caatinga: Effects of Secondary Succession

et al. 2016

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“…The P. pyramidalis (Fabaceae) tree, popularly known in Brazil as “catingueira” is endemic, and one of the most abundant trees in our study area ( Oliveira et al, 2013 ; Sousa-Souto et al, 2014 ). The species is found in the states of Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte and Sergipe ( Maia, 2004 ), and flowers irregularly in the Caatinga ( Leite & Machado, 2009 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in leaf chlorophyll content associated with flowering and its role in the diversity of phytophagous insects in a tree species from a semiarid Caatinga

Sousa-Souto

Bocchiglieri

Dias

et al. 2018

PeerJ

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Phytophagous insects choose their feeding resources according to their own requirements, but their feeding preferences in the semiarid Caatinga have rarely been studied. Flowering trees leads to a greater diversity of flower visitors and their predators in the host plant, but little is known about why the diversity of phytophagous insects not associated with flowers is also increased. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diversity of sap-sucking, wood-boring and leaf-chewing insects associated with leaf chlorophyll content in flowering and non-flowering plants of Poincianella pyramidalis, an endemic tree of Caatinga. We used a leaf chlorophyll index (LCI) as a surrogate for resource quality, and an entomological umbrella to collect phytophagous insects. We show that trees which bloomed demonstrated higher chlorophyll content, greater abundance and a significant difference in the composition of phytophagous insect species when compared to non-flowering trees (p < 0.05). The results suggest that not only the presence of flowers themselves, but also the higher nutritional quality of leaf tissue, can explain the differences in species diversity and abundance of phytophagous insects. Exceptional flowering trees in the Caatinga area studied may thus act as spots of high quality resources, favouring changes in the diversity of insects in this environment.

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“…While strong relationships have been reported previously between web-building spiders and vegetation (e.g. Ávila et al 2017), other studies reported a weak effect of vegetation structure on spider diversity (Rodrigues et al 2014) and no bottom-up effect of vegetation biomass on spiders (Lassau and Hochuli 2008;Lafage et al 2014;Sousa-Souto et al 2014). Ground-dwelling spiders are known to react to several local, abiotic factors, such as pH, disturbance, soil structure or moisture level (Schaefer 1990;Andersen 1995;Paquin and Coderre 1997;Pétillon et al 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Responses of ground-dwelling spider assemblages to changes in vegetation from wet oligotrophic habitats of Western France

Lafage

Djoudi

Perrin

et al. 2018

Preprint

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While many arthropod species are known to depend, directly or indirectly, on certain plant species or communities, it remains unclear to what extent vegetation shapes assemblages of other taxa, notably predators. In this study, we tested whether the abundance, composition, and diversity of grounddwelling spiders were driven by changes in vegetation structure. Field sampling was conducted using pitfall traps in bogs, heathlands, and grasslands of Brittany (Western France) in 2013. A total of 8576 spider individuals were identified up to the species level (for a total of 141 species), as well as all plant species in more than 300 phytosociological relevés. A generalised linear model showed that spider activity-density was negatively influenced by mean vegetation height and mean Ellenberg value for moisture. Indices of diversity ( , ɑ, β, and functional diversities) increased with increasing vegetation height and shrub cover (GLMs). Variables driving spider composition were mean vegetation height, dwarf shrub cover, and low shrub cover (results from a redundancy analysis). Spiders, some of the most abundant arthropod predators, thus, are strongly influenced by vegetation structure, including ground-dwelling species. Although encroachment is usually seen as detrimental to local biodiversity in Europe, our results suggest that allowing controlled development of the shrub layer could have a positive impact on the diversity of certain groups, such as ground-dwelling spiders.

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Is there a bottom-up cascade on the assemblages of trees, arboreal insects and spiders in a semiarid Caatinga?

Cited by 11 publications

References 56 publications

Composition and Richness of Arboreal ants in Fragments of Brazilian Caatinga: Effects of Secondary Succession

Composition and Richness of Arboreal ants in Fragments of Brazilian Caatinga: Effects of Secondary Succession

Changes in leaf chlorophyll content associated with flowering and its role in the diversity of phytophagous insects in a tree species from a semiarid Caatinga

Responses of ground-dwelling spider assemblages to changes in vegetation from wet oligotrophic habitats of Western France

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