On the Conservation Value of Second-Growth Forests for Leaf-Litter Inhabiting Beetles

Caterino, Michael S.; Vásquez-Vélez, Laura M.; Myers, Shelley S

doi:10.1093/isd/ixx001

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…This study amplifies surprising conclusions from our previous work on species richness across these old- and second-growth communities [ 21 ]: the stands identified as second-growth appear to host diverse native populations (and communities). They do not exhibit any consistent sign of severe past population declines.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

“…Our own work in this area has focused on leaf litter inhabiting beetles, a diverse community performing important roles in decomposition and nutrient cycling [ 19 , 20 ]. We recently examined similarity in species composition across the litter beetle communities from a network of old-growth and second-growth sites, scattered across western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina [ 21 ]; second-growth communities are comparable in species richness, as well as in complementarity, with unique species being found at all second-growth sites.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Long-term population persistence of flightless weevils (Eurhoptus pyriformis) across old- and second-growth forests patches in southern Appalachia

Caterino

Langton-Myers²

2018

BMC Evol Biol

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BackgroundSouthern Appalachian forests are dominated by second-growth vegetation following decades of intensive forestry and agricultural use, although some old-growth patches remain. While it’s been shown that second-growth areas may exhibit comparable species richness to old-growth in the area, the extent to which populations of arthropods in second-growth areas have persisted vs. recolonized from other areas remains unexamined. The implications for conservation of both classes of forest are significant. Here we analyze population diversity and relatedness across five old-growth and five second-growth populations of flightless, leaf litter-inhabiting beetles in the genus Eurhoptus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Cryptorhynchinae). Our main goal is asking whether second-growth areas show diminished diversity and/or signals of recolonization from old-growth sources.ResultsPopulation genetic and phylogenetic analyses do not reveal any consistent differences in diversity between the old-growth and second-growth populations examined. Some second-growth populations retain substantial genetic diversity, while some old-growth populations appear relatively depauperate. There is no phylogenetic indication that second-growth populations have recolonized from old-growth source populations.ConclusionsMost populations contain substantial and unique genetic diversity indicating long-term persistence in the majority of sites. The results support substantial resilience in second-growth populations, though the geographic scale of sampling may have hindered detection of recolonization patterns. Broad scale phylogeographic patterns reveal a deep break across the French Broad River basin, as has been reported in several other taxa of limited dispersal abilities. In Eurhoptus this break dates to ~ 2–6 Ma ago, on the older end of the range of previously estimated dates.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12862-018-1278-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term population persistence of flightless weevils (Eurhoptus pyriformis) across old- and second-growth forests patches in southern Appalachia

Caterino

Langton-Myers²

2018

BMC Evol Biol

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“…In contrast, methods such as brushwood transposition, wherein woody material is transported to the damaged area to create a heterogenous environment, had low leaf litter arthropod diversity [62]. In North America, second-growth forests support highly diverse populations of leaf-litter inhabiting beetles [63,64] indicating considerable resilience to forest harvesting and conservation efforts.…”

Section: Effects Of Forest Restorationmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of Forest Management Effects on Terrestrial Leaf Litter Inhabiting Arthropods

Hartshorn

2020

Forests

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Leaf litter arthropods are some of the most abundant and diverse communities in forests and provide myriad ecosystem services from decomposition and mineralization to pollination and predation. They are important to forest health and management and, in turn, are affected by how we manage our forests. Various forest management techniques such as clear cutting, burning, and chemical control of invasive species all have differing effects on ground dwelling arthropods and, despite their importance, a review of the literature on these effects does not currently exist. My objective with this paper is to review the effects of different types of forest management on arthropods in leaf litter systems.

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“…What studies there have been on the litter fauna of the southern Appalachians have tended to emphasise particular taxa, resulting in many of the taxonomic papers cited above, or attempting to characterise faunas within limited groups (e.g., Bernard & Felderhoff, 2007; Caterino et al, 2017; Lamoncha & Crossley, 1998; Rieske & Buss, 2001). Others have examined intraspecific phylogeographic patterns within single lineages (Caterino & Langton‐Myers, 2018, 2019; Hedin et al, 2015; Thomas & Hedin, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shedding light on dark taxa in sky‐island Appalachian leaf litter: Assessing patterns of endemicity using large‐scale, voucher‐based barcoding

Caterino,

Recuero

2023

Insect Conserv Diversity

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Developing systematic conservation plans depends on a wealth of information on a region's biodiversity. For ‘dark taxa' such as arthropods, such data are usually very incomplete and in most cases left out from assessments. Sky islands are important and often fragile biodiversity hotspots. Southern Appalachian high‐elevation spruce–fir forests represent a particularly threatened sky‐island ecosystem, hosting numerous endemic and threatened species, but their arthropods remain understudied. Here we use voucher‐based megabarcoding to explore genetic differentiation among leaf‐litter arthropod communities of these highlands, and to examine the extent to which they represent dispersed communities of more or less coherent species, manageable as a distributed unit. We assembled a dataset comprising more than 6000 COI sequences representing diverse arthropod groups to assess species richness and sharing across peaks and ranges. Comparisons were standardised across taxa using automated species delimitation, measuring endemism levels by putative species. Species richness was high, with sites hosting from 86 to 199 litter arthropod species (not including mites or myriapods). Community profiles suggest that around one fourth of these species are unique to single sky islands and more than one third of all species are limited to a particular range. Across major taxa, endemicity was lowest in Araneae, and highest in neglected groups like Isopoda, Pseudoscorpionida, Protura and Diplura. Southern Appalachian sky islands of spruce–fir habitat host significantly distinct leaf‐litter arthropod communities, with high levels of local endemicity. This is the first work to provide such a clear picture of peak and range uniqueness for a taxonomically broad sample. Ensuring the protection of a sizeable fraction of high‐elevation litter species richness will therefore require attention at a relatively fine spatial scale.

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On the Conservation Value of Second-Growth Forests for Leaf-Litter Inhabiting Beetles

Cited by 9 publications

References 48 publications

Long-term population persistence of flightless weevils (Eurhoptus pyriformis) across old- and second-growth forests patches in southern Appalachia

Long-term population persistence of flightless weevils (Eurhoptus pyriformis) across old- and second-growth forests patches in southern Appalachia

A Review of Forest Management Effects on Terrestrial Leaf Litter Inhabiting Arthropods

Shedding light on dark taxa in sky‐island Appalachian leaf litter: Assessing patterns of endemicity using large‐scale, voucher‐based barcoding

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