a comparison of arthropod communities at burnt and...

A COMPARISON OF ARTHROPOD A COMPARISON OF ARTHROPOD COMMUNITIES AT BURNT AND NONCOMMUNITIES AT BURNT AND NON--BURNT BURNT

MOUNTAIN SIDESMOUNTAIN SIDES

Ioannis ANASTASIOU1, Spyros SFENTHOURAKIS2,Dimitris TSAPARIS1 & Anastasios LEGAKIS1.

1. ZOOLOGICAL MUSEUM, DEPT. OF BIOLOGY, UNIV. OF ATHENS, GR-15784 ATHENS, GREECE2. SECTION OF ANIMAL BIOLOGY, DEPT. OF BIOLOGY, UNIV. OF PATRAS, GR-26500 PATRAS, GREECE

National & National & KapodistrianKapodistrian University of AthensUniversity of Athens

9th International Congress on the Zoogeography and Ecology of Greece and Adjacent Regions, Thessaloniki, Greece, 22-25/5/2002

In this work we attack the question:

Are the communities of terrestrial invertebrates showing any differences among burnt and non-

burnt mountainous sites ?

• Fires are a major source of habitat change in Mediterranean ecosystems

• Fires are more common at low elevations, but they do occur at medium and high elevations too

• The effects of ‘mountain fires’ on the diversity of animal communities have not received so much attention

IntroductionIntroduction

MethodsMethods

Sampling Period April – November 2001 (7 months)

Sampling Frequency Monthly

Sampling Method • Standard Pitfall Traps (plastic cups of 250ml containing about 50ml of ethylene glycol)• 8 traps per biotope laying on a transect lines, and having a distance of 15m between them (in AL biotope 12 traps due to higher heterogeneity)

Study AreaStudy Area• South-East Peloponnisos• North slopes of Mt. Taygetos

37o 06' North – 22o 15' East

• Altitudinal Range1400 – 1650 m

BiotopesBiotopes

• Burnt Forest[K1 – K5]

• Mixed Coniferous Forest (Pinus nigra & Abies cephalonica)

[MF]

• Neighboring Burnt [KA] And Non-Burnt

(Pinus nigra forest) [AK]

• Sub-Alpine[AL]

Open Biotopes Open Biotopes

• Altitudinal Range: ≅1650 m.• Aspect: West• Coverage: Rocks, Bushes, Shrubs, Bare Soil. • Vegetation: Juniperus communis, Astragalus sp.,Poa sp., Daphne oleoides, Abies cephalonica, Ranunculus sp., Compositae, Gramineae.

Sub-Alpine

[AL]

• Altitudinal Range: 1420-1470 m.• Aspect: Varying• Coverage: Shrubs, Burned Logs.• Vegetation: Trifolium sp., Pteridium aquilinum, Verbascum sp., Poa sp., Hypericum sp., Fragaria sp., Compositae, Gramineae.

Open Biotopes Open Biotopes Burnt

[K3][K1]

[K5]

Mixed Coniferous ForestMixed Coniferous Forest

• Altitudinal Range: ≅1500 m.• Aspect: South, South-East• Coverage: Trees, Leaf Litter, Shrubs. • Vegetation: Pinus nigra, Abies cephalonica, Pteridium aquilinum, Fragaria sp., Gramineae.

[MF]

Neighboring Burnt and NonNeighboring Burnt and Non--Burnt Forest Burnt Forest

• Altitudinal Range: ≅1400 m.• Aspect: South-East• Coverage: Shrubs, Rocks, Bare Soil, Logs. • Vegetation: Trifolium sp., Cerastium sp., Sonchus sp., Arabidopsis thaliana, Pteridiumaquilinum, Compositae.

• Altitudinal Range: ≅1400 m.• Aspect: North-West• Coverage: Trees, Leaf Litter, Shrubs.• Vegetation: Pinus nigra, Pteridium aquilinum.

[KA] [AK]

AL MF AK KA K1 K4 K5Calathus coraxPlatyderus graecus Molops spartanusCarabus merliniMicrolestes luctuosusSyntomus obscuroguttatusCalosoma inquisitorZabrus graecus Tapinopterus duponcheliLebia trimaculataMasoreus wetterhalliiTrechus austriacusLeistus spinibarbisCarabus convexusLaemostenus peloponnesiacusTapinopterus rebellisZabrus aetolus hellenicusZabrus robustus Carabus coriaceusHarpalus honestusCalosoma sycophantaNotiophilus rufipesLeistus magnicollisAptinus lugubrisOphonus krueperi Leistus rufomarginatusCymindis axillarisNotiophilus interstitialisHarpalus sulphuripesCymindis sinuataZabrus validusCarabus presliiAcinopus baudiiOphonus cribricollisOphonus taygetanusOphonus cordatusHarpalus serripesAmara aeneaHarpalus rubripesHarpalus saxicolaHarpalus rufipalpisAmara montivagaAmara eurynotaBembidion spCalathus cinctusPseudophonus rufipesCymindis lineataLeistus parvicollis

Presence of Presence of CarabidaeCarabidaeSpecies per BiotopeSpecies per Biotope

Widely Distributed

Coniferous Forest

Sub-Alpine

Mainly in Forests

Open Biotopes

Burnt Biotopes

Various

Legend

AL

0

20

40

60

apr may jun jul aug sep oct

K1

0

10

20

apr may jun jul aug sep oct

K5

0

5

10

apr may jun jul aug sep oct

CarabidaeCarabidae abundance per monthabundance per month

AK

0

10

20

apr may jun jul aug sep oct

KA

0

10

20

apr may jun jul aug sep oct

MF

0

10

20

30

40

apr may jun jul aug sep oct

K4

0

5

10

15

20

apr may jun jul aug sep oct

CarabidaeCarabidae abundance per monthabundance per month

0

30

60

90

120

AL MF AK KA K1 K4 K5

CarabidaeCarabidae abundance (pooled samples)abundance (pooled samples)

CarabidaeCarabidae diversity (pooled samples)diversity (pooled samples)

F = 5.52 P = 0.023

ANOVA of diversities (Shannon index)ANOVA of diversities (Shannon index)CARABIDAE (June)CARABIDAE (June)

BU NB0

0,2

0,4

0,6

0,8

CarabidaeCarabidae (clustering of monthly samples)(clustering of monthly samples)

CarabidaeCarabidae (pooled samples per station)(pooled samples per station)

AL MF AK KA K1 K4 K5Laena sp BCylindronotus tuberculigerPedinus affinis alziariStenosis orientalis Dendarus plicatulusAsida fairmaireiCalyptopsis caraboidesDailognatha quadricollisDendarus messeniusIdastraniella taygetanusNalassus graecusPedinus fatuusPedinus quadratus Pedinus subdepressusPedinus taygetanus

Widely Distributed

Sub-Alpine

Open Biotopes

Legend

Presence of Presence of TenebrionidaeTenebrionidae Species per BiotopeSpecies per Biotope

K1

0

2,5

5

apr may jun jul aug sep

K5

0

1

2

3

apr may jun jul aug sep

AL

0

10

20

30

apr may jun jul aug sep

TenebrionidaeTenebrionidae abundance per monthabundance per month

AK

0

0,5

1

apr may jun jul aug sep

MF

0

0,5

1

apr may jun jul aug sep

KA

0

0,5

1

1,5

2

apr may jun jul aug sep

K4

0

0,5

1

1,5

2

apr may jun jul aug sep

TenebrionidaeTenebrionidae abundance per monthabundance per month

0

10

20

30

40

AL MF AK KA K1 K4 K5

TenebrionidaeTenebrionidae abundance (pooled samples)abundance (pooled samples)

TenebrionidaeTenebrionidae diversity (pooled samples)diversity (pooled samples)

TenebrionidaeTenebrionidae (clustering of monthly samples)(clustering of monthly samples)

TenebrionidaeTenebrionidae (pooled samples per station)(pooled samples per station)

AL MF AK KA K1 K4 K5Armadillidium kalamatenseOrthometopon dalmatinum Porcellio obsoletus Trichoniscus pusillus Porcellio peloponnesius Trachelipus palustris Ligidium euboicum Armadillidium tripolitzensePorcellionides pruinosus

Widely Distributed

Coniferous Forest

Mainly in Forests

Open Biotopes

Burnt Biotopes

Legend

Presence of Presence of Isopoda Isopoda per Biotopeper Biotope

IsopodaIsopoda abundance per monthabundance per month

AL

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct

K1

02468

101214161820

Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct

K4

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct

K5

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct

MF

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct

AK

0

1

2

Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct

KA

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct

IsopodaIsopoda abundance per monthabundance per month

IsopodaIsopoda abundance (pooled samples)abundance (pooled samples)

0

40

80

120

160

200

AL MF AK KA K1 K4 K5

IsopodaIsopoda diversity (pooled samples)diversity (pooled samples)

BU NB0

0,2

0,4

0,6

0,8

1

1,2

ANOVA of diversities (Shannon index)ANOVA of diversities (Shannon index)ISOPODA (June)ISOPODA (June)

F = 6,55 P = 0,017

IsopodaIsopoda (clustering of monthly samples)(clustering of monthly samples)

IsopodaIsopoda (pooled samples per station)(pooled samples per station)

ConclusionsConclusionsHighest abundance in sub-alpine habitat

The pine forest has the lowest abundance

Burnt habitats are not poorer than non-burnt

Burnt habitats are generally more diverse than non-burnt (except for the sub-alpine habitat)

The three groups analyzed herein do not show particularly consistent diversity patterns

Open habitats (sub-alpine and burnt) are more similar in community structure

The markedly increased diversity of (the carnivorous)Carabidae in burnt habitats might be due to species coming from other habitats to opportunistically exploit available resources

Fire does not seem to have significant short-and medium-termed effects on the epigeic

invertebrate communities we studied

We must note that there were almost no We must note that there were almost no postpost--fire human activities in these habitatsfire human activities in these habitats

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We wish to thank the following colleagues for their assistance during the project:

Christos GEORGIADISChristos GEORGIADIS

Anna PAPADOPOULOUAnna PAPADOPOULOU

EleniEleni GOURGOUGOURGOU