Cost effectiveness and data-yield of biodiversity surveys

The most common approach to general biological surveys is based on various measures of plant communities in the investigated area. Fauna are not usually considered, and if animals are included the emphasis is generally on the more "charismatic" vertebrates. Invertebrates are ideally suited for conveying information about the environmental status of an area. This paper makes a comparison of the logistics of performing plant, vertebrate and invertebrate samples in a biological survey. Evidence is presented which indicates that the inclusion of invertebrates in surveys can contribute to data on physical factors, as well as on plant and vertebrate communities. Some invertebrate taxa are richer in species than the corresponding vertebrate fauna. In terms of trends in species richness across sites, and also in terms of changes in community composition, certain invertebrates portray a better interpretation of changes in habitat than do the vertebrates. It is suggested that invertebrates can provide a cost-effective means of generating information on the environmental status of an area

An evaluation of invertebrates for use as success indicators for minesite rehabilitation

Success Indicators, also known as Completion Criteria, are measures used to help identify when minesite rehabilitation has reached a sufficient standard that it can be relinquished by the mining company. The most common approaches to using such criteria are based on physical, edaphic and vegetation characteristics . Invertebrates are seldom, if ever, included; they are simply presumed to return with the re-establishment of flora and vertebrate animals.This is an unfortunate viewpoint since Invertebrates are ideally suited for conveying information about the environmental health of an area. There is therefore an opportunity to use measurements on invertebrates as indicators of the success of rehabilitation and to include these in the schedule of success indicators. This paper makes a comparison of the logistics of performing: 1) vegetation, 2) vertebrate and 3) invertebrate surveys in the monitoring ofrehabilitation success. It presents evidence that Invertebrates can provide a cost-effective means of generating information on the environmental status of minesites undergoing rehabilitation

Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) pass the bioindicator scorecard

Invertebrates are increasingly being used as biological indicators of land restoration success, land degradation, the con-servation value of tracts of land, and much more. They are either used as indicators of the health and functioning of the environment (ecological and environmental indicators) or as surrogate indicators of the overall diversity or assem-blage composition of other groups within an area (biodiversity indicators). In both cases, the particular taxonomic group that is used tends to be related to the preference of the researcher or to currently favoured taxa. This paper sum-marises the findings from two field studies that evaluated how well a series of invertebrate taxa performed as environ-mental or biodiversity indicators in regard to each other, and also to vertebrates and plants. These studies were per-formed on restored bauxite and mineral sand mines in Western Australia

A comparison of two generic trap types for monitoring mosquitoes through an annual cycle in tropical Australia

We compare the community composition, abundance, and seasonality of mosquito species detected by the encephalitis virus surveillance (EVS) CO2 traps and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) light traps. Traps were run concurrently for a year during routine weekly monitoring in the vicinity of the city of Darwin in northern Australia. The EVS CO2 traps detected far more individuals than CDC light traps notwithstanding a weaker suction fan, but species richness was similar. Regardless of variation in community composition among sites, differences between trap types were remarkably consistent. Seasonal trends in the abundance of 5 key species from each trap type were similar, but markedly more so in strongly seasonal species. Although EVS CO2 traps outperformed CDC light traps for routine monitoring, the historical transition from the latter to the former is unlikely to have major consequences for the identification of community composition or detection of seasonal trends in key species

Comparative study of ant communities of rehabilitated mineral sand mines and heathland, Western Australia

We conducted a survey of ants in April 1997 in seven rehabilitated (2- to 20-year-old) and three native heathland reference sites of the Renison Goldfields Corporation (RGC) Mineral Sands operations at Eneabba, Western Australia. We employed a variety of collecting methods, including pitfall trapping, litter and soil sampling, sweeping and beating of vegetation, and collecting by hand in the day and after dark, replicating those used by previous researchers in a similar study conducted in the same area in 1980. We found a total of 96 ant species representing 30 genera in 1997, compared with 46 species from 18 genera in 1980. Ant species richness increased with age of rehabilitation and exceeded that of heath controls by the time it reached 11 years. Ant species richness related to rehabilitation age was represented by a logarithmic curve, and the slope for current rehabilitation was steeper than that for the earlier rehabilitation studied in 1980. This probably reflects improved rehabilitation practices. Ordination of the sites in terms of ant species composition indicated differences between ant species in the rehabilitated sites studied in 1980 and 1997, and also between all rehabilitated sites and heath controls. Classification of the sites in terms of the distribution of ants across functional groups also indicated differences between rehabilitation and heath control sites. According to species composition and functional group profiles from rehabilitated and control sites, we concluded that although the current rehabilitation allows for a rapid return of ant species, even after 20 years the fauna still had not attained the composition of the original heath fauna

Assessing restoration success using multi-taxa

In assessing the effectiveness of ecological restoration actions, outcomes evaluation using a multi‐taxa approach can greatly contribute to a clearer understanding of their success/failure. Since comprehensive biodiversity assessments are rarely possible, choosing taxa groups that are indicative of the ecosystem's structural and functional recovery is of major importance. Our goal was to evaluate the success of revegetation actions performed in a Mediterranean limestone quarry, using plants and epigean beetles as indicators. We compared their abundance, diversity, and community composition between revegetated sites aged 5, 13, and 19 years and a natural reference. Total plant cover significantly increased with restoration age and quickly reached reference values. However, native woody species cover dropped in the oldest site, while non‐native species became dominant. The abundance of beetles was always lower in restoration sites when compared to the reference, increasing with age, although not significantly. The richness of both plant species and beetle families was lower in restoration sites and did not show any trend towards the reference values. Finally, using nonmetric multidimensional scaling, the composition of plant and beetle communities from restoration sites showed a clear separation from the reference. Restoration efforts have successfully modified post‐quarry sites, but considerable differences remain, probably largely related to the use of the non‐native species Pinus halepensis in restoration plans. P. halepensis high cover in restoration sites greatly affects the structure of the ecosystem, and most likely its functioning too, as well as related ecosystem services, causing divergence from the reference values and compromising restoration success.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio