Bourassa, S.

Garcia-Tejero, S.

O'Halloran, J.

Oxbrough, Anne

Spence, J.

The International Congress for Conservation Biology and European Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCBECCB) is a forum for addressing conservation challenges and for presenting new research and developments in conservation science and practice. The meeting theme, Mission Biodiversity: Choosing new paths for conservation, is a response to indications that many traditional methods for conserving biodiversity have proven unsuccessful. It emphasizes that rapid and ongoing biophysical and societal changes affect the way we do science and practice conservation toda

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Managing invertebrate diversity in contrasting forest environments: lessons from natural forests in Canada and Irish plantationsAnne Oxbrough1, Sergio Garcia-Tejero 1, Stephane Bourassa 2, John O’Halloran 3, John Spence 21 Edge Hill University, UK2 University of Alberta, Canada3 University College Cork, Ireland.Traits as proxies of species functional roles in two very different forested areasTraits as proxies of species functional roles in two very different forested areas…Irish plantation forestsLow forest cover(incl. semi-natural)HistoryNon-native species (temperate or boreal)Short rotationsFragmented(small patches)Alberta: boreal mixedwoodsBig!Succession cycle; fireLonger rotationsMeasuring ecosystem function• Species responses to disturbance are becoming better known • The impact on ecosystem function is less well known• Difficult to measure processes• Proxies: species traitsSpecies traits: what do they tell us?• Body size– Resources available to support larger individuals– Variability in body size suggests varied food supply for predators of those individuals• Dispersal ability– Movement between suitable patches– Good dispersers may be habitat generalists• Feeding strategy– Trophic levels supported in an ecosystem• Environmental tolerance (e.g. shade, moisture)– Specialisation– Resilience to environmental changeThe challenge of Sustainable Forest Management…….• Maintaining ecosystem function:– Successive rotations– Short rotations• What is an appropriate benchmark for Irish forests?• What functional groups/diversity should they have?• Can studying ecosystems elsewhere inform this?Hypotheses1) Plantations support different species traits compared to boreal forests:a) Greater proportion of good dispersers [fragmentation]b) Lower proportion of shade tolerant species [historical low forest cover = more generalists]c) Smaller body size [disturbed/newer habitats; fewer resources to support large body sizes]Hypotheses2) Plantations have less variability in species traits than boreal forests.• Lower habitat heterogeneity• Restricted niche availability3) Spruce plantations have less variability in species traits than mixed and deciduous plantations• Non-native trees • Fewer specialist species Experimental design and sampling• Range of forest types in both locations:– Deciduous dominated– Conifer dominated– Mix• Plots of pitfall traps• 12 weeks; summerSampling  in Alberta• 3 replicates of each forest type• Trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides)• Balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera• White spruce (Piceaglauca)• Balsam fir (Abiesbalsamea)• 3 sampling plots per site formed of 3 trapsEMEND projecthttp://www.emend.rr.ualberta.ca/Sampling in Ireland• 5 replicates of each forest type• Norway spruce (Piceaabies)• Ash (Fraxinusexcelsior)• 3 sampling plots per site formed of 5 traps• Pitfall trap area the same across locationsSpecies traitsTaxon group Trait Data sourceSpiders AraneaeBody size (mm): median length from clypeus to abdomen apex (not including spinners)Roberts 1996; Paquin and Duperre2003; Pinzon 2011Dispersal ability: proportion of ballooning species compared to ground  only dispersalBell et al 2005: synthesised over 500 papers on ballooningShade tolerance:  preference for open or shaded habitats on a standardised scale of 0-1: using PCoA scores  [Ireland] or relative abundance scale [Canada]Entling et al 2007, Nolan 2008;Pinzon 2011, Pinzon et al  2012Food strategy: proportion of web spinning species compared to active huntersUetz et al 1999Ground beetles Coleoptera: CarabidaeRove beetlesColeoptera: StaphylinidaeBody size (mm): median length from clypeus to abdomen apexLuff 2007; Various taxonomic papersDispersal ability: proportion of  brachypterous species compared to dimorphic & macropterousLuff 2007; Lin et al 2007 Various taxonomic papersShade tolerance:  preference for open or shaded habitats on a standardised scale of 0-1 using PCoA scoresWork et al; EMEND dataFood strategy:  proportion of predators ; proportion of herbivoresHarvey et al 2008; Ribera et al 2001;  various papersFollowing Pedley & Dolman 2014Spider data onlyPermutational ANOVA  F P (n.Perm = 4999)Forest Type F 2,18 = 1.31 n.s.Location F 1,18 = 1.43 n.s.Forest type * Location F 2,18 = 0.04 n.s.Decid.Canada Mix.Canada Spruce.Canada Decid.Ireland Mix.Ireland Spruce.Ireland0.00.20.40.60.81.0Mean tolerance to shaded conditions of spider speciesMean shade tolerance 0 = only associated with open habitats; 1 = only associated with closed canopy forests Decid.Canada Mix.Canada Spruce.Canada Decid.Ireland Mix.Ireland Spruce.Ireland0.00.20.40.60.81.0Proportion of ballooning spider speciesProportion of speciesPermutational ANOVA  F P (n.Perm = 4999)Forest Type F 2,18 = 2.92 n.s.Location F 1,18 = 0.001 n.s.Forest type * Location F 2,18 = 2.08 n.s.Permutational ANOVA  F P (n.Perm = 4999)Forest Type F 2,18 = 0.23 n.s.Location F 1,18 = 29.8 0.0002***Forest type * Location F 2,18 = 0.32 n.s.Decid.Canada Mix.Canada Spruce.Canada Decid.Ireland Mix.Ireland Spruce.Ireland01234Mean body size of spider speciesMean size (mm)Permutation ANOVA F P (n.Perm = 4999)Forest Type F 2,18 = 0.39` n.s.Location F 1,18 = 37.2 0.0002***Forest type * Location F 2,18 = 0.19 n.s.Decid.Canada Mix.Canada Spruce.Canada Decid.Ireland Mix.Ireland Spruce.Ireland0.00.20.40.60.81.0Proportion of web spinning spider speciesProportion of speciesPCA of spider species traits among forests-2 -1 0 1 2-1.5-1.0-0.50.00.51.01.52.0PC1PC2Proportion web buildersProportion balloonersMean body sizeMean shade toleranceCanada▲ Aspen Mix SpruceIreland▲ Ash Mix Sprucesidae% variation explained:PC1 = 49%; PC1 = 31%-2 -1 0 1 2-1.5-1.0-0.50.00.51.01.52.0PC1PC2Canada▲ Aspen Mix SpruceIreland▲ Ash Mix Spruce% variation explained:PC1 = 49%; PC1 = 31%Canada_AspenCanada_MixCanada_SpruceIreland_AshIreland_MixIreland_SpruceTrait dispersionamongst forest groups-2 -1 0 1 2-1.5-1.0-0.50.00.51.01.52.0PC1PC2Canada▲ Aspen Mix SpruceIreland▲ Ash Mix Spruce% variation explained:PC1 = 49%; PC1 = 31%Canada_Spruce Ireland_SpruceTrait dispersionwithin forest groupsDecid.Canada Mix.Canada Spruce.Canada Decid.Ireland Mix.Ireland Spruce.Ireland0.00.20.40.60.81.01.2Dispersion of site scores for spider species traits on PC1 Distance from group mean on PC1Permutational ANOVA  F P (n.Perm = 9999)Forest Type F 2,18 = 1.55 n.s.Location F 1,18 = 12.34 0.002**Forest type * Location F 2,18 = 0.26 n.s.PC1 :Positive : Prop. Web builders Negative : Mean body size Decid.Canada Mix.Canada Spruce.Canada Decid.Ireland Mix.Ireland Spruce.Ireland0.00.20.40.60.81.01.2Dispersion of site scores for spider species traits on PC2 Distance from group mean on PC2Permutational ANOVA  F P (n.Perm = 4999)Forest Type F 2,18 = 0.19 n.s.Location F 1,18 = 4.11 n.s.Forest type * Location F 2,18 = 0.41 n.s.PC2:Positive:  mean shade tolerance Negative: Prop. balloonersSynthesis and summaryTrait Among forest  typesBetween locationsAgree with hypothesis?Body size - ↑ Canada YesBallooning - No difference NoShade tolerance - No difference NoWeb spinners - ↑ Ireland YesTrait dispersion No difference ↑ Canada No/ Yes• Plantations lack large bodied active hunters common in boreal forest• Species tolerant to shade are similar despite Ireland’s forest fragmentation and historical cover• Ballooning dispersal ability are similar –> mixedwood patchwork?• Boreal forests support a greater variability in traits• Spruce plantations are similar to mix and deciduous plantations in trait variabilityWhat next?• Beetle traits• Environmental data (habitat structure)– Fourth corner analysis• Metrics of ‘functional’ diversity using traits• Young forests?Acknowledgements• Colleagues: Spence lab at the University of Alberta; PLANFORBIO team at University College Cork• Photographs: Ed Nieuwenhuys (http://ednieuw.home.xs4all.nl/l) • Research programme funded through an  IRCSET-Marie Curie International Mobility Fellowship in Science, Engineering and Technology.• Conference attendance funded by Edge Hill University, UK• Fieldwork in Canada supported by the EMEND project and co-funders: Daishowa-Marubeni International Ltd.; Canadian Forest  Products Ltd.; Alberta Sustainable Resource Development; Foothills Research Institute.• Fieldwork in Ireland supported by Coillte Teorantaanne.oxbrough@edgehill.ac.uk

Traits as proxies of species functional roles in two very different forested areas

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Traits as proxies of species functional roles in two very different forested areas

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