Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Grassland area determines beetle assemblage dissimilarity from surrounding floodplain forest

  • ORIGINAL PAPER
  • Published:
Journal of Insect Conservation Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Patch size is known to affect biodiversity in fragmented landscapes, but is usually examined in systems where the surrounding matrix habitat is unfavourable. We examined beetle diversity in a floodplain ecosystem that is characterised by naturally occurring grassland patches within a dominant matrix of contrasting yet habitable forest. We asked whether differences in the beetle assemblage between grassland and forest vegetation depended on the area of the grassland patch, which is a function of its flooding frequency and duration: smaller grasslands tend to be higher on the floodplain and are flooded less often and for shorter periods than larger grasslands. We found a negative relationship between grassland area and beetle abundance and species richness, and a positive relationship between grassland area and compositional dissimilarity from the surrounding forest. As expected, we found an overall difference in composition between forest and grassland assemblages, with five beetle species more common in the grasslands. Our study indicates that floodplain grasslands not only support beetle assemblages that are distinct from the surrounding forest, but that assemblages from the larger grasslands are compositionally more distinct than those from smaller grasslands. A likely cause of this pattern is the reduced edge effects and greater environmental contrast between forest and large grasslands that may be exposed to greater variation in local climate. Ongoing changes to flood regimes and potential encroachment of forest plants may decrease grassland area in the future, which may reduce spatial heterogeneity in the insect community in this unique floodplain ecosystem.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Andersen AN, Fisher A, Hoffmann BD, Read JL, Richards R (2004) Use of terrestrial invertebrates for biodiversity monitoring in Australian rangelands, with particular reference to ants. Aust Ecol 29:87–92

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson MJ (2001) A new method for non-parametric multivariate analysis of variance. Aust Ecol 26:32–46

    Google Scholar 

  • Ballinger A, Mac Nally R (2006) The landscape context of flooding in the Murray–Darling basin. Adv Ecol Res 39:85–105

    Google Scholar 

  • Ballinger A, Mac Nally R, Lake PS (2005) Immediate and longer-term effects of managed flooding on floodplain invertebrate assemblages in south–eastern Australia: generation and maintenance of a mosaic landscape. Freshw Biol 50:1190–1205

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ballinger A, Lake PS, Mac Nally R (2007) Do terrestrial invertebrates experience floodplains as landscape mosaics? Immediate and longer-term effects of flooding on ant assemblages in a floodplain forest. Oecologia 152:227–238

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Barton PS, Manning AD, Gibb H, Lindenmayer DB, Cunningham SA (2009) Conserving ground-dwelling beetles in an endangered woodland community: multi-scale habitat effects on assemblage diversity. Biol Conserv 142:1701–1709

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Basset Y et al (2012) Arthropod diversity in a tropical forest. Science 338:1481–1484

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bren L (1992) Tree invasion of an intermittent wetland in relation to changes in flooding frequency of the River Murray, Australia. Aust J Ecol 17:395–408

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bren L (2005) The changing hydrology of the Barmah–Millewa Forests and its effects on vegetation. Proc R Soc Vic 117:61–76

    Google Scholar 

  • Bren LJ, O’Neill IC, Gibbs NL (1988) Use of map analysis to elucidate flooding in an Australian riparian river red gum forest. Water Resour Res 24:1152–1162

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell RE, Harding JS, Ewers RM, Thorpe S, Didham RK (2011) Production land use alters edge response functions in remnant forest invertebrate communities. Ecol Appl 21:3147–3161

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Casanova MT, Brock MA (2000) How do depth, duration and frequency of flooding influence the establishment of wetland plant communities? Plant Ecol 147:237–250

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Catford JA, Downes BJ, Gippel CJ, Vesk PA (2011) Flow regulation reduces native plant cover and facilitates exotic invasion in riparian wetlands. J Appl Ecol 48:432–442

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chesterfield EA (1986) Changes in the vegetation of the river red gum forest at Barmah, Victoria. Aust For 49:4–15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colloff MJ, Baldwin DS (2010) Resilience of floodplain ecosystems in a semi–arid environment. Rangel J 32:305–314

    Google Scholar 

  • Colloff MJ, Ward KA, Roberts J (2013) Ecology and conservation of floodplain grassy wetlands in the southern Murray–Darling Basin, Australia. Aquatic conservation: marine and freshwater ecosystems. doi:10.1002/aqc.2390

  • Colwell RK (2013) EstimateS 9: Statistical estimation of species richness and shared species from samples. (http://purl.oclc.org/estimates)

  • Colwell RK, Mao CX, Chang J (2004) Interpolating, extrapolating, and comparing incidence-based species accumulation curves. Ecology 85:2717–2727

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • CSIRO (2008) Water availability in the Murray–Darling Basin. A report to the Australian Government from the CSIRO Murray–Darling Basin Sustainable Yields Project. CSIRO, Canberra. www.csiro.au/partnerships/MDBSY

  • Cunningham SC et al (2009) A robust technique for mapping vegetation across a major river system. Ecosystems 12:207–219

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dangerfield JM et al (2003) Patterns of invertebrate biodiversity across a natural edge. Aust Ecol 28:227–236

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dexter BD, Rose HJ, Davies N (1986) River regulation and associated forest management problems in the River Murray red gum forests. Aust For 49:16–27

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Didham RK, Ghazoul J, Stork NE, Davis AJ (1996) Insects in fragmented forests: a functional approach. Trends Ecol Evol 11:255–260

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Didham RK, Hammond PM, Lawton JH, Eggleton P, Stork NE (1998) Beetle species responses to tropical forest fragmentation. Ecol Monogr 68:295–323

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D’Odorico P, He Y, Collins S, De Wekker SFJ, Engel V, Fuentes JD (2012) Vegetation–microclimate feedbacks in woodland–grassland ecotones. Glob Ecol Biogeogr. doi:10.1111/geb.12000:onlineearly

    Google Scholar 

  • Driscoll DA, Banks SC, Barton PS, Lindenmayer DB, Smith AL (2013) The conceptual domain of the matrix in fragmented landscapes. Trends Ecol Evol. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2013.1006.1010

    Google Scholar 

  • DSE (2008) Barmah forest ramsar site ecological character description. Victorian Government Department of Sustainability and Environment, Melbourne. http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/100108/Barmah_Forest_Ramsar_Site_ecological_character_description.pdf

  • Dufrene M, Legendre P (1997) Species assemblages and indicator species: the need for a flexible asymmetrical approach. Ecol Monogr 67:345–366

    Google Scholar 

  • Environment Australia (2001) A directory of important wetlands in Australia, 3rd edn. Environment Australia, Canberra

    Google Scholar 

  • Ewers RM, Didham RK (2006) Confounding factors in the detection of species responses to habitat fragmentation. Biol Rev 81:117–142

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gerisch M, Agostinelli V, Henle K, Dziock F (2012) More species, but all do the same: contrasting effects of flood disturbance on ground beetle functional and species diversity. Oikos 121:508–515

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gotelli NJ, Colwell RK (2001) Quantifying biodiversity: procedures and pitfalls in the measurement and comparison of species richness. Ecol Lett 4:379–391

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haila Y (2002) A conceptual genealogy of fragmentation research: from island biogeography to landscape ecology. Ecol Appl 12:321–334

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunt T et al (2007) A comprehensive phylogeny of beetles reveals the evolutionary origins of a superradiation. Science 318:1913–1916

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • King AJ, Ward KA, O’Connor P, Green D, Tonkin Z, Mahoney J (2010) Adaptive management of an environmental watering event to enhance native fish spawning and recruitment. Freshw Biol 55:17–31

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lawrence JF, Britton EB (1994) Australian beetles. Melbourne University Press, Melbourne

    Google Scholar 

  • Lawrence JF, Hastings AM, Dallwitz MJ, Paine TA, Zurcher EJ (1999) ‘Beetles of the world: a key and information system for families and subfamilies. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne

    Google Scholar 

  • Lessel T, Marx MT, Eisenbeis G (2011) Effects of ecological flooding on the temporal and spatial dynamics of carabid beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) and springtails (Collembola) in a polder habitat. Zookeys 100:421–446

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindsay EA, Cunningham SA (2009) Livestock grazing exclusion and microhabitat variation affect invertebrates and litter decomposition rates in woodland remnants. For Ecol Manage 258:178–187

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Losey JE, Vaughan M (2006) The economic value of ecological services provided by insects. Bioscience 56:311–323

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mac Nally R, Cunningham SC, Baker PJ, Horner GJ, Thomson JR (2011) Dynamics of Murray–Darling floodplain forests under multiple stressors: The past, present, and future of an Australian icon. Water Resour Res 47:0005

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayence CE, Marshall DJ, Godfree RC (2010) Hydrologic and mechanical control for an invasive wetland plant, Juncus ingens, and implications for rehabilitating and managing Murray River floodplain wetlands, Australia. Wetl Ecol Manag 18:717–730

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mazia CN, Chaneton EJ, Kitzberger T (2006) Small-scale habitat use and assemblage structure of ground-dwelling beetles in a Patagonian shrub steppe. J Arid Environ 67:177–194

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCune B, Grace JB (2002) Analysis of ecological communities. MjM Software Design, Gleneden Beach

    Google Scholar 

  • McCune B, Mefford MJ (2006) PC–ORD. Multivariate analysis of ecological data. version 5.1. MjM Software, Gleneden Beach

  • Melbourne BA (1999) Bias in the effect of habitat structure on pitfall traps: an experimental evaluation. Aust J Ecol 24:228–239

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murray Darling Basin Authority (2012) Barmah–Millewa forest environmental water management plan. MDBA Publication No. 219/11. Murray–Darling Basin Authority, Canberra

  • Öckinger E et al (2012) The landscape matrix modifies the effect of habitat fragmentation in grassland butterflies. Landsc Ecol 27:121–131

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oliver I, Beattie AJ (1996) Invertebrate morphospecies as surrogates for species: a case study. Conserv Biol 10:99–109

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peyras M, Vespa NI, Bellocq MI, Zurita GA (2013) Quantifying edge effects: the role of habitat contrast and species specialization. J Insect Conserv 17:807–820

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pik AJ, Dangerfield JM, Bramble RA, Angus C, Nipperess DA (2002) The use of invertebrates to detect small–scale habitat heterogeneity and its application to restoration practices. Environ Monit Assess 75:179–199

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Potter NJ, Chiew FHS (2011) An investigation into changes in climate characteristics causing the recent very low runoff in the southern Murray–Darling Basin using rainfall–runoff models. Water Resour Res 47:W00G10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reid MA, Quinn GP (2004) Hydrologic regime and macrophyte assemblages in temporary floodplain wetlands: implications for detecting responses to environmental water allocations. Wetlands 24:586–599

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ries L, Fletcher RJ, Battin J, Sisk TD (2004) Ecological responses to habitat edges: mechanisms, models, and variability explained. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst 35:491–522

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rothenbucher J, Schaefer M (2006) Submersion tolerance in floodplain arthropod communities. Basic Appl Ecol 7:398–408

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Samways MJ, McGeoch MA, New TR (2010) Insect conservation: a handbook of approaches and methods. Oxford University Press Inc., New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Shmida A, Wilson MV (1985) Biological determinants of species diversity. J Biogeogr 12:1–20

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sims NC, Chariton A, Jin H, Colloff MJ (2012) A classification of floodplain ecosystems in the Murray–Darling Basin based on changes in flooding between pre-regulation and current conditions. Wetlands 32:239–248

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sokal RR, Rohlf FJ (1995) Biometry: the principles and practice of statistics in biological research, 13th edn. W. H. Freeman and Co., New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Stokes KE, Cunningham SA (2006) Predictors of recruitment for willows invading riparian environments in south-east Australia: implications for weed management. J Appl Ecol 43:909–921

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stokes KE, Ward K, Colloff MJ (2010) Alterations in flood frequency increase exotic and native species richness of understorey vegetation in a temperate floodplain eucalypt forest. Plant Ecol 211:219–233

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tscharntke T et al (2012) Landscape moderation of biodiversity patterns and processes—eight hypotheses. Biol Rev 87:661–685

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vasconcelos HL, Vilhena JMS, Facure KG, Albernaz A (2010) Patterns of ant species diversity and turnover across 2,000 km of Amazonian floodplain forest. J Biogeogr 37:432–440

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vivian L, Godfree R (2012) The response of a degraded Murray River floodplain wetland to extreme drought and flood. In: Grove JR, Rutherford I (eds) Proceedings of the 6th Australian stream management conference: managing for extremes. River Basin Management Authority, Canberra, pp 1–7

    Google Scholar 

  • VSNI (2013) GenStat for Windows, 14th edn. VSNI Ltd., Hemel Hempstead

    Google Scholar 

  • Ward K, Colloff M (2010) Ecosystem response modelling for the Barmah–Millewa Forest: the interface between science and management. In: Saintilan N, Overton I (eds) Ecosystem Response Modelling in the Murray–Darling Basin. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, pp 345–356

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Raphael Didham and John Evans for providing thoughtful comments on an early version of the manuscript. We also thank Rolf Oberprieler, Adam Slipinski, Tom Weir and Hermes Escalona Garcia at the Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences, for confirming the identity of some beetle species. We thank our research partners, Keith Ward and Neville Atkinson, Goulburn-Broken Catchment Management Authority; Paul O’Connor, Department of Sustainability and Environment; Lee Joachim, Yorta Yorta Nation Aboriginal Corporation; and Kane Weekes, Parks Victoria. Fieldwork was conducted under permit from Department of Sustainability and Environment and Parks Victoria. This research was funded by CSIRO Water for a Healthy Country National Research Flagship.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia

    Philip S. Barton

  2. CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences, GPO Box 1700, Canberra, ACT, Australia

    Matthew J. Colloff, Kimberi R. Pullen & Saul A. Cunningham

Authors
  1. Philip S. Barton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Matthew J. Colloff
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Kimberi R. Pullen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Saul A. Cunningham
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Philip S. Barton.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 150 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Barton, P.S., Colloff, M.J., Pullen, K.R. et al. Grassland area determines beetle assemblage dissimilarity from surrounding floodplain forest. J Insect Conserv 17, 1209–1219 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-013-9602-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-013-9602-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation