A comparison of macro-moth assemblages across three types of lowland forest in Fiji

In island ecosystems, biological invasions are one of the major threats to native biodiversity and to ecosystem functioning. Invasive ornamental plants such as the alien palm tree Pinanga coronata in the Fiji islands can form mono-dominant stands in rainforests and displace native species. Using a functional trait-based approach, we investigated the impact of P. coronata on both above and belowground communities (i.e. plants and Collembola). Within a rainforest reserve on Fiji´s principal island, we sampled a total of 10 invaded and non-invaded plots and recorded five functional traits for plants and six for Collembola. We found that invasion by P. coronata led to a strong and significant decrease of native plants and Collembola taxonomic diversity. Ingress of P. coronata also induced a decrease in the functional diversity of plant communities and to a lesser extent of Collembola communities. P. coronata invasion led to a decrease of leaf carbon-nitrogen ratio (LCN), Leaf nitrogen content (LN), specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf dry matter content (LDMC) of plant communities, suggesting a change in litter properties compared to non-invaded communities. Plots with P. coronata were associated with large Collembola living at the soil surface with more trichobothria and pseudocelli, which are used as defence mechanisms. Using trait-matching, we also found that the strength of plant-soil relationships was higher (i.e. more stable) in non-invaded plots than in P. coronata-invaded plots. Lastly this study suggests that the main mechanism through which P. coronata alters soil communities is a change in plant properties rather than a change in the abiotic environment. Our trait-based approach underlines the negative impact of this alien palm invasion on native rainforest plant and soil fauna in Fiji, and the urgent need for on-the-ground action to conserve terrestrial island biodiversity in Fiji´s rainforests.

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A functional trait‐based approach to assess the impact of an alien palm invasion on plant and soil communities on a South Pacific island

Forey

Lodhar

Gopaul

et al. 2021

Austral Ecology

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The biodiversity and ecosystem service contributions and trade-offs of forest restoration approaches

Hua

Bruijnzeel

Meli

et al. 2022

Science

352

121

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Forest restoration is being scaled-up globally to deliver critical ecosystem services and biodiversity benefits, yet we lack rigorous comparison of co-benefit delivery across different restoration approaches. In a global synthesis, we use 25,950 matched data pairs from 264 studies in 53 countries to assess how delivery of climate, soil, water, and wood production services as well as biodiversity compares across a range of tree plantations and native forests. Carbon storage, water provisioning, and especially soil erosion control and biodiversity benefits are all delivered better by native forests, with compositionally simpler, younger plantations in drier regions performing particularly poorly. However, plantations exhibit an advantage in wood production. These results underscore important trade-offs among environmental and production goals that policymakers must navigate in meeting forest restoration commitments.

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The Contribution of Singletons and Doubletons Captured Using Weak Light Heath Traps for the Analysis of the Macroheteroceran Assemblages in Forest Biotopes

COSTA

Sielezniew

2023

Diversity

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In nearly every ecological community, most species are represented by a few individuals, and most individuals come from a few of the most common species. Singletons (one individual sampled) and doubletons (two individuals sampled) are very common in moth community studies. In some reports, these specimens are excluded from the analysis once they are considered a consequence of under-sampling or of contamination with tourist species that are just passing through. Throughout 12 nights in 2018 and 12 nights in 2019, two Heath traps, one with an 8 W ultraviolet lamp and the other with a 15 W actinic lamp, were positioned approximately 50 m apart at nine sites of four different biotopes in a mosaic forest ecosystem in the Narew National Park (NE Poland). We were able to differentiate moth assemblages according to the forest biotopes under study and by the year of research. With our results, it becomes more evident that singletons and doubletons sampled using weak light Heath traps should be included in the ecological analysis of Macroheteroceran moth assemblages, and our research strongly suggests that they are an important and consistent element of such a sampling method. We also demonstrate that weak light Heath traps are suitable for building an inventory scheme of moth assemblages in small forest areas and that singletons and doubletons can be crucial elements in long-term monitoring systems.

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A comparison of macro-moth assemblages across three types of lowland forest in Fiji

Cited by 3 publications

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A functional trait‐based approach to assess the impact of an alien palm invasion on plant and soil communities on a South Pacific island

A functional trait‐based approach to assess the impact of an alien palm invasion on plant and soil communities on a South Pacific island

The biodiversity and ecosystem service contributions and trade-offs of forest restoration approaches

The Contribution of Singletons and Doubletons Captured Using Weak Light Heath Traps for the Analysis of the Macroheteroceran Assemblages in Forest Biotopes

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