Animal species diversity driven by habitat heterogeneity/diversity: the importance of keystone structures

Abstract

Aim In a selected literature survey we reviewed studies on the habitat heterogeneity–animal species diversity relationship and evaluated whether there are uncertainties and biases in its empirical support. Location World‐wide. Methods We reviewed 85 publications for the period 1960–2003. We screened each publication for terms that were used to define habitat heterogeneity, the animal species group and ecosystem studied, the definition of the structural variable, the measurement of vegetation structure and the temporal and spatial scale of the study. Main conclusions The majority of studies found a positive correlation between habitat heterogeneity/diversity and animal species diversity. However, empirical support for this relationship is drastically biased towards studies of vertebrates and habitats under anthropogenic influence. In this paper, we show that ecological effects of habitat heterogeneity may vary considerably between species groups depending on whether structural attributes are perceived as heterogeneity or fragmentation. Possible effects may also vary relative to the structural variable measured. Based upon this, we introduce a classification framework that may be used for across‐studies comparisons. Moreover, the effect of habitat heterogeneity for one species group may differ in relation to the spatial scale. In several studies, however, different species groups are closely linked to ‘keystone structures’ that determine animal species diversity by their presence. Detecting crucial keystone structures of the vegetation has profound implications for nature conservation and biodiversity management.

Cool barnacles: Do common biogenic structures enhance or retard rates of deterioration of intertidal rocks and concrete?

“…Tests remain affixed to the surface after the organism dies (and may persist for several months and years) making them particularly practical targets for a laboratory study. Furthermore, the establishment of barnacles is an important early step in the development of diverse benthic communities (Farrell, 1991;Harley, 2006;Tews et al, 2004;Thompson et al, 1996), and there is considerable opportunity to facilitate their settlement and recruitment to engineered surfaces (for ecological gain) using simple textural manipulation (Coombes et al, 2015a). The influence of barnacles on deterioration processes, such as thermal degradation and salt weathering, is therefore an important question we aimed to address.…”

Characterizing 3D vegetation structure from space: Mission requirements

“…As described in section 1.3 these same 276 variables are also needed to estimate biomass. At landscape scales, the spatial 277 heterogeneity of a vegetated region of interacting multi-dimensional vegetation 278 communities and animal habitats influence how plant and animal biodiversity is 279 distributed (Tews et al 2004). A large diversity of tree size distributions can indicate a 280 wide range of habitat for wildlife (Morgan and Freedman 1986) and thus stand variation 281 in tree height and diameter is an important consideration in biodiversity conservation in 282 forested landscapes.…”

“…The two primary components of vegetation 3D structure -vertical forest structure 435 and horizontal forest heterogeneity -are known to underlie habitat selection by many 436 animal species, as well as influence patterns of diversity of animals and other plants 437 (Brokaw and Lent 1999;MacArthur 1966;Tews et al 2004;Verner et al 1986). In 438 terms of plants, vegetation community diversity is often expressed through the 439 complexity of vegetation structure within forests, which is in turn linked to the 440 functioning and health of Earth's terrestrial ecosystems (Franklin et al 1989;Ishii et al 441 2004).…”

“…As we will see in section 2.0 and in section 3.0, this will 420 require the actual spatial resolution of the more fundamental remote sensing and in situ 421 measurements to be on the order of 25 meters. The two primary components of vegetation 3D structure -vertical forest structure 435 and horizontal forest heterogeneity -are known to underlie habitat selection by many 436 animal species, as well as influence patterns of diversity of animals and other plants 437 (Brokaw and Lent 1999;MacArthur 1966;Tews et al 2004; Verner et al 1986 creates an image by using a complex processing technique to emit and process the radar 498 pulses. But the processing technique requires that the landscape be imaged along an off-499 nadir swath parallel to the satellite orbital track.…”

Non-volant small mammals at an Atlantic forest area situated nearby a limestone quarry (Limeira quarry), state of São Paulo, Brazil

“…Finally, these activities may also cause soil erosion, alterations in nutrient cycling and hydrological flows (Farias 2002, Companhia... 2003. Such habitat deterioration, along with habitat reduction, may alter the structure of animal communities and species distribution (Tews et al 2004).…”