Arboreal arthropod communities of remnant podocarp‐hardwood rainforest in North Island, New Zealand

Abstract

Arboreal arthropod communities from three reserves of podocarp-hardwood rainforest in the North Island, New Zealand, were sampled continuously between June 1995 and May 1996 using omnidirectional window traps. Diptera made up 34% of the total number of arthropods captured, whereas Coleoptera contributed 12% and Araneae 11% to the total catch. The relative abundance and species richness of Diptera peaked in spring, Coleoptera in summer, and Araneae in autumn. Multivariate analysis of overall community structure suggests that season is the dominant determinant of community structure in the arboreal arthropod communities of these forest patches, whereas site, and to a lesser extent tree species, have minor effects. Given that 863 morphospecies were collected, the conservation value of small forest patches for forest-dwelling arthropods in New Zealand should not be underestimated.

How did invertebrates respond to eradication of rats from Kapiti Island, New Zealand?

“…As 14 sample dates were too few for a full time series analysis, we used analysis of variance (ANOVA) methods with season and year as variables (see McWilliam & Death (1998) for an application of this technique).…”

The invertebrate fauna of epiphyte mats in the canopy of northern rata (Myrtaceae:Metrosideros robusta A.Cunn.) on the West Coast of the South Island, New Zealand

“…Such information, however, is crucial for understanding the spatial and seasonal distribution of New Zealand's highly endemic invertebrate fauna and its involvement in the functioning of indigenous forest ecosystems. most of the few existing canopy studies in New Zealand have focused on airborne arboreal arthropods, particularly diptera (moeed & meads 1984;didham 1992mcWilliam & death 1998;ewers et al 2002). These studies have provided valuable information on the influence of canopy habitat characteristics, season and the effects of fragmentation on the structure and distribution of the communities, but little on the origin or residence of the recorded species and their actual distribution and habitat use in the canopy.…”

Species richness and resource availability: A phylogenetic analysis of insects associated with trees

“…Further, taxonomic isolation of a tree species, that is, whether a tree species has few or many close relatives in Great Britain, was found to explain a small but significant proportion of the variation in insect-species richness on the trees in their data set: the more taxonomically isolated tree species supported fewer insect species than otherwise expected. Subsequent studies have applied these findings and this methodology (i) to compare insect-species richness and host-species availability in other geographic areas and taxa (e.g., [8][9][10][11], in terms of parasitoid-host, predator-prey, and ectomycorrhizal fungihost tree relationships (e.g., refs. 12-15); (ii) to infer causes behind the patterns of diversity in urban areas, pine plantations, and among coral communities (e.g., refs.…”