How informative is the response of Ground Beetles' (Coleoptera: Carabidae) assemblages to anthropogenic land use changes? Insights for ecological status assessments from a case study in the Neotropics

Abstract

Ground Beetles (Carabidae) have been suggested to be used as indicators of ecological status under the effects of anthropogenic land use and land cover changes in highly biodiverse regions such as the Neotropics. In this study Ground Beetles' assemblages from a region in the Brazilian Amazon were investigated for evaluating their applicability as disturbance indicators. Differences in assemblages between ecosystems, discriminated by complimentary methodologies, demonstrate a sensitive reaction from the most pristine forests to increasingly disturbed systems. Besides capturing the influence of different prevailing conditions between ecosystems, Ground Beetles are easy to communicate and to link with the other components of the system, being effortless and routinely measurable using standard methodologies. This study represents a step forward in using Ground Beetles for the purposes of planning, management and public reporting on the ecological status of Neotropical ecosystems. Additionally, the methods depicted could support projections for trends of relevant ecosystem attributes under realistic social-ecological change scenarios, which can be used to guide effective conservation planning.

Diversity and composition of flightless arthropods on rock outcrops and adjacent vegetation in the savannah, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa

“…Contrary to our results, previous studies have shown that pristine vegetation support greater arthropod richness and abundance than disturbed areas (Cajaiba et al, ; Mauda et al, ; Van Nuland & Whitlow, ). In our study, species richness and abundance of all arthropod guilds were not influenced by any of the measured factors (rockiness, disturbance and the interaction between these factors).…”

Are Small Dung Beetles (Aphodiinae) useful for monitoring neotropical forests’ ecological status? Lessons from a preliminary case study in the Brazilian Amazon

“…Our results support the applicability of SDB metrics as ecological indicators for the management of forests in the region under study, demonstrating that several forest-dependent species could disappear if the forests are replaced by an agricultural landscape (e.g. Pa or Ag) (Cajaiba et al, 2018).…”

Are primary forests irreplaceable for sustaining Neotropical landscapes' biodiversity and functioning? Contributions for restoration using ecological indicators

“…Most studies evaluate impacts of anthropogenic landscape change on biodiversity trends and ecosystem functioning via diverse indexes derived from taxonomic information (Barragán et al, ; Cajaiba, Périco, Caron, et al, ; Cajaiba, Périco, da Silva, Vieira, et al, ; Verdu et al, ). Comparing and complementing taxonomically derived indicators with functional indicators enable linking biodiversity changes with functional changes, in our study through the interplay between GDB taxonomic diversity and GDB trait combinations.…”

“…Fourteen environmental variables, considered with potential influence on GDB communities and ecosystem functioning, were measured in the sampled ecosystems (Cajaiba et al, ): temperature (T), humidity (H), precipitation (P), circumference at breast height (CBH), circumference at ankle height (CAH), canopy cover (CC), richness of plants (RP), abundance of plants (AP), richness of shrubs (RS), abundance of shrubs (AS), percentage of exposed soil (PES), percentage of green (vegetation) cover (GC), percentages of leaf litter cover (LLC), height of leaf litter (HLL). Information concerning the methodology associated with each variable monitoring is depicted in Table S2, Supplementary material.…”