Moving with the times: baseline data to gauge future shifts in vegetation and invertebrate altitudinal assemblages due to environmental change

Doran, N. E.; Balmer, J; Driessen, Michael M.; Bashford, Richard; Grove, Simon; Richardson, Amm; Griggs, Judi; Ziegeler, David

doi:10.1078/1439-6092-00066

Cited by 14 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…), reaching from lowland wet forests, through scrubby subalpine woodlands, to alpine heaths. Vegetation in Tasmania was also found to be distributed discontinuously (Doran et al 2003). The (climate-sensitive) zones detected in the Tasmanian study, in which species reach their limit, have been recommended for future sampling.…”

Section: The Altitudinal Gradient and Climate-sensitive Zonesmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…They may also be regarded as climate-induced discontinuity patterns or transition/species-turnover zones (Doležal and Šrůtek 2002;Doran et al 2003;Thuiller et al 2005;Kazakis et al 2007;Pauli et al 2007). Identification of such climate-sensitive zones is an indispensable prerequisite for an efficient biomonitoring of climate change effects (Sutherland et al 2006) We addressed two main questions: i) Is it possible to define climate-sensitive zones along the altitudinal gradient of the Bavarian Forest National Park?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Detection of Climate-Sensitive Zones and Identification of Climate Change Indicators: A Case Study from the Bavarian Forest National Park

2010

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We determined the climate-sensitive zones along an altitudinal gradient in a low mountain range forest, the Bavarian Forest National Park in south-eastern Germany, and studied which vascular plant species are likely to respond to climate change. Plants were recorded on 273 plots along four straight transects. The composition of the plant species and their environmental correlates were detected using unconstrained correspondence analysis (DCA) with post-hoc correlation of axes against site variables. We tested the effect of site variables on species composition using maximally selected rank statistics, which allow the simultaneous identification of a threshold and assessment of its significance. Species turnover within the vascular plant community along the altitudinal gradient was assessed using the same method on the basis of the DCA sample scores. Using geostatistical models of local temperature and Bayesian methods with binomial errors that account for spatial structure, we tested the influence of temperature on selected single vascular plant species and assessed the suitability of the species as climate change indicators. Temperature was the most important factor explaining the variability in vascular plant community composition, which changed discretely along the altitudinal gradient, with a climate-sensitive zone found between 1,100 and 1,200 m a.s.l. The distribution of ten species with their lower or upper altitudinal limit in this zone was significantly driven by temperature. To track vegetation responses to climate change effectively, we suggest a three-level monitoring program, flexible with regard to the volume of required sampling effort.

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Section: The Altitudinal Gradient and Climate-sensitive Zonesmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detection of Climate-Sensitive Zones and Identification of Climate Change Indicators: A Case Study from the Bavarian Forest National Park

2010

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“…1). This total is slightly (3.2%) more than the 9995 reported from the same traps by Doran et al (2003). Two species of Apteropanorpidae occur on Mt Weld: A. warra at altitudes ≤1000 m and the alpine species A. tasmanica at altitudes of 1100-1300 m (Palmer et al 2007).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 70%

“…The abundance of adults collected in traps increased dramatically in March and April, compared to the very low numbers in February. How long this increase in abundance persisted is unknown, as trapping ended in April 2001 (Doran et al ). Total abundance of male and female A. tasmanica collected in March (1489 males and 3513 females) was very similar to the abundance of each sex in April (1393 males and 3866 females) (Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution of adult Australian wingless scorpionflies (Mecoptera: Apteropanorpidae)

Palmer

2019

Austral Entomology

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Apart from a few species of interest to behavioural ecologists, the biology and ecology of most scorpionfly species is not well known. The Apteropanorpidae is a family of wingless Mecoptera endemic to Tasmania, comprising four described species in the genus Apteropanorpa. Intensive field surveys for Apteropanorpa species were conducted from 2001 to 2003 in a range of altitudes and habitats in several parts of Tasmania, and these yielded a large number of adult specimens. Adults were collected from a total of 26 plant species and subspecies belonging to nine families, including both angiosperms and gymnosperms. There was a positive relationship between the total number of plant species sampled at each site and adult abundance, so that sampling a greater number of plant species increased the number of adults collected. There was a positive relationship between plant size and abundance at five out of eight sites, such that adults were more likely to aggregate on larger plants. The overall sex ratio of adults on plants was 1:1. An extremely large series of adults was collected in pitfall traps established along an altitudinal transect on Mt Weld, southern Tasmania, from January to April 2001. Pitfall‐trapped adults comprised two species: Apteropanorpa warra at altitudes ≤1000 m and the alpine species A. tasmanica at altitudes of 1100–1300 m. Total abundance of A. warra in pitfall traps on Mt Weld was low; however, the number of pitfall‐trapped female A. tasmanica was very large and markedly increased linearly with altitude from 1100–1300 m in both March and April 2001. The number of male A. tasmanica was also large and increased markedly from 1100 to 1200 m in both March and April. Data strongly indicate an autumnal peak in adult abundance for the Apteropanorpidae, as is the case for other Australian Mecoptera.

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“…Rather than long term autonomous deployment, traps usually have to be emptied daily (Malaise 1937, Gressitt and Gressitt 1962, van Achterberg 2009, Russo et al 2011, Diserud et al 2013 though weekly, fortnightly (Clapperton 1999), and monthly (Doran 2003) are also reported. The fragile nature of the gauzy panes also makes them mismatched to the rough vegetation and wind exposure of Antarctic (Farrow and Greenslade 2013) and Tasmanian-highland sites (Hansen 1988, Doran 2003 although see Solem and Mendl (1989) and Finn and Poff (2008) for successful highland sampling elsewhere. In the advent of smaller traps based on the Malaise model, such as the SLAM and composite insect trap (Russo et al 2011), we see devices which may be robust enough for alpine deployment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Alpine Malaise trap

Henry¹,

McQuillan²,

Kirkpatrick³

2018

AlpEnt

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The Southernmost region of Australia, the island of Tasmania, is also the most mountainous, with large areas of rugged alpine environments. This entomological frontier offers a distinct suite of insects for study including many endemic taxa. However, harsh weather, remote locations and rough terrain represent an environment too extreme for many existing insect trap designs. We report here on the design and efficacy of a new Alpine Malaise Trap (AMT), which can be readily hybridised with several other common insect trapping techniques. Advantages of the design include its light weight and portability, low cost, robustness, rapid deployment and long autonomous sampling period. The AMT was field tested in the Tasmanian highlands (AUST) in 2017. A total of 16 orders were collected. As expected, samples are dominated by Diptera. However, the trap also collected a range of flightless taxa including endemic and apterous species, Apteropanorpatasmanica – closest relative of the boreal, snow scorpionflies (Boreidae). Combined and compared with other trap types the Alpine Malaise Traps captured less specimens but of a greater diversity than passive sticky traps, while drop traps captured less specimens but a greater diversity than AMT. The statistical potential of the catch is discussed.

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Moving with the times: baseline data to gauge future shifts in vegetation and invertebrate altitudinal assemblages due to environmental change

Cited by 14 publications

References 43 publications

Detection of Climate-Sensitive Zones and Identification of Climate Change Indicators: A Case Study from the Bavarian Forest National Park

Detection of Climate-Sensitive Zones and Identification of Climate Change Indicators: A Case Study from the Bavarian Forest National Park

Distribution of adult Australian wingless scorpionflies (Mecoptera: Apteropanorpidae)

An Alpine Malaise trap

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