Short‐term responses of darkling beetles (Coleoptera:Tenebrionidae) to the effects of fire and grazing in savannah rangeland

Abstract

Fire and grazing shape biodiversity in savannah landscapes. In land use management, knowing the effects of fire and grazing on biodiversity are important in order to ensure environmental sustainability. Beetles specifically are indicators of the biodiversity response to fire and grazing. A grazing exclusion and burning experiment in a split‐plot design was used in order to investigate the interacting effects of fire and wildlife grazing on biomass, diversity, and species composition of darkling beetles (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae) over time after fire. Darkling beetle species richness and diversity were responding in a three‐way‐interaction to fire, grazing, and time after fire, whereby biomass of darkling beetles remained unaffected and species compositional changes were attributed to seasonal changes of time only. Fire on ungrazed plots had a negative effect on species diversity and richness 2 weeks and 6 months post fire, whereas fire on grazed plots had no impact on species diversity and richness. Grazing only lowered species diversity and richness 6 months after fire treatments. Results suggest that grazing overrides the effects of fire and that the similar effects caused by fire and grazing are due to niche and assemblage simplification of the habitat.

Grass and ground dwelling beetle community responses to holistic and wildlife grazing management using a cross-fence comparison in Western Kalahari rangeland, Namibia

“…Zophosis (Halogenosis) burkei burkei (TE003 in Hering et al 2019) was described to be a niche specialist for high shrub cover on conventional cattle managed farm, where areas in high shrub cover are usually low in grass cover and food shortage (Hering et al 2019). Zophosis (Hologenosis) burkei subspecies have increased body weights in grazed conditions after fire, which refelcts their preference for simple niches (Reinhard et al 2018), supporting the idea of being indicators for conitnous wildlife grazed rangeland. Eurychora nitida and Stips dohrni, indicators for holistic management, have a flattened body shape and are slow-moving.…”

“…The potential of Anthiini to be incorporated into environmental monitoring programs has been recognised previously due to their close association with vegetation communities and their activity patterns being closely linked to temperature, season and rainfall (Schmidt 2001). In a previous study, we have identified the detrimental effect grazing can have on Carabidae in dry season (Reinhard et al 2018). However, information on the biology of single species is scarce and warrants greater attention.…”

“…A closer look at indicator species shows that under wildlife grazing, endemic Zophosini predominate and are highly specific to the habitat. It was shown previously that Zophosini prefer low shrub cover (Hering et al 2019) and are highly sensitive to grazing, fire and their interaction (Reinhard et al 2018). All Zophosini are morphological extremely similar to each other; their ecology in arid environments is hardly described, but their small size and fast-moving behaviour implies their adaptation to heat and poor vegetation with little cover characteristic for continuously wildlife grazed sites.…”

“…In comparison, native ungulate guilds under wildlife management consisted of a variety of small-bodied and narrow-mouthed selective grazers like springbok, blessbok, hartebeest and gemsbok with a preference for short grass and broad mouthed herbivores, like zebra and wildebeest which are more efficient at foraging on short, dense swards and have a preference for intermediate grasslands. Wildlife forages all year round and seasonal grazing was shown to have a considerable impact on Carabid beetles (Reinhard et al 2018). Contrary to holistic management of livestock, continuous grazing of native ungulates resulted in only a few grass species (i.e.…”

Correlación espacial entre las diferentes estrategias de uso en Patagonia Sur, la provisión de los servicios ecosistémicos y la conservación de la biodiversidad

“…ganadería) ) y sus potenciales consecuencias negativas, como la desertificación (Figura 2.4-1, Capitulo 2) (Del Valle et al 1998;Peri et al 2016a). Estas actividades afectan la estructura de la vegetación y homogenizan el paisaje, afectando la supervivencia de muchas especies (Kaltsas et al 2012;Newbold et al 2014;Liu et al 2016;Lescano et al 2017;Reinhard et al 2019).…”