Edge effects and beta diversity in ground and canopy beetle communities of fragmented subtropical forest.

ABSTRACT: Clearing of dry forests globally creates edges between remnant forest and open anthropogenic habitats. We used flight intercept traps to evaluate how forest beetle communities are influenced by distance from such edges, together with vertical height, spatial location, and local vegetation structure, in an urbanising region (Brisbane, Australia). Species composition (but not total abundance or richness) differed greatly between ground and canopy. Species composition also varied strongly among sites at both ground and canopy levels, but almost all other significant effects occurred only at ground level, where: species richness declined from edge to interior; composition differed between positions near edges (<10 m) and interiors (> 50 m); high local canopy cover was associated with greater t

SUBMITTER: Stone MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5832255 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature