Temporal changes in arthropod activity in tropical anthropogenic forests

Area of Science:

• Tropical ecology
• Biodiversity research
• Climate change impacts

Background:

• Tropical arthropod communities are vulnerable to land-use changes.
• Global warming is often considered less threatening to tropical than temperate arthropod biodiversity.
• Seasonal activity patterns influence species' risk to climate change.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how land use and weather variables affect tropical arthropod communities.
• To assess the combined impact of anthropogenic forests and temperature on arthropod diversity.
• To understand the risks posed by global warming to tropical arthropods in modified landscapes.

Main Methods:

• Deployment of Malaise traps in three distinct anthropogenic forests in Peninsular Malaysia over 12 months.
• Continuous arthropod collection and weekly sampling.
• Application of metabarcoding protocols to analyze arthropod community composition and diversity.

Main Results:

• Arthropod community composition significantly correlated with maximum temperature across all studied forests.
• Observed shifts in arthropod communities due to temperature were reversed in urban ornamental forests (UOF) compared to other forest types.
• Land-use changes and temperature create a positive feedback loop, exacerbating threats to arthropod populations.

Conclusions:

• Tropical arthropods in Peninsular Malaysia face compounded threats from habitat alteration and climate change.
• The interaction between land use and temperature poses significant risks to arthropod biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.
• Urgent conservation and mitigation strategies are required to address these interconnected environmental challenges.