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High-resolution 3D forest structure explains ecomorphological trait variation in assemblages of saproxylic beetles
Lukas Drag1,2, Ryan C Burner3,4, Jörg G Stephan5
1Field Station Fabrikschleichach, Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter University of Würzburg Rauhenebrach Germany.
Functional Ecology
|April 17, 2023
Summary
Environmental factors like climate and tree type significantly impact wood-living beetle communities. Ecological traits, not physical ones, primarily determine how these beetles respond to forest changes, crucial for predicting future impacts.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Biodiversity Science
- Forest Science
Background:
- Forest ecosystems harbor diverse species communities influenced by climate, topography, and structure.
- Saproxylic beetles, vital for wood decomposition, face poorly understood environmental influences on their specific functional traits.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how ecological and morphological traits of saproxylic beetles are affected by environmental factors in European temperate forests.
- To model species distributions using trait-based approaches and airborne laser scanning (ALS) data.
Main Methods:
- Utilized Bayesian trait-based joint species distribution models for over 230 saproxylic beetle species.
- Integrated ecological and morphological traits with ALS data to analyze environmental drivers.
Main Results:
- Elevation and conifer proportion were key drivers of species occurrence; habitat heterogeneity was less influential.
- Environmental variation primarily shaped communities through ecological traits (canopy niche, wood decay niche, host preference), with minimal impact from morphological traits.
- Strong phylogenetic signal was observed in species' environmental responses.
Conclusions:
- Climate and tree species composition changes can significantly alter saproxylic beetle communities.
- Ecological traits are critical for predicting beetle responses to environmental changes, while morphological traits show limited predictive power.
- Understanding ecological niches is essential for predicting species' responses to forest alterations.
