Life-history trait and functional diversity patterns of ground beetles and spiders along a coastal heathland successional gradient
2012
We investigated patterns in species richness and diversity, life-history traits and functional diversity of carabid beetles and spiders along a coastal heathland successional gradient. We sampled in five successional stages on the island of Hiddensee, Germany. Species richness of carabids and spiders and Simpson diversity for spiders did not differ among stages. Functional dispersion (FDis), a measure of functional richness, was lowest in the youngest stage for both carabids and spiders. Older successional stages represent more heterogeneous habitats and offer a broader range of niches, which might enhance functional dispersion. Functional evenness (FEve) differed among successional stages for spiders, indicating an uneven distribution of species abundances in the functional trait space. Functional divergence (FDiv) did not differ among stages for either taxon. Shifts in life-history traits were noted in both arthropod groups, but not always in the same direction: Body size of carabid beetles increased towards older successional stages, but decreased for spiders. The number of flightless carabid species increased towards older habitats. Each successional stage seemingly favors species with distinct life-history traits (species sorting). We conclude that a trait-based approach including the use of functional diversity measurements (FDis) could contribute valuable information for biodiversity conservation.
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