Landsman Andrew P, Thiel Clara R
National Park Service United States Department of the Interior Williamsport Maryland USA.
Ecol Evol. 2021 Dec 1;11(24):18169-18180. doi: 10.1002/ece3.8413. eCollection 2021 Dec.
The central Appalachian shale barrens, a globally unique habitat type restricted to the eastern United States, presents an insular and physiologically stressful environment with sparse vegetation and extreme ground surface and air temperatures. Despite the high levels of plant species endemism within these systems, information on invertebrate communities and habitat preferences is extremely limited.Through this study, we aimed to better understand a shale barren arthropod community, microhabitat selection, and the influence of habitat characteristics and climatic factors. We employed pitfall traps to sample epigeic arthropods during the 2016 growing season in a shale barren habitat.Arthropod community composition was driven by overstory trees, mediated through accumulated leaf litter and availability of shaded microhabitats. Ambient air temperature also influenced the surface activity of various taxa with spiders decreasing at higher temperatures and ants, crickets, flies, and harvestmen all increasing in relative abundance.Habitat integrity of the central Appalachian shale barrens is threatened by forest succession and mesophication, encroaching invasive plant species, and rising ambient air temperatures, all of which can alter the extent of overstory vegetation and availability of shaded microhabitats. These biotic and physical pressures will subsequently affect epigeic arthropod community composition, depending on adaptive capacity of individual taxa.To the authors' knowledge, these findings constitute only the second published work on arthropod communities and the first to focus on epigeic taxa in this globally rare habitat type. Continued conservation of these unique, insular habitats and their adapted inhabitants requires a multifaceted approach that considers current and future conditions.
阿巴拉契亚中部页岩荒原是一种全球独特的栖息地类型,仅分布于美国东部,呈现出一种孤立且生理压力大的环境,植被稀疏,地表和气温极端。尽管这些系统内植物物种特有性程度很高,但关于无脊椎动物群落及其栖息地偏好的信息却极为有限。通过这项研究,我们旨在更好地了解页岩荒原节肢动物群落、微生境选择以及栖息地特征和气候因素的影响。我们在2016年生长季节使用陷阱诱捕器在一个页岩荒原栖息地对地表节肢动物进行采样。节肢动物群落组成受上层树木驱动,通过积累的落叶层和阴凉微生境的可利用性来介导。环境气温也影响了各类群的地表活动,蜘蛛在较高温度下数量减少,而蚂蚁、蟋蟀、苍蝇和盲蛛的相对丰度均增加。阿巴拉契亚中部页岩荒原的栖息地完整性受到森林演替和中生代化、入侵植物物种的 encroaching(此处原文有误,推测可能是“encroaching”,意为“侵蚀”)、以及环境气温上升的威胁,所有这些都会改变上层植被的范围和阴凉微生境的可利用性。这些生物和物理压力随后将影响地表节肢动物群落组成,具体取决于各个类群的适应能力。据作者所知,这些发现仅构成关于节肢动物群落的第二篇已发表作品,也是第一篇关注这种全球罕见栖息地类型中地表类群的作品。持续保护这些独特的孤立栖息地及其适应的居民需要一种多方面的方法,该方法要考虑当前和未来的状况。