Climatic and density-dependent drivers of population dynamics in a hazardous urban scorpion species over seven years

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  Climatic and density-dependent drivers of population dynamics in a hazardous urban scorpion species over seven years Abstract This link goes to a Portuguese section Tityus serrulatus Lutz & Mello (Scorpiones: Buthidae) is the most medically important scorpion in Brazil, responsible for a growing number of accidents in urban areas. Despite its relevance, the population dynamics of this species in anthropogenic habitats remain poorly understood, particularly regarding the influence of abiotic factors on its abundance and reproduction. We analysed long-term data (2006–2013) from T. serrulatus collected in an urban cemetery in the municipality of Americana, São Paulo State, Brazil. Using spatiotemporal mixed models, we evaluated the effects of temperature and humidity at the graves on the abundance of brooded and non-brooded individuals, as well as on the ratio between the two reproductive groups. A total of 21,489 individuals were recorded, including 463 brooded individuals. W...

Biodiversity and community composition of ground-dwelling invertebrates across three disturbance regimes in a sub-boreal spruce forest

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Biodiversity and community composition of ground-dwelling invertebrates across three disturbance regimes in a sub-boreal spruce forest

Abstract

Natural and anthropogenic disturbances are closely tied to changes in biodiversity and ecological communities. Previous research has reported that ground-dwelling invertebrates exhibit a range of responses to different disturbance regimes. To investigate changes to community composition and biodiversity following forest harvest, we used pitfall traps to sample ground-dwelling invertebrates in the Aleza Lake Research Forest in British Columbia’s central interior. We collected and compared pitfall trap catches using family-level identifications in new plantations (11 years post-harvest), stands with a harvest history (>40 years since harvest), and old growth stands (no record of harvest). Community compositions differed among the three disturbance regimes and Bray-Curtis dissimilarity indicated that β-diversity was highest in new plantation stands. A small but non-significant increase in α-diversity was also observed in new plantation stands compared to the other two forest types. These findings are consistent with previous work in the boreal forest, which reported increases in ground-dwelling invertebrate biodiversity following disturbance. Three families (Agriolimacidae, Formicidae, and Lycosidae) were significantly associated with new plantation stands and could potentially be used as indicators of forest disturbance or to monitor stand succession post-harvest. This study provides a foundation for future work on invertebrate biodiversity in sub-boreal spruce forests, which would benefit from using species-level identifications and measuring environmental conditions associated with disturbance regimes.

Mitchell et al. (2023) J. Entomol. Soc. BC 120:e2589

Mitchell et al. (2023) J. Entomol. Soc. BC 120:e2589