1. Biotic predictors complement models of bat and bird responses to climate and tree diversity in European forests
- Author
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Luc Barbaro, Monique Carnol, Julia Koricheva, Kris Verheyen, Hans De Wandeler, Bastien Castagneyrol, Hervé Jactel, Michael Scherer-Lorenzen, Fons van der Plas, Yohan Charbonnier, Aude Vialatte, Evy Ampoorter, Bart Muys, Christian Kerbiriou, Marc Deconchat, Pallieter De Smedt, Isabelle Le Viol, Eric Allan, Harriet Milligan, Dynamiques Forestières dans l'Espace Rural (DYNAFOR), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Ecole Nationale Supérieure Agronomique de Toulouse-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Plant Ecology Group, Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Forest & Nature Laboratory, Department of Forest and Water Management, Ghent University, Biodiversité, Gènes et Communautés, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL), CESCO, Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Université Paris-Sorbonne (UP4), School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London (RHUL), UMR 1201 Dynamiques et écologie des paysages agriforestiers, Ecole d'Ingénieurs de Purpan (INPT - EI Purpan), Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Laboratory of Plant and Microbial Ecology, Institute of Plant Biology B22, Faculty of Biology, Geobotany, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Department of Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, Leipzig University, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-École nationale supérieure agronomique de Toulouse [ENSAT]-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Biodiversité, Gènes & Communautés (BioGeCo), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université de Bordeaux (UB), Université Catholique de Louvain = Catholic University of Louvain (UCL), Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la COnservation (CESCO), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Dynamiques et écologie des paysages agriforestiers (DYNAFOR), École nationale supérieure agronomique de Toulouse [ENSAT]-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), and Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,earthworms ,Biology ,Environment ,Forests ,010603 evolutionary biology ,01 natural sciences ,Models, Biological ,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology ,Birds ,spiders ,Abundance (ecology) ,Chiroptera ,Forest ecology ,Animals ,Ecosystem ,General Environmental Science ,Trophic level ,trophic interactions ,Biotic component ,defoliating insects ,General Immunology and Microbiology ,Ecology ,010604 marine biology & hydrobiology ,Species diversity ,General Medicine ,Biodiversity ,15. Life on land ,functional diversity ,Europe ,Habitat ,13. Climate action ,Species evenness ,ungulate browsing ,[SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology ,General Agricultural and Biological Sciences - Abstract
Bats and birds are key providers of ecosystem services in forests. How climate and habitat jointly shape their communities is well studied, but whether biotic predictors from other trophic levels may improve bird and bat diversity models is less known, especially across large bioclimatic gradients. Here, we achieved multi-taxa surveys in 209 mature forests replicated in six European countries from Spain to Finland, to investigate the importance of biotic predictors (i.e. the abundance or activity of defoliating insects, spiders, earthworms and wild ungulates) for bat and bird taxonomic and functional diversity. We found that nine out of 12 bird and bat diversity metrics were best explained when biotic factors were added to models including climate and habitat variables, with a mean gain in explained variance of 38% for birds and 15% for bats. Tree functional diversity was the most important habitat predictor for birds, while bats responded more to understorey structure. The best biotic predictors for birds were spider abundance and defoliating insect activity, while only bat functional evenness responded positively to insect herbivory. Accounting for potential biotic interactions between bats, birds and other taxa of lower trophic levels will help to understand how environmental changes along large biogeographical gradients affect higher-level predator diversity in forest ecosystems.
- Published
- 2019