TY - JOUR
T1 - Mid-elevational Peaks in Diversity of Ground-dwelling Arthropods with High Species Turnover on the Colorado Plateau
AU - Uhey, Derek
AU - Haubensak, Karen
AU - Hofstetter, Richard
N1 - Funding Information:
Our manuscript would not be possible without the help of many experts who identified specimens: Dr. Aaron Smith (Tenebrionidae), Dr. Gary Alpert (Formicidae), Dr. James Trager (Formicidae), Dr. Paula Cushing and Dr. Jack Brookhart (Solifugae), Dr. Douglas Booher (Strumigenys), Dr. John Ascher (Hymenoptera), Dr. Nick Fensler (Pompilidae), Dr. Donald Chandler (Anthicidae), Dr. Blaine Mathison (Elateridae), Dr. Brad Barnd (Coleoptera), Dr. Robert Anderson (Curculionidae), Dr. Bill Warner (Scarabaeidae and Histeridae), Dr. David Ferguson (Orthoptera), and Caitlin Chapman (Araneae), among others. We thank Dr. Neil Cobb and the Colorado Plateau Museum of Arthropod Biodiversity and Museum of Northern Arizona for specimen curation. We also thank Franco Begay, Joe Hinz, Sneha Vissa, Dr. Amy Whipple, Dr. Paul Heinrich, Amanda Rowe, Dr. Michael Rotter, and Dr. Michael Remke for conceptual and logistical assistance, and Dr. Sara Grove for statistical advice. This research was supported by McIntire-Stenniis appropriations to Northern Arizona University and the State of Arizona. The Southwestern Experimental Garden Array was established under National Science Foundation award #1126840, and Field Stations and Marine Labs Grant #152253.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Author(s).
PY - 2021/4/1
Y1 - 2021/4/1
N2 - Patterns of biodiversity along elevational gradients elucidate how climate shapes biological communities and help predict ecosystem responses to environmental change. Arid elevational gradients are particularly interesting because temperature limitations at high elevations and precipitation limitations at low elevations cause mid-elevation peaks in diversity. Ground-dwelling arthropods form highly diverse communities but few studies document elevational patterns of their full diversity. Here we investigate the elevational patterns of ground-dwelling arthropods in northern Arizona on the Colorado Plateau, an arid and understudied region in the United States. We sampled seven sites along an elevation gradient from 1,566 to 2,688 m corresponding to a difference of 6.5°C average annual temperature and 620 mm average annual precipitation. We captured 16,942 specimens comprising 169 species, mostly ants and beetles, and discovered a new ant species. First- and second-order elevation terms significantly correlated to multiple measures of arthropod α and β diversity. Arthropod abundance, richness, and Shannon-Wiener diversity index peaked at mid-elevations, with functional groups (i.e., omnivores, predators, detritivores, and herbivores) showing similar patterns. Community composition varied significantly across the gradient, correlated with changes in elevation, and was driven by shifts of ants dominating low- to mid-elevations, to beetles dominating high-elevations. Dissimilarity among sites was driven by high species turnover with 59% of species exclusive to a single site, whereas nestedness among sites was low except at the lowest elevation site. High rates of turnover and elevation-dependent communities suggest that ground-dwelling arthropods are highly vulnerable to environmental change, particularly at lower elevations in arid regions.
AB - Patterns of biodiversity along elevational gradients elucidate how climate shapes biological communities and help predict ecosystem responses to environmental change. Arid elevational gradients are particularly interesting because temperature limitations at high elevations and precipitation limitations at low elevations cause mid-elevation peaks in diversity. Ground-dwelling arthropods form highly diverse communities but few studies document elevational patterns of their full diversity. Here we investigate the elevational patterns of ground-dwelling arthropods in northern Arizona on the Colorado Plateau, an arid and understudied region in the United States. We sampled seven sites along an elevation gradient from 1,566 to 2,688 m corresponding to a difference of 6.5°C average annual temperature and 620 mm average annual precipitation. We captured 16,942 specimens comprising 169 species, mostly ants and beetles, and discovered a new ant species. First- and second-order elevation terms significantly correlated to multiple measures of arthropod α and β diversity. Arthropod abundance, richness, and Shannon-Wiener diversity index peaked at mid-elevations, with functional groups (i.e., omnivores, predators, detritivores, and herbivores) showing similar patterns. Community composition varied significantly across the gradient, correlated with changes in elevation, and was driven by shifts of ants dominating low- to mid-elevations, to beetles dominating high-elevations. Dissimilarity among sites was driven by high species turnover with 59% of species exclusive to a single site, whereas nestedness among sites was low except at the lowest elevation site. High rates of turnover and elevation-dependent communities suggest that ground-dwelling arthropods are highly vulnerable to environmental change, particularly at lower elevations in arid regions.
KW - altitude
KW - climate
KW - diversity
KW - insects
KW - nestedness
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U2 - 10.1093/ee/nvaa166
DO - 10.1093/ee/nvaa166
M3 - Article
C2 - 33459773
AN - SCOPUS:85105468426
SN - 0046-225X
VL - 50
SP - 337
EP - 347
JO - Environmental Entomology
JF - Environmental Entomology
IS - 2
ER -