Estimating and conserving patterns of invertebrate diversity: a test case of New Zealand land snails (original) (raw)
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We investigated patterns in species richness and similarity in species composition of land snail communities in relation to biogeographic and environmental gradients on continental islands along the Kimberley coastline of Western Australia. The camaenid land snails demonstrated high overall species richness, restricted geographical ranges (mostly to a single island) and almost complete turnover of species among islands. In comparison, the overall number of the smaller non-camaenid land snail species was much lower. They also had much wider distributions and a lower level of species turnover among islands. These results are consistent with the differing dispersal abilities of the two groups, one fostering in situ speciation and the other inter-island colonisation. We also show that dispersal ability was not the only driver of species richness and composition of land snail species on islands, but that rainfall, island area and availability of habitat also played a role. Rainfall was the major environmental driver of richness and composition for both groups of land snails. Rainfall was also highly correlated with extent of rainforest cover, habitat that provides a suitable micro-climate for snails and additional ecological niches compared to more open habitats.
Journal of Biogeography, 2005
Aim Species richness is an important feature of communities that varies along elevational gradients. Different patterns of distribution have been described in the literature for various taxonomic groups. This study aims to distinguish between species density and species richness and to describe, for land snails in southeastern France, the altitudinal patterns of both at different spatial scales. Journal of Biogeography (J. Biogeogr.) (2005) 32, 985-998 ª 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd www.blackwellpublishing.com/jbi
Underdispersion and overdispersion of traits in terrestrial snail communities on islands
Ecology and Evolution, 2014
Understanding and disentangling different processes underlying the assembly and diversity of communities remains a key challenge in ecology. Species can assemble into communities either randomly or due to deterministic processes. Deterministic assembly leads to species being more similar (underdispersed) or more different (overdispersed) in certain traits than would be expected by chance. However, the relative importance of those processes is not well understood for many organisms, including terrestrial invertebrates. Based on knowledge of a broad range of species traits, we tested for the presence of trait underdispersion (indicating dispersal or environmental filtering) and trait overdispersion (indicating niche partitioning) and their relative importance in explaining land snail community composition on lake islands. The analysis of community assembly was performed using a functional diversity index (Rao's quadratic entropy) in combination with a null model approach. Regression analysis with the effect sizes of the assembly tests and environmental variables gave information on the strength of under-and overdispersion along environmental gradients. Additionally, we examined the link between community weighted mean trait values and environmental variables using a CWM-RDA. We found both trait underdispersion and trait overdispersion, but underdispersion (eight traits) was more frequently detected than overdispersion (two traits). Underdispersion was related to four environmental variables (tree cover, habitat diversity, productivity of ground vegetation, and location on an esker ridge). Our results show clear evidence for underdispersion in traits driven by environmental filtering, but no clear evidence for dispersal filtering. We did not find evidence for overdispersion of traits due to diet or body size, but overdispersion in shell shape may indicate niche differentiation between snail species driven by small-scale habitat heterogeneity. The use of species traits enabled us to identify key traits involved in snail community assembly and to detect the simultaneous occurrence of trait underdispersion and overdispersion.
Journal of Molluscan Studies, 2013
Although many studies have dealt with the spatial distribution of land-snail species and individuals, the effect of quadrat size on the interpretation of distributional patterns at small scales has rarely been investigated. We studied the spatial pattern of terrestrial snail distributions within a continuously sampled area of homogeneous habitat at very small scales (,1 m 2). The sampling was conducted in two contrasting habitat types: deciduous forests (29 sites) and treeless fens (23 sites) in Central Europe; each site consisted of three nested quadrats (25 Â 25 cm 2 , 50 Â 50 cm 2 and 75 Â 75 cm 2). On average the forest plots harboured higher numbers of species than fen plots and fen assemblages were composed of significantly smaller species in body volume. Numbers of species and individuals in smaller quadrats estimated from those present in larger ones often deviated significantly from those actually observed, showing frequently aggregated distribution of snails. These deviations were most marked for comparisons involving the smallest quadrats, whereas they almost disappeared in comparisons of large and middle-sized quadrats, both for species and individuals in both habitat types. Proportional deviances between collected and estimated numbers were always significantly higher for individuals than for species, with only one exception. Our results extend previous observations of land-snail spatial aggregations and they raise questions about environmental heterogeneity even in visually homogeneous areas or about possible biotic interactions among individual species. The steeper slope of the regression between area and numbers of species in log-log space from the smallest to the middle quadrat than from the latter to the largest quadrat, and the existence of several cases in which the observed richness was significantly greater than that predicted from rarefaction, suggest that even at this scale there are still idiosyncratic variations in the range of microhabitats available within quadrats.
The community structure and diversity of land snail fauna in Ekiti State was investigated in two protected and one unprotected tropical rainforest ecosystems. Twelve (12) plots measuring 20m x 20m each were surveyed in each forest area, using direct search and leaf-litter filtering techniques. A total of 1095 specimens representing 43 species in 9 molluscan families were collected. Each forest area yielded between 190 and 584 individuals. Alpha diversity ranged from 27 to 32 species, with species richness highest in Ogbesse Forest Reserve and least in the unprotected forest area at Ipole Iloro. The herbivorous Subulinidae and carnivorous Streptaxidae were the most represented families as regards species richness, with family Subulinidae (45.20%) being the most abundant numerically. The most abundant species was Thapsia oscitan of the family Urocyclidae, contributing almost 15% of the total number of individuals. Six (6) species occurred as singleton while 4 species occurred as doubleton. There was considerable variation in species richness between the three sampled forest areas, Cluster analysis formed two groups, Analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) between clusters using the Bray-Curtis similarity index gave values of R=1, P=0.34, indicating that the study areas were well separated. The high diversity and abundance recorded from this study reveal the study area is rich in land snails, thus, efforts should be made to maintain the ecological integrity of the protected areas as well as improve biodiversity conservation and management in the unprotected areas.
Environmental gradients and the structure of freshwater snail communities
Ecography, 2011
A fundamental goal of ecology is to understand the factors that influence community structure and, consequently, generate heterogeneity in species richness across habitats. While niche-assembly (e.g. species-sorting) and dispersal-assembly mechanisms are widely recognized as factors structuring communities, there remains substantial debate concerning the relative importance of each of these mechanisms. Using freshwater snails as a model system, we explore how abiotic and biotic factors interact with dispersal to structure local communities and generate regional patterns in species richness. Our data set consisted of 24 snail species from 43 ponds and lakes surveyed for seven years on the Univ. of Michigan's E. S. George Reserve and Pinckney State Recreation Area near Ann Arbor, Michigan. We found that heterogeneity in habitat conditions mediated species-sorting mechanism to drive patterns in snail species richness across sites. In particular, physical environmental variables (i.e. habitat area, hydroperiod, and canopy cover), pH, and fish presence accounted for the majority of variation in the species richness across sites. We also found evidence of Gleasonian structure (i.e. significant species turnover with stochastic species loss) in the metacommunity. Turnover in snail species distributions was driven by the replacement of several pulmonate species with prosobranch species at the pond permanence transition. Turnover appeared to be driven by physiological constraints associated with differences in respiration mode between the snail orders and shell characteristics that deter molluscivorous fish. In contrast to these niche-assembly mechanisms, there was no evidence that dispersal-assembly mechanisms were structuring the communities. This suggests that niche-assembly mechanisms are more important than dispersal-assembly mechanisms for structuring local snail communities.
Journal of Biogeography, 2009
Aim Local-scale diversity patterns are not necessarily regulated by contemporary processes, but may be the result of historical events such as habitat changes and selective extinctions that occurred in the past. We test this hypothesis by examining species-richness patterns of the land snail fauna on an oceanic island where forest was once destroyed but subsequently recovered.Location Hahajima Island of the Ogasawara Islands in the western Pacific.Methods Species richness of land snails was examined in 217 0.25 × 0.25 km squares during 1990–91 and 2005–07. Associations of species richness with elevation, current habitat quality (proportion of habitat composed of indigenous trees and uncultivated areas), number of alien snail species, and proportion of forest loss before 1945 in each area were examined using a randomization test and simultaneous autoregressive (SAR) models. Extinctions in each area and on the entire island were detected by comparing 2005–07 records with 1990–91 records and previously published records from surveys in 1987–91 and 1901–07. The association of species extinction with snail ecotype and the above environmental factors was examined using a spatial generalized linear mixed model (GLMM).Results The level of habitat loss before 1945 explained the greatest proportion of variation in the geographical patterns of species richness. Current species richness was positively correlated with elevation in the arboreal species, whereas it was negatively correlated with elevation in the ground-dwelling species. However, no or a positive correlation was found between elevation and richness of the ground-dwelling species in 1987–91. The change of the association with elevation in the ground-dwelling species was caused by greater recent extinction at higher elevation, possibly as a result of predation by malacophagous flatworms. In contrast, very minor extinction levels have occurred in arboreal species since 1987–91, and their original patterns have remained unaltered, mainly because flatworms do not climb trees.Main conclusions The species-richness patterns of the land snails on Hahajima Island are mosaics shaped by extinction resulting from habitat loss more than 60 years ago, recent selective extinction, and original faunal patterns. The effects of habitat destruction have remained long after habitat recovery. Different factors have operated during different periods and at different time-scales. These findings suggest that historical processes should be taken into account when considering local-scale diversity patterns.
Diversity and distributions, 2006
We aim to show how a combination of molecular systematics and ecological niche modelling approaches can be used to test historical biogeographical hypotheses for species of conservation concern. We focus on the land snail genus Oreohelix (Oreohelicidae), a group found throughout the Rocky Mountains. In addition to its larger distribution, a group of Oreohelix is also found in the Black Hills of Wyoming and South Dakota, an isolated, easternmost extension of the Rocky Mountains. We determine the number, distribution, and relationships of Black Hills Oreohelicids, which are a current conservation concern due to their fragmented distribution. We compared Black Hills groups to those in the main part of the Rockies to test historical biogeographical patterns that explain current diversity. We collected mtDNA data (COI and 12S sequences) from multiple populations of Oreohelix throughout the Black Hills and in adjacent populations in the Rocky Mountains to construct phylogenetic hypotheses. To determine whether favourable environmental conditions currently exist between the Black Hills and the north-eastern Rocky Mountains, we used DesktopGARP to generate an ecological niche model for distinct lineages discovered in the molecular phylogenetic analysis. Results show that all Black Hills populations are likely Oreohelix cooperi and that little genetic differentiation exists within this clade. In addition, Black Hills groups are genetically similar or identical to populations found in the Judith Mountains and Bighorn Mountains (northeastern Rockies). Ecological niche models show that suitable environmental conditions may exist between eastern Rockies and Black Hills O. cooperi samples. Taken together, the phylogenetic and niche model data, along with the low vagility of the snails, support passive long-distance dispersal as a likely explanation for current arrangement of biodiversity.