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#Animals  #Biotic Interaction  #REX/LUX  #2020 – 2023  #Ecosystem processes  #Land use  #Species communities  #Soil organisms  #Grazing  #Fertilisation  #Mowing  #Interaction  #Beetles  #Seed distribution  #Species biodiversity  #Animal-plant interaction  #Arthropods  #Stable isotopes  #Insects  #Traits  #Functional diversity  #Grassland
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SPRINT (Contributing project)

Seed predation and diversity of arthropod communities in response to land-use intensity

Picture: The photo shows a slightly hilly landscape in summer under a blue sky. In the front left of the picture there are high bushes, a tree and a field path that turns to the left further back. From the middle to the right to the edge of the picture there is a field with beige-coloured ears of grain. Behind the field there is a mown meadow with short green grass on a slightly rising hill. On the left of the meadow there is a fenced climate measuring station. On the right of the meadow there is an unmown experimental area with tall brown and green grass. Behind the meadow there is a dense row of deciduous trees running through the picture.

Land-use intensification is an important driver of biodiversity loss in terrestrial ecosystems. Studies in grassland ecosystems have shown that changes in local plant species richness can have bottom-up effects on higher trophic levels, biotic interactions and associated ecosystem processes. In turn, one of these processes, the post-dispersal seed predation, can exhibit severe effects on plant species demography, ultimately altering species diversity and community structure in a system. To date, we lack a clear understanding how seed predation and the underlying communities react to changes in grassland management along a full land-use gradient.

The SPRINT project is embedded in the new multisite grassland experiments REX and LUX (Fig. 1). In this context, we aim to study ground-dwelling arthropod communities and seed predation in response to changes in land-use intensity (such as altered mowing or grazing and fertilisation) and vegetation characteristics (i.e. local plant community composition, biomass production, and seed rain).

Picture: The photo shows a slightly hilly landscape in summer under a blue sky. In the front left of the picture there are high bushes, a tree and a field path that turns to the left further back. From the middle to the right to the edge of the picture there is a field with beige-coloured ears of grain. Behind the field there is a mown meadow with short green grass on a slightly rising hill. On the left of the meadow there is a fenced climate measuring station. On the right of the meadow there is an unmown experimental area with tall brown and green grass. Behind the meadow there is a dense row of deciduous trees running through the picture.
Fig. 1. study plot. a mowed plot with the non-mowed subplot (reduced land use, REX) of the new grassland experiments.

(i) Monitoring changes in arthropod species and functional group richness, trait diversity and community composition in all three regions of the Biodiversity Exploratories on plots of the new multisite grassland experiments (REX and LUX). We use funnel traps to sample ground-dwelling arthropods with a focus on carabid beetles (Fig. 2).

(ii) Quantifying seed predation by conducting a field experiment focussing on the Hainich-Dün exploratory. We also will disentangle the relative contribution of different taxa of seed predators using a food choice cafeteria-style design with exclusion treatments.

(iii) Assessing the feeding preferences of arthropod seed predators. We conduct trait measurements such as body size and mandibular width by using HD microscope techniques. Additionally, measurements of elemental contents of both consumer and seed-resources will yield novel insights in feeding interactions (i.e. stoichiometry constraints on consumer-resource interactions).

Picture: The collage contains four photos. Photo 1 shows the preparation of a ground funnel trap. Photographed from above, one sees the bottom of a mown meadow with a hole dug out. The diameter of the hole is estimated to be about fifteen centimetres. To the left and above the hole are a hammer and a pry bar. To the right of the hole is an orange-brown tube or sleeve in which a white funnel is inserted at the top. Both parts are made of plastic. Photo 2 shows the investigation area in the meadow where the ground funnel trap is installed. The area is estimated to be about two by three metres and is marked with four thin dark red posts with strings stretched between them at the top and yellow tapes laid along the bottom on the ground. Within the area you can see the objects from photo 1 and a wheelbarrow filled with soil on which an earth boring stick is lying. There are also three white square plastic plates on the grass, which are used as rain protection for the ground funnel traps. To the right in front of the enclosed investigation area are a black folding box and a white high box, both filled with working materials. In front of the boxes, two opened document folders lie in the grass. In the background of the picture, shrubs, a few bare conifers and a green deciduous forest can be seen. Photo 3 shows a square white plastic plate above the ground funnel trap embedded in the ground, which serves as a rain shelter. The plate is estimated to be about twenty centimetres above the funnel. The plate is held in place by three thin wooden sticks, possibly shish kebab skewers, onto which it is attached. The sticks protrude from the top through three holes drilled in the plate. Photo 4 shows from a few metres away three installed ground funnel traps with rain protection roofs. To the left of the ground funnel traps, the fencing of a climate measuring station protrudes into the picture. The mown meadow on which the ground funnel traps are installed is very large and extends far to the rear to a row of deciduous trees that stretches across the photo. Behind it on the horizon, a small forest, more meadows and individual trees can be seen.
Fig. 2. ground funnel trap. a) and b) show the installation of a trap with an orange ground sleeve, c) and d) active installed traps on a freshly mown area. © Jonas Rochlitz
Doc
Effects of Agricultural Land-Use on Carabid Beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in Three German Grassland Localities
Lenz T. (2023): Effects of Agricultural Land-Use on Carabid Beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in Three German Grassland Localities. Master thesis, University of Bonn
Doc
Einfluss des Grünlandmanagements auf die Aktivität und Diversität von Laufkäfern (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in den Biodiversitäts-Exploratorien
Wohlfart S. (2022): Einfluss des Grünlandmanagements auf die Aktivität und Diversität von Laufkäfern (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in den Biodiversitäts-Exploratorien. Master thesis, University of Münster

Non-public datasets

Dataset
Seed mass, seed morphological and chemical traits for seeds used in the seed predation experiment of the project SPRINT
Roscher, Christiane; Martin, Sarah (2024): Seed mass, seed morphological and chemical traits for seeds used in the seed predation experiment of the project SPRINT. Version 6. Biodiversity Exploratories Information System. Dataset. https://www.bexis.uni-jena.de. Dataset ID= 31698
Dataset
Seed removal numbers by invertebrates in the joint-multisite experiments in Hainich Exploratory 2021
Rochlitz, Jonas (2024): Seed removal numbers by invertebrates in the joint-multisite experiments in Hainich Exploratory 2021. Version 4. Biodiversity Exploratories Information System. Dataset. https://www.bexis.uni-jena.de. Dataset ID= 31765

Scientific assistants

Dr. David Ott
Project manager
Dr. David Ott
Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig
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Jonas Rochlitz
Employee
Jonas Rochlitz
Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig
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