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Published VersionCC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Identifying insect and arachnid indicator taxa for impacts and management in coastal landscapes
Journal of Insect Conservation, Vol.28, pp.633-649
2024
Appears in UniSC Supported Open Access Outputs
Abstract
Insects and arachnids are abundant and diverse, respond to key human impacts and support a diversity of key ecological functions. They are therefore widely recognised as effective surrogates for ecosystem condition. Their efficacy as indicators and surrogates in coastal dunes has, however, rarely been quantified, but might be instructive in guiding management in these often highly impacted coastal ecosystems. In this study, we (1) tested the effects of spatial and habitat drivers on the abundance of key insect and arachnid groups, and (2) used these patterns to identify viable management surrogates for impacts and management actions. We surveyed insect, arachnid and plant assemblages in coastal dunes at 20 sites on the Sunshine Coast in central eastern Australia. We have identified indicators for habitat condition and indicators for impact, and taxa that could be used to measure restoration outcomes. Crucially, five indicator groups also met criteria for being umbrella species, as management actions that increase their abundance would confer benefits to most other insect and arachnid taxonomic groups. We identified seven indicator groups (five insect and two arachnid), and each were affected by multiple spatial and habitat metrics, with metrics quantifying the composition and structure of vegetation communities being the most important predictors of most indicator’s distributions. Implications for insect conservation: We highlight the importance of understanding subtleties in spatial patterns and the unique set of spatial and environmental conditions that each group requires when identifying suitable indicator taxa for use in the conservation and management of coastal dunes.
Details
- Title
- Identifying insect and arachnid indicator taxa for impacts and management in coastal landscapes
- Authors
- Brittany B. Elliott (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and EngineeringAlison Shapcott - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and EngineeringChristopher J. Henderson - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and EngineeringAndrew D. Olds - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and EngineeringBen L. Gilby - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Publication details
- Journal of Insect Conservation, Vol.28, pp.633-649
- Publisher
- Springer Dordrecht
- Date published
- 2024
- DOI
- 10.1007/s10841-024-00580-5
- ISSN
- 1572-9753; 1366-638X
- Copyright note
- This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
- Data Availability
- The authors will provide the data upon reasonable request.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering; Centre for Bioinnovation
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991020791702621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web Of Science research areas
- Biodiversity Conservation
- Entomology
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