Collembola in Southland beech litter and soil
- Authors: Phillips, Craig , Brown, Samuel , Greenslade, Penelope , Reay, Stephen , Allen, Robert , Easdale, Tomás , Dickie, Ian
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: New Zealand Entomologist Vol. 38, no. 2 (2015), p. 79-87
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Collembola were sampled from litter and soil in two regrowth Lophozonia menziesii (silver beech) forests situated 25 km apart in Southland, New Zealand, as part of a larger study investigating the ecological effects of selective timber harvesting. Over 2000 specimens were collected, representing three orders, 10 families, ≥ 20 genera and ≥ 23 species. Seventeen taxa were morphologically identified at least to genus. Sequencing within the barcode region of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase 1 gene provided diagnostic sequences for many of the taxa, which will assist future identifications. Species belonging to the genera Quatacanthella Salmon and Spinotheca Stach, which are rarely collected in New Zealand, were present in the samples, as was the introduced species Hypogastrura purpurescens (Lubbock). The genus Vitronura Yosii is recorded in New Zealand for the first time. © 2015 AgResearch Ltd.
The aerial invertebrate fauna of subantarctic Macquarie Island
- Authors: Hawes, Timothy , Greenslade, Penelope
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Biogeography Vol. 40, no. 8 (2013), p. 1501-1511
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Aim: The extent and diversity of invertebrate aerial dispersal both on remote islands and in polar regions has long been of interest to biogeographers. We therefore monitored the airborne dispersal of insects and other micro- and macroinvertebrates to and on Macquarie Island in order to assess (1) the magnitude and composition of local aerial dispersal activity by the island's invertebrate fauna, and (2) the potential for exotic arrival and establishment. Location: Macquarie Island. Methods: Two robust wind-traps were run year-round on Macquarie Island from 1991 to 1994 to collect airborne insects and other micro- and macroinvertebrates. Results: More than 3000 invertebrates were caught in these traps over the sampling period in the most comprehensive aerial survey of subantarctic invertebrates to date. Representatives of seven orders of Insecta were captured: Psocoptera, Thysanoptera, Hemiptera, Coleoptera, Diptera, Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera. Other taxa captured included other arthropods (Arachnida and Collembola) but also terrestrial Gastropoda. Evidence of possible long-distance dispersal (LDD) was limited to two exotic catches (one species of Collembolon, and one species of Thysanoptera). The abundance and composition of indigenous invertebrates caught in the traps indicates that the frequency of short-distance dispersal (SDD) movements on the island far exceeds that which had previously been realized. Main conclusions: More than half the total catch (53%) was of flightless (i.e. passively dispersed) invertebrates, with 84% of them flightless in one of the two traps. The extent of passive dispersal movements is consistent, with most invertebrates being widely distributed at a whole-island scale. Aerial dispersal may act as a conduit for non-indigenous arrivals but this occurs infrequently. Other explanations for exotic species in traps are equally likely. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to terrestrial invertebrate biogeography. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
- Description: 2003011217
Short term effects of wild fire on invertebrates in coastal heathland in southeastern Australia
- Authors: Greenslade, Penelope , Smith, Derek
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Pacific Conservation Biology Vol. 16, no. 2 (2010), p. 123-132
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Differences in the assemblages of terrestrial arthropod communities in burnt and adjacent unburnt areas of coastal heathland are reported. The burnt site experienced a wildfire 20 months prior to sampling. Collections of invertebrates from pitfall traps in winter indicated that there was no difference in total species richness or total numbers of individuals trapped between burnt and unburnt plots. However, at species level, 60 percent of the taxa showed a strong preference for either burnt areas or unburnt areas with only a few species trapped in around equal numbers in both areas. Twenty percent of species were only found on the unburnt plots. The implications of these results for fire management are discussed.