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Influence of tree hollow characteristics on the diversity of saproxylic insect guilds in Iberian Mediterranean woodlands

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Abstract

Saproxylic diversity assessment is a major goal for conservation strategies in woodlands and it should consider woodland composition and configuration at site and tree level as key modelling factors. However, in Mediterranean woodlands little is known about the relation with the environmental factors that structure their assemblages, especially those linked to tree hollow microhabitats. We assessed the diversity of Syrphidae (Diptera) and Coleoptera saproxylic guilds that co-occurred in tree hollows located in three different Iberian Mediterranean woodlands in the Cabañeros National Park (Spain). Furthermore, we evaluated how differences in tree hollow microenvironmental variables (understood as the physical and biotic characteristics of a hollow and tree individual) influenced saproxylic guild diversity both within and among woodland sites. We found that woodland sites that provided greater heterogeneity of trees and hollow microhabitats determined higher saproxylic guild diversity. Nevertheless, certain species or even complete guilds can be favoured in woodlands where some hollow microhabitats predominate as a consequence of historical tree management. In general, hollow volume was the main determining factor for saproxylic guild richness and abundance in woodland sites, and large hollow volume was usually related to higher diversity, which highlighted the importance of multi-habitat hollow trees. Moreover, saproxylic guilds also responded to other different microenvironmental variables, which indicated different ecological preferences among guilds. The conservation of saproxylic insects in Iberian Mediterranean areas must be addressed to protect woodland sites that provide high diversity and large numbers of tree hollow microhabitats, and practices to enhance microhabitat heterogeneity should even be encouraged.

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Acknowledgments

Financial support was given by the research Projects CGL2008-04472, CGL2009-09656, CGL2011-23658, CGL2012-31669 of the Spanish Government, and PROMETEO 2013/034 of the Generalitat Valenciana. We should like to thank H. Brustel, A. Viñolas, A. Verdugo, F. Soldati, O. Rose, J. C. Otero, M. A. Alonso-Zarazaga, A. Herrmann, J. L. Zapata, J. P. Tamisier, G. Liberti, C. Pérez, R. Allemand†, T. Noblecourt, P. Leblanc, L. Chékir, P. Vienna, A. Ricarte, Z. Nedeljkovic and G. Rotheray for their help with immature insect identification. We are also grateful to the Cabañeros National Park Administration for their continued assistance in our field work.

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  1. Javier Quinto

    Present address: Departamento de Ecología Tropical, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán (UADY), Km. 15.5 Carretera de Mérida-X’matkuil, 4-116, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro Iberoamericano de la Biodiversidad (CIBIO), Universidad de Alicante, Ctra. de San Vicente del Raspeig s/n, 03690, Alicante, Spain

    Javier Quinto, Estefanía Micó, Eduardo Galante & María de los Ángeles Marcos-García

  2. Instituto de Ecología A.C., Carretera Antigua a Coatepec 351, El Haya, 91070, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico

    Ana Paola Martínez-Falcón

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  1. Javier Quinto
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Correspondence to Javier Quinto.

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Quinto, J., Micó, E., Martínez-Falcón, A.P. et al. Influence of tree hollow characteristics on the diversity of saproxylic insect guilds in Iberian Mediterranean woodlands. J Insect Conserv 18, 981–992 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-014-9705-x

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