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Response of carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) and spiders (Araneae) to coastal heathland succession

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Abstract

We analyzed the impacts of succession and grass encroachment on carabid beetle and spider assemblages in a coastal heathland. Further, indicator species for different successional stages (grey dunes, dwarf-shrub heath, grassy heath, heath with shrubs, birch forest) were identified, and their relations to habitat parameters were analyzed. The study was conducted on the Baltic island of Hiddensee, Germany. Ground-dwelling arthropods were sampled using pitfall traps along a successional gradient containing five stages. Ordination by nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) and analysis of similarities (ANOSIM) revealed a clear separation of species composition among the successional stages. Both in carabid beetles and spiders, most indicator species were obtained in the youngest stage (grey dunes) and fewest in the intermediate stages (grassy heath, heath with shrubs). Also the proportion of endangered species was highest in grey dunes. Based on our results, conservation management of coastal heathlands should preserve a mosaic of different successional stages with a clear preference on younger stages (grey dunes and dwarf-shrub heath).

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Acknowledgments

We thank J. Mantilla-Contreras for help with the field work and K. Hannig for help with the determination of critical carabid beetle species. I. Blindow, J. Niemelä and two anonymous reviewers gave helpful comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. We are grateful to the National Park “Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft” for the permission to conduct the study in the protected area. The study was funded by the Bauer-Hollmann Foundation (Stifterverband für die deutsche Wissenschaft) as part of the research project “Biodiversity, Ecology and Management of Coastal Habitats of the Baltic Sea”.

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  1. Biological Station of Hiddensee, University of Greifswald, Biologenweg 15, 18565, Isle of Hiddensee, Germany

    Jens Schirmel

  2. Department of Biodiversity Dynamics, TU Berlin, Rothenburgstr. 12, 12165, Berlin, Germany

    Sascha Buchholz

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  1. Jens Schirmel
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Correspondence to Jens Schirmel.

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Schirmel, J., Buchholz, S. Response of carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) and spiders (Araneae) to coastal heathland succession. Biodivers Conserv 20, 1469–1482 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-011-0038-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-011-0038-8

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