Top-down effects of a large mammalian carnivore in arid Australia extend to epigeic arthropod assemblages.
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| Title: | Top-down effects of a large mammalian carnivore in arid Australia extend to epigeic arthropod assemblages. |
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| Authors: | Contos, Peter1 (AUTHOR), Letnic, Mike1 (AUTHOR) m.letnic@unsw.edu.au |
| Source: | Journal of Arid Environments. Jun2019, Vol. 165, p16-27. 12p. |
| Subjects: | Arthropoda, Trophic cascades, Top predators, Dingo, Carnivorous animals, Food chains |
| Geographic Terms: | Australia |
| Abstract: | We compared abundances of terrestrial vertebrate insectivores, the rate of insectivory and composition of epigeic arthropod assemblages where an apex predator the dingo was common and rare on either side of the Dingo Barrier Fence (DBF) in Australia's Strzelecki Desert. Previous research in the region shows that suppression of dingoes initiates trophic cascades between dingoes-red foxes-small mammals and woody shrubs and between dingoes-kangaroos and grasses. Results show that terrestrial insectivores were more abundant and the rate of insectivory indexed as the rate of consumption of experimentally provisioned meal-worms was greater where dingoes were common. Overall abundance, diversity and taxon richness of arthropods was unaffected by dingo status. However, there were distinct differences in the composition of arthropod assemblages across the DBF. Scolopendridae, Acrididae and Lepismatidae were more abundant where dingoes were rare, while Tenebrionidae and Blattidae were more abundant where dingoes were common. Our results lend support to the idea that suppression of dingo populations can trigger ≥4 link trophic cascades that extend to arthropod assemblages. We hypothesize that dingo suppression engenders shifts in arthropod assemblages due to a decrease in the intensity of insectivory, changes in habitat structure and alteration of the predatory and competitive interactions between arthropod taxa. • We found evidence for a ≥4 level trophic cascade initiated by the dingo. • Arthropod assemblages were distinctly different in the presence or absence of the dingo. • We hypothesize that the dingo extirpation has shifted arthropod assemblages by altering rates of insectivory and changing habitat structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Journal of Arid Environments is the property of Academic Press Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Engineering Source |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: egs DbLabel: Engineering Source An: 136072411 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Top-down effects of a large mammalian carnivore in arid Australia extend to epigeic arthropod assemblages. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Contos%2C+Peter%22">Contos, Peter</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Letnic%2C+Mike%22">Letnic, Mike</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> m.letnic@unsw.edu.au</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Arid+Environments%22">Journal of Arid Environments</searchLink>. Jun2019, Vol. 165, p16-27. 12p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Arthropoda%22">Arthropoda</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Trophic+cascades%22">Trophic cascades</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Top+predators%22">Top predators</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Dingo%22">Dingo</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Carnivorous+animals%22">Carnivorous animals</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Food+chains%22">Food chains</searchLink> – Name: SubjectGeographic Label: Geographic Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Australia%22">Australia</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: We compared abundances of terrestrial vertebrate insectivores, the rate of insectivory and composition of epigeic arthropod assemblages where an apex predator the dingo was common and rare on either side of the Dingo Barrier Fence (DBF) in Australia's Strzelecki Desert. Previous research in the region shows that suppression of dingoes initiates trophic cascades between dingoes-red foxes-small mammals and woody shrubs and between dingoes-kangaroos and grasses. Results show that terrestrial insectivores were more abundant and the rate of insectivory indexed as the rate of consumption of experimentally provisioned meal-worms was greater where dingoes were common. Overall abundance, diversity and taxon richness of arthropods was unaffected by dingo status. However, there were distinct differences in the composition of arthropod assemblages across the DBF. Scolopendridae, Acrididae and Lepismatidae were more abundant where dingoes were rare, while Tenebrionidae and Blattidae were more abundant where dingoes were common. Our results lend support to the idea that suppression of dingo populations can trigger ≥4 link trophic cascades that extend to arthropod assemblages. We hypothesize that dingo suppression engenders shifts in arthropod assemblages due to a decrease in the intensity of insectivory, changes in habitat structure and alteration of the predatory and competitive interactions between arthropod taxa. • We found evidence for a ≥4 level trophic cascade initiated by the dingo. • Arthropod assemblages were distinctly different in the presence or absence of the dingo. • We hypothesize that the dingo extirpation has shifted arthropod assemblages by altering rates of insectivory and changing habitat structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Arid Environments is the property of Academic Press Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2019.03.002 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 12 StartPage: 16 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Arthropoda Type: general – SubjectFull: Trophic cascades Type: general – SubjectFull: Top predators Type: general – SubjectFull: Dingo Type: general – SubjectFull: Carnivorous animals Type: general – SubjectFull: Food chains Type: general – SubjectFull: Australia Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Top-down effects of a large mammalian carnivore in arid Australia extend to epigeic arthropod assemblages. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Contos, Peter – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Letnic, Mike IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 06 Text: Jun2019 Type: published Y: 2019 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 01401963 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 165 Titles: – TitleFull: Journal of Arid Environments Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
