Succession matters: Community shifts in moths over three decades increases multifunctionality in intermediate successional stages

Species composition strongly depends on time, place and resources. In this context, semi-natural grasslands belong to the most species-rich habitats of Europe, and succession may eventually cause local extinction of typical grassland species, but conversely increase species richness due to habitat d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports 2019-04, Vol.9 (1), p.5586-5586, Article 5586
Main Authors: Habel, Jan Christian, Segerer, Andreas H., Ulrich, Werner, Schmitt, Thomas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
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Animals
Biodiversity
Community structure
Conservation of Natural Resources - methods
Ecosystem
Endangered & extinct species
Food plants
Germany
Grassland
Grasslands
Habitats
Humanities and Social Sciences
Moths - physiology
multidisciplinary
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Species composition
Species extinction
Species richness
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Summary:Species composition strongly depends on time, place and resources. In this context, semi-natural grasslands belong to the most species-rich habitats of Europe, and succession may eventually cause local extinction of typical grassland species, but conversely increase species richness due to habitat diversification. Here, we analyse potential effects of succession of calcareous grasslands on moths. Our studied community, assessed over three decades in south-eastern Germany, comprised >1000 species. We compiled data on the ecology of each of these species, considering the larval and adult stages. We assigned Ellenberg indicator values to each main larval food plant species used by these lepidopterans. Changes in the community means of these indicators were applied to test for possible consequences of the changes in habitat structure and quality. Our data revealed increasing multifunctionality of community structure, higher variability of habitat association over time, the appearance of range expanding species, but also local extinction of various typical grassland moth species. These shifts in species composition mirror effects of succession, which frequently transform previously homogenous semi-natural grasslands into a heterogeneous habitat mosaic.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-019-41571-w