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Cited by 45Insect and Arachnid Ecology and BehaviorEcology and Vegetation Dynamics StudiesStudy of Mite Species

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Seasonal and temporal patterns of rainfall shape arthropod community composition and multi-trophic interactions in an arid environment

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Fischer, Christina, Gerstmeier, Roland, Wagner, Thomas C.·2022·Scientific Reports
DOI 10.1038/s41598-022-07716-0PMC PMC8904780
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Abstract

In arid and semi-arid ecosystems, rainfall and rainfall temporal distribution shape species communities and multi-trophic interactions. Whereas the relationship between climate change-induced decline of precipitation and plants is well know, there is little knowledge of these relationships with consumers, such as arthropods of different trophic levels. In a 6-year period we studied precipitation effects and microhabitat conditions on multi-trophic interactions of ground-dwelling arthropods in an arid savannah. We analysed the effects of seasonal rainfall, plant cover and soil texture on community composition and activity density of arthropods of different trophic levels and investigated the critical window of vegetation and occurrence arthropods in relation to rainfall. Our result show, that arthropod community composition was determined by seasonal rainfall and plant cover. Soil texture did not explain arthropod response sufficiently. Especially detritivorous arthropods were strongly affected by precipitation and can therefore serve as indicators of droughts. Further, multi-trophic interactions can better be explained by short-term rainfall pulses, rather than by seasonal patterns, with a window of seven days being most suitable to explain the influence of rainfall. Plant cover responded immediately after the rainfall, followed by herbivorous and predatory arthropods, and with a lag of 23 days omnivorous arthropods. This highlights the importance of short-term rain pulses for multi-trophic interactions among arthropods and emphasized the relevance of studying detailed precipitation effects for the arthropod diversity and ecosystem stability in arid ecosystems.

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Figure 1 Graphical interpretation of arthropod community composition (black: herbivores; grey, dotted line: omnivores; grey: predators; black, dotted line: detritivores—springtails; black dot-dashed line: ants) by plotting site scores (light grey points) with NMDS. Only the displayed environmental variables (black arrows) influenced community composition significantly (P < 0.05).
Figure 1 Graphical interpretation of arthropod community composition (black: herbivores; grey, dotted line: omnivores; grey: predators; black, dotted line: detritivores—springtails; black dot-dashed line: ants) by plotting site scores (light grey points) with NMDS. Only the displayed environmental variables (black arrows) influenced community composition significantly (P < 0.05).CC BY · PubMed Central
Figure 2 Result of the moving window approach showing adjusted R2-values to explain the proportion of variation by the fixed-effects factors from generalized linear mixed effects models. We studied the effects of the period of rainfall before pitfall trapping summed up over 7 days on (a) the different trophic levels of ground-dwelling arthropods, as well as plant cover, and the determinative groups that contributed most to the resulting R2-values for (b) herbivorous arthropods, (c) omnivorous arthropods, and (d) predatory arthropods, as well as (e) springtails and (f) ants.
Figure 2 Result of the moving window approach showing adjusted R2-values to explain the proportion of variation by the fixed-effects factors from generalized linear mixed effects models. We studied the effects of the period of rainfall before pitfall trapping summed up over 7 days on (a) the different trophic levels of ground-dwelling arthropods, as well as plant cover, and the determinative groups that contributed most to the resulting R2-values for (b) herbivorous arthropods, (c) omnivorous arthropods, and (d) predatory arthropods, as well as (e) springtails and (f) ants.CC BY · PubMed Central

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Metadata

Authors
Fischer, C., Gerstmeier, R., & Wagner, T. C.
Affiliations
  • Anhalt University of Applied Sciences (DE)
  • Technical University of Munich (DE)
Corresponding author
Fischer, Christina
ORCID
Venue
Scientific Reports
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2022-03-08
Volume
12
Issue
1
Pages
3742-3742
ISSN
2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1038/s41598-022-07716-0
PMC
PMC8904780
OpenAlex
W4220814666
Cited by
45
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 16 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 1
FWCI
4.37
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Scientific Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • mediaTUM (Technical University of Munich) (submittedVersion)
  • mediaTUM – the media and publications repository of the Technical University Munich (Technical University Munich) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
Hochschule Anhalt
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Insect Science › Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Study of Mite Species
Keywords
rainfall pulses, seasonal rainfall, arthropod community composition, multitrophic interactions, ground-dwelling arthropods, vegetation cover, soil texture, drought indices, herbivorous arthropods, predatory arthropods, microhabitat, ecosystem stability
MeSH terms
Animals, Arthropods, Plants, Rain, Seasons, Soil, Ecosystem

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