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Is there a bottom-up cascade on the assemblages of trees, arboreal insects and spiders in a semiarid Caatinga?

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Abstract

Predator–prey dynamics regulate the community structure of arthropods and may be affected by changes in their habitat. Bottom-up effects influence the distribution of arboreal insects changing, in turn, the availability of resources and shelter for the spider assemblage. This study examines the effect of habitat structure (tree richness and density) on the assemblages of herbivorous insects and spiders along a gradient of secondary forest succession in a semiarid Caatinga in northeastern Brazil. Insect and spiders were collected by beating the foliage during dry and wet seasons in 2010 and 2011. Plant richness and density varied significantly among stages of succession. In total, 2,590 arboreal insects were collected, corresponding to 14 orders and 151 morphospecies. In addition, we sampled 896 canopy spiders, encompassing 14 families and 53 morphospecies. Insect richness and abundance were negatively related with habitat structure, while spider richness increases with tree richness. We did not find any relationship among insects and spiders but there were differences in species composition of insects among all successional stages, determined by changes in vegetation structure. However, this effect does not extend to the species composition of spiders that remain similar in the different stages of secondary succession. We conclude that habitat structure had a partial bottom-up effect on arboreal insects and spider assemblages, indicating that this factor regulates the richness, abundance and species composition of arboreal insets and species richness of spiders. Thus, habitat structure promotes the maintenance of insects and spider diversity in fragments of Caatinga.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Anny Oliveira, Diogo Gallo, David Andrade, Brisa Corso, Philippe Correia, James Capitão, Rafaella Santana, Arleu Barbosa, for their help in the data sampling. Special thanks to Camila Leal for her help in identification of insects, Dr. Germano R. Neto and Dr. Paschoal Grossi for Coleoptera identification. We are grateful to Secretaria do Meio Ambiente e Recursos Hídricos de Sergipe (SEMARH) for logistical support, CAPES, FAPITEC, CNPq, FAPEMIG and Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia dos Hymenoptera Parasitóides da Região Sudeste Brasileira for financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Conservação, Universidade Federal de Sergipe (UFS), Avenida Marechal Rondon s/n, Jardim Rosa Elze, São Cristóvão, Sergipe, 49100-000, Brazil

    L. Sousa-Souto, E. D. S. Santos & P. M. F. G. Figueiredo

  2. Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627, Belo Horizonte, MG, 31270-901, Brazil

    A. J. Santos

  3. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Conservação e Manejo da Vida Silvestre, ICB, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), PC 486, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    F. S. Neves

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  1. L. Sousa-Souto
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  2. E. D. S. Santos
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  3. P. M. F. G. Figueiredo
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Correspondence to L. Sousa-Souto.

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Sousa-Souto, L., Santos, E.D.S., Figueiredo, P.M.F.G. et al. Is there a bottom-up cascade on the assemblages of trees, arboreal insects and spiders in a semiarid Caatinga?. Arthropod-Plant Interactions 8, 581–591 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11829-014-9341-0

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