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KIPerry_PhD Dissertation_2016a.pdf (7.01 MB)

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Responses of Ground-dwelling Invertebrate Communities to Disturbance in Forest Ecosystems

Perry, Kayla I
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu148068350792523

Abstract Details

2016, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Entomology.
Disturbances alter habitat structure, energy and nutrient flow, and species composition in ecosystems, thereby shaping patterns in community dynamics and ecosystem processes over time. In forests of eastern North America, natural disturbances (e.g. fire, wind, insect and disease outbreaks) create a mosaic of differently aged habitat patches that maintain structural complexity at multiple spatial scales through the creation of biological legacies such as standing and downed woody debris and patches of understory vegetation intertwined with undisturbed forest. Anthropogenic disturbances (e.g. exotic species, land-use change, management practices) may alter the abundance or spatial patterns of these important structural features in the landscape, potentially impacting forest communities such as populations of ground-dwelling invertebrates. Ground-dwelling invertebrates are abundant in forest ecosystems, and their responses to natural and anthropogenic disturbances have significant implications for ecosystem services such as decomposition and nutrient cycling. Therefore, the overarching goals of this dissertation research were to evaluate the effects of disturbance to the forest canopy and understory on the ground-dwelling invertebrate community. Objectives of this research were to investigate the impacts of tree mortality caused by disturbances characterized by different properties on invertebrate diversity, community composition, and dispersal potential. Three dynamic models were proposed (Chapter 1) to describe the temporal relationships in the magnitude effects of canopy gap formation, accumulation (and removal) of coarse woody debris, and soil disturbance caused by the exotic emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairemaire) (Chapters 2-4), wind, and salvage logging (Chapter 9) on ground-dwelling invertebrate communities. Canopy and understory vegetation disturbances that typically occur simultaneously when trees die were decoupled via a manipulative experiment, and the effects of each disturbance alone and in combination were documented for ground beetle assemblages (Chapter 5) and the ground-dwelling invertebrate community (Chapter 8). A novel mark-capture method using fluorescent powder was developed to study the movement of arthropods in the field (Chapter 6) and to evaluate the effects of canopy and understory disturbance on their dispersal potential (Chapter 7). Canopy gaps created by tree mortality were identified as a dominant and consistent factor driving patterns in ground-dwelling invertebrate community structure, composition, and dispersal in forest ecosystems. In all cases, initial environmental changes induced by canopy gaps elicited responses (both positive and negative) on ground-dwelling invertebrate abundance and community composition. Canopy gaps had the strongest impact on invertebrate communities when they were decoupled from the accumulation of low levels of woody debris, and from ground-level understory vegetation growth. Gaps created by girdling dominant and codominant canopy trees increased activity-abundance and richness of invertebrates, as well as activity-abundance of families of Diplopoda, Collembola and Coleoptera. When combined, canopy and ground-level understory vegetation disturbances interacted to reduce the movement of ground-dwelling arthropods, which were already generally limited in these forest ecosystems. These findings highlight the importance of understanding the properties of different and interacting disturbances when evaluating their impacts on invertebrate communities over time, and for developing strategies for sustainable management of forest ecosystems.
Daniel Herms (Advisor)
565 p.
Ecology; Entomology
forest floor invertebrates; disturbance; canopy gap; woody debris; dispersal; ground beetles; Carabidae; emerald ash borer

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Perry, K. I. (2016). Responses of Ground-dwelling Invertebrate Communities to Disturbance in Forest Ecosystems [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu148068350792523

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Perry, Kayla. Responses of Ground-dwelling Invertebrate Communities to Disturbance in Forest Ecosystems. 2016. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu148068350792523.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Perry, Kayla. "Responses of Ground-dwelling Invertebrate Communities to Disturbance in Forest Ecosystems." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu148068350792523

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu148068350792523
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.