TY - GEN A1 - Michalko, Radek A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus A1 - Pekár, Stano T1 - Interaction between hunting strategy, habitat type and stratum drive intraguild predation and cannibalism T2 - Oikos N2 - Intraguild predation (IGP) is a common interaction between generalist predators when they competitively exploit similar resources and prey on each other. Theoretical models predict limitations for intraguild predator coexistence unless some mechanisms, such as the utilization of alternative prey (i.e. trophic niche partitioning) and cannibalism, increase the relative intraspecific clustering and interspecific segregation. As hunting strategies determine trophic niches of predators and their own vulnerability to predation, the hunting strategies may also determine the relative importance of cannibalism, predation, and exploitative competition and consequently the intensity of IGP. The importance of hunting strategies on the potential outcome of IGP and how habitat properties modify the interaction between hunting strategies remain poorly understood. Using published data on spider prey of spider predators, we first investigated how predation of a top-predator on a mesopredator is determined by the functional distance between both predators to understand how predation and exploitation are distributed in spider communities. Subsequently, we investigated the predation among spiders with particular hunting strategies to understand which strategies interact most frequently. We also investigated whether the interaction between hunting strategies was influenced by habitat type (forest, open (semi)natural habitat, agroecosystem) or by habitat stratum (ground versus vegetation). The hunting strategies of top-predators and mesopredators interacted to determine the relative capture proportions of conspecifics and hetero-specifics. This interaction was further modified by habitat type and stratum. Two mechanisms can reinforce coexistence in highly diverse spider communities. First, top-predators preyed most frequently on functionally distinct mesopredators, which indicates the overall intensity of IGP may be relaxed by a balanced distribution between exploitative competition and predation. Second, cannibalism was common for top-predators with a hunting strategy of frequently preying on functionally similar mesopredators. Cannibalism may lead to self-limitation of top-predator populations and may thereby facilitate coexistence between two predator species. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.08355 SN - 1600-0706 IS - 3 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Fotang, Chefor A1 - Bröring, Udo A1 - Roos, Christian A1 - Enoguanbhor, Evidence Chinedu A1 - Dutton, Paul A1 - Tédonzong, Luc R. D. A1 - Willie, Jacob A1 - Yuh, Yisa Ginath A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus T1 - Environmental and anthropogenic effects on the nesting patterns of Nigeria–Cameroon chimpanzees in North-West Cameroon T2 - American Journal of Primatology N2 - Environmental conditions and human activity influence the selection of nest sites by chimpanzees and may have serious conservation implications. We examined the characteristics of nesting trees preferred by chimpanzees, investigated the effect of vegetation composition and topography on nest site locations and seasonality on nesting heights of chimpanzees, and verified the effect of predator occurrence and human activity on the nesting behavior of the Nigeria–Cameroon chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti) in Kom-Wum Forest Reserve (KWFR) and surrounding unprotected forest in Cameroon. We recorded 923 nests, 502 signs of human activity, and 646 nesting trees along line transects and recces (reconnaissance) for two seasons. We found that chimpanzees constructed more arboreal nests on tall primary trees with high lowest branch height and large diameter at breast height. Moreover, they oriented their nests within trees in the slope direction when the nesting trees were located on slopes. Additionally, the occurrence of chimpanzee nests was positively related to increasing elevation and slope and decreased with distance to primary forest. In contrast, the number of nests increased with distance to secondary forest, open land, and villages, and nesting height was not influenced by seasons. While we recorded no signs of large nocturnal chimpanzee predators at nesting trees, we found signs of hunting activity at nesting locations. Nesting high in trees is likely a way of avoiding hunting, while nest orientation within trees in slope direction shortens escape routes from human hunters. Our findings suggest that chimpanzees select safe trees (tall trees with high lowest branch height) located in nesting areas (primary forest, high elevation, and steep slopes) that are not easily accessible by humans. Therefore, conservation efforts should focus on protecting primary forests at high elevation and steep slopes and reducing human impact. Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.23312 SN - 1098-2345 SN - 0275-2565 VL - 83 IS - 9 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Feng, Lanya A1 - Arvidsson, Fredrik A1 - Smith, Henrik G. A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus T1 - Fallows and permanent grasslands conserve the species composition and functional diversity of carabid beetles and linyphiid spiders in agricultural landscapes T2 - Insect Conservation & Diversity N2 - The European Union reformed the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP 2013) to include greening measures with the aim to decrease negative impacts of farming on the environment and biodiversity. The degree to which greening measures such as permanent grassland or fallows of different ages enhance biodiversity is still debated. We investigate the effect of fallows in two different age classes and permanent grassland in the surrounding landscape on the taxonomic and functional diversity of two numerically dominant groups of natural enemies in cereal fields: soil-emerging carabid beetles (Family Carabidae, Order Coleoptera) and ground-active linyphiid spiders (Family Linyphiidae, Order Araneae). The species richness, abundance and Hill–Shannon diversity of carabids and linyphiids did not differ significantly between fallows and cereal fields and was not significantly related to the proportion of permanent grassland in the surrounding landscape. The species composition of both communities differed significantly between cereal fields and fallows. The functional distinctness, as an index reflecting the similarity among species in terms of functional traits, of linyphiids was significantly higher in fallows than in cereal fields. The trait composition of carabids was significantly related to the proportion of permanent grassland depending on field type (cereal or fallow). Our results document considerable species turnover in natural enemy communities of adjacent cereal fields and fallows, and support the assumption that older fallows (>8 years) produce functionally more diverse natural enemy communities. Maintaining fallows for a long period is an important measure to promote the functional diversity in predaceous arthropod communities. Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/icad.12520 SN - 1752-4598 SN - 1752-458X VL - 14 IS - 6 SP - 825 EP - 836 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus A1 - Fliessbach, Andreas A1 - Gavín‐Centol, María Pilar A1 - Hedlund, Katarina A1 - Ingimarsdóttir, María A1 - Bracht Jørgensen, Helene A1 - Kozjek, Katja A1 - Meyer, Svenja A1 - Montserrat, Marta A1 - Sánchez-Moreno, Sara A1 - Moya-Laraño, Jordi A1 - Scheu, Stefan A1 - Serrano-Carnero, Diego A1 - Truu, Jaak A1 - Kundel, Dominika T1 - Conventional agriculture and not drought alters relationships between soil biota and functions T2 - Scientific Reports N2 - Soil biodiversity constitutes the biological pillars of ecosystem services provided by soils worldwide. Soil life is threatened by intense agricultural management and shifts in climatic conditions as two important global change drivers which are not often jointly studied under field conditions. We addressed the effects of experimental short‐term drought over the wheat growing season on soil organisms and ecosystem functions under organic and conventional farming in a Swiss long term trial. Our results suggest that activity and community metrics are suitable indicators for drought stress while microbial communities primarily responded to agricultural practices. Importantly, we found a significant loss of multiple pairwise positive and negative relationships between soil biota and process‐related variables in response to conventional farming, but not in response to experimental drought. These results suggest a considerable weakening of the contribution of soil biota to ecosystem functions under long‐term conventional agriculture. Independent of the farming system, experimental and seasonal (ambient) drought conditions directly affected soil biota and activity. A higher soil water content during early and intermediate stages of the growing season and a high number of significant relationships between soil biota to ecosystem functions suggest that organic farming provides a buffer against drought effects. Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-03276-x SN - 2045-2322 IS - 11 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Tluste, Claudia A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus T1 - Shells of the Roman snail are important microhabitats for soil invertebrates T2 - Soil organisms N2 - Shells of molluscs from snail farms (heliciculture) are used as food additives or construction material and ecological engineering approaches utilize their potential to assist with ecosystem restoration. Previous studies, for example, highlighted the importance of snail shells as microhabitat for threatened arthropod species with particular focus on wild bees nesting in empty shells. This study focuses on shells of the Roman snail (Helix pomatia Linnaeus, 1758) and their value as microhabitat for shell adopters in different dominant vegetation forms and sample periods. In total, 1408 empty shells were placed in areas dominated by one of two vegetation forms (herbaceous vegetation or trees) from February to November 2019 (autumn) or from February to June/ July 2020 (summer). All collected shells (N = 618) were sealed at the time of collection, frozen and all content was then analysed with a digital microscope. In total, 91.4% of all collected shells were occupied and the average number of shell adopters was 1.5 time higher in shells collected in summer compared to shells collected in autumn. The number of shell adopters per shell was 1.5 times higher in study areas dominated by herbaceous vegetation compared to study areas dominated by trees. Shell width, but not shell height significantly affected the composition of shell adopter communities. Shells with a larger width were more frequently colonized by another gastropod species [Discus rotundatus (O. F. Müller, 1774)] than less wide shells. Shells of the Roman snail provide important multipurpose benefits for a wide range of soil organisms, particularly in habitats that were dominated by herbaceous vegetation and in summer. In autumn, shell adopters included isopods, gastropods and spiders in one subset of shells or Collembola in another subset. The future use of commercially available, empty shells from heliciculture in local restoration projects of open, tree-free areas, holds the potential to support a diverse invertebrate fauna with additional refuge habitats. KW - Gastropoda KW - Helix pomatia KW - shell adopter KW - shelter KW - soil animals Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.25674/so93iss3id167 SN - 2509-9523 SN - 1864-6417 VL - 93 IS - 3 SP - 141 EP - 152 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Mathulwe, Letodi L. A1 - Jacobs, Karin A1 - Malan, Antoinette P. A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus A1 - Addison, Matthew F. A1 - Addison, Pia T1 - Characterisation of Metarhizium majus (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) isolated from the Western Cape Province, South Africa. T2 - PloS one N2 - Entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) are important soil-dwelling entomopathogens, which can be used as biological control agents against pest insects. EPF are capable of causing lethal epizootics in pest insect populations in agroecosystems. During a survey of the orchard soil at an organic farm, different EPF species were collected and identified to species level, using both morphological and molecular techniques. The EPF were trapped from soil samples taken from an apricot orchard. The traps, which were baited in the laboratory, used susceptible host insects, including the last-instar larvae of Galleria mellonella (wax moth larvae) and Tenebrio molitor (mealworm larvae). The potential pathogenicity of the local Metarhizium majus isolate was tested and verified using susceptible laboratory-reared last-instar T. molitor larvae. The identification of the M. majus isolated from South African soil was verified using both morphological and molecular techniques. The occurrence of M. majus in the South African soil environment had not previously been reported. Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0240955 SN - 1932-6203 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Fotang, Chefor A1 - Bröring, Udo A1 - Roos, Christian A1 - Enoguanbhor, Evidence Chinedu A1 - E. Abwe, Ekwoge A1 - Dutton, Paul A1 - Schierack, Peter A1 - Angwafo, Tsi Evaristus A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus T1 - Human activity and forest fragmentation threaten populations of the Nigeria-Cameroon Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti) in Western Cameroon T2 - International Journal of Primatology N2 - Increased human activities such as commodity-led deforestation, extension of agriculture, urbanization, and wildfires are major drivers of forest loss worldwide. In Cameroon, these activities cause a loss of suitable primate habitat and could ultimately threaten the survival of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). We derived independent estimates of the population size of the Endangered Nigeria–Cameroon chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti) in Kom-Wum Forest Reserve, Cameroon, and surrounding unprotected forest areas through 1) direct observations, 2) camera trapping, 3) distance sampling, 4) marked nest counts, and 5) standing crop nest counts. In addition, we georeferenced signs of chimpanzee and human activity along line transects. We used a generalized linear mixed model to predict the occurrence of chimpanzees in response to edge length (measured as the perimeter of core forest patches), core area of forest patches (measured as area of forest patches beyond an edge width of 100 m), habitat perforation (measured as the perimeter of nonforested landscape within core forest patches), patch size(measured as area of forest patches), and forest cover. Chimpanzee density estimates ranged from 0.1 (direct observation) to 0.9 (distance sampling) individuals km−2 depending on estimation method with a mean nest group size of 7 ± 5.4 (SD). The mean encounter rate for signs of chimpanzee activity was significantly higher in mature forests (2.3 signs km−1) than in secondary forests (0.3 signs km−1) and above 1000 m elevation (4.0 signs km−1) than below 1000 m (1.0 signs km−1). The mean encounter rate for signs of human activity was significantly higher in secondary (8.0 signs km−1) than in mature forests (0.9 signs km−1). Secondary forests, habitat perforation, and edge length had a significant negative effect on the occurrence of chimpanzee signs. Overall, human activity and forest degradation affected the number of observed chimpanzee signs negatively. Regular antipoaching patrols and reforestation programs in degraded areas could potentially reduce threats to populations of endangered species and may increase suitable habitat area. KW - Bushmeat hunting KW - Core areas KW - Edge length KW - Forest fragmentation KW - Forest perforation KW - Nest counts KW - Mature forest KW - Pan troglodytes ellioti KW - Secondary forest Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-020-00191-2 SN - 1573-8604 SN - 0164-0291 VL - 42 IS - 1 SP - 105 EP - 129 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Phillips, Helen R. P. A1 - Bach, Elizabeth M. A1 - Eisenhauer, Nico A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus A1 - Bartz, Marie L. C. T1 - Global data on earthworm abundance, biomass, diversity and corresponding environmental properties T2 - Scientific Data N2 - Earthworms are an important soil taxon as ecosystem engineers, providing a variety of crucial ecosystem functions and services. Little is known about their diversity and distribution at large spatial scales, despite the availability of considerable amounts of local-scale data. Earthworm diversity data, obtained from the primary literature or provided directly by authors, were collated with information on site locations, including coordinates, habitat cover, and soil properties. Datasets were required, at a minimum, to include abundance or biomass of earthworms at a site. Where possible, site-level species lists were included, as well as the abundance and biomass of individual species and ecological groups. This global dataset contains 10,840 sites, with 184 species, from 60 countries and all continents except Antarctica. The data were obtained from 182 published articles, published between 1973 and 2017, and 17 unpublished datasets. Amalgamating data into a single global database will assist researchers in investigating and answering a wide variety of pressing questions, for example, jointly assessing aboveground and belowground biodiversity distributions and drivers of biodiversity change. Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-021-00912-z SN - 2052-4463 N1 - viele weitere Autoren IS - 8 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Pekár, Stano A1 - Wolff, Jonas O. A1 - Černecká, Ľudmila A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus A1 - Mammola, Stefano A1 - Lowe, Elizabeth C. A1 - Fukushima, Caroline S. A1 - Herberstein, Marie E. A1 - Kučera, Adam A1 - Buzatto, Bruno A. T1 - The World Spider Trait database: a centralized global open repository for curated data on spider traits T2 - Database N2 - Spiders are a highly diversified group of arthropods and play an important role in terrestrial ecosystems as ubiquitous predators, which makes them a suitable group to test a variety of eco-evolutionary hypotheses. For this purpose, knowledge of a diverse range of species traits is required. Until now, data on spider traits have been scattered across thousands of publications produced for over two centuries and written in diverse languages. To facilitate access to such data, we developed an online database for archiving and accessing spider traits at a global scale. The database has been designed to accommodate a great variety of traits (e.g. ecological, behavioural and morphological) measured at individual, species or higher taxonomic levels. Records are accompanied by extensive metadata (e.g. location and method). The database is curated by an expert team, regularly updated and open to any user. A future goal of the growing database is to include all published and unpublished data on spider traits provided by experts worldwide and to facilitate broad cross-taxon assays in functional ecology and comparative biology. Y1 - 2021 UR - https://spidertraits.sci.muni.cz/ U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/database/baab064 SN - 1758-0463 IS - 2021 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Kozjek, Katja A1 - Kundel, Dominika A1 - K. Kushwaha, Sandeep A1 - Olsson, Pål Axel A1 - Ahrén, Dag A1 - Fliessbach, Andreas A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus A1 - Hedlund, Katarina T1 - Long-term agricultural management impacts arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi more than short-term experimental drought T2 - Applied Soil Ecology N2 - Agricultural management practices and extreme weather events associated with climate change can influence the diversity and abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) with potential consequences for crop production. However, the importance of the interactive effects of long-term agricultural management and extreme weather events on AMF communities in agricultural soils is not yet fully explored. A short-term drought experiment with rainout-shelters was performed in winter wheat fields in a long-term agricultural trial with organic (biodynamic) and conventional management practices. During four months of the winter wheat growing period (March–June 2017), the rainout-shelters reduced the ambient precipitation by 65% on average. At two sampling dates, the AMF diversity and community composition were assessed using a single-molecule real-time (SMRT) DNA sequencing. A total of 955 amplicon sequence variants (ASVs), belonging to twelve genera were identified. The long-term farming systems and the short-term experimental drought did not affect AMF ASV diversity levels. The AMF community composition at the genus level differed between the organic and the conventional farming systems, but no distinctive communities were found in response to the experimental drought. The three most abundant genera Acaulospora, Paraglomus and Funneliformis were correlated to the two farming practices. Our study demonstrates that AMF communities in agricultural soils are responsive to long-term farming systems, and are resistant to one short-term summer drought event. KW - Experimental drought KW - Long-term farming practices KW - Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi KW - Single-molecule real-time sequencing Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2021.104140 SN - 0929-1393 SN - 1873-0272 IS - 168 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Hecker, Lutz Philip A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus A1 - Yang, Xueyan A1 - Querhammer, Lisa A1 - Stöckmann, Ina A1 - Wätzold, Frank T1 - Insektenverluste durch den Einsatz von Konditionierern bei der Behandlung von Mähgut - ökologische und ökonomische Aspekte T2 - Natur und Landschaft. Zeitschrift für Naturschutz und Landschaftspflege Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.19217/NuL2022-02-03 SN - 0028-0615 VL - 97 IS - 2 SP - 78 EP - 84 ER -