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Harvard Forest REU Symposium Abstract 2022
- Title: Effects of Anthropogenic Activities on Ground Beetles Diversity – An Approach Using Intraspecific Trait Variation
- Author: Isha Ela Chinniah (Mount Holyoke College)
- Abstract:
Past land use disturbances can have prolonged effects on current biodiversity. However, the underlying mechanisms influencing these changes are yet to be understood. Here we used ground beetles (Carabidae) to model the relationship between past logging activities and changes in diversity through the process of interspecific competition. Ground beetle samples were collected using pitfall traps from ten plots at the Bartlett Experimental Forest NEON site. Spatial data were used to retrieve information on past logging activities at these plots. At each plot, body size measurements of every individual in a species were used to evaluate their intraspecific trait variation; overlap among species body size was then used as a proxy for quantifying community-wide competition. In addition, Shannon diversity index values were calculated at each plot. Finally, we fit a simple linear regression model to determine how much variation in interspecific competition (overlap) and richness could be explained by time since disturbance. Time since logging disturbance did not have a statistically significant effect on ground beetle diversity or overlap; however, a larger data set spanning multiple forested sites may provide greater power to detect an effect of time since disturbance on ground beetle diversity. Assessing how interspecific competition and diversity of ground beetles are influenced by past logging activities, can further provide insights into ecology and future conservation efforts.
- Research Category: Historical and Retrospective Studies; Conservation and Management; Biodiversity Studies
