What is it about?
In a hugely replicated landscape-scale management experiment, using ground disturbance applied to lowland dry grassland in Eastern England, we show that management for an iconic flagship species - the Stone Curlew - also increased the richness of carabid, other beetles and ants (one or both treatment), whilst staphylinid richness and abundance increased and true bug richness and abundance decreased with both treatments. Richness of ‘priority’ (rare, scarce or threatened) invertebrates a priori considered to share ecological requirements with the umbrella species (predicted beneficiaries) increased with both treatments. Landscapes diversified by treatment supported a greater cumulative species richness of other beetles, ants and true bugs, and importantly priority invertebrates, than a landscape comprising only untreated controls.
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Why is it important?
Conservation management often prioritises individual iconic species. The assumption that these will act as a 'Flagship' or umbrella species, so that other biodiversity benefits from these interventions, has rarely been tested. We validate the approach of predicting potential multi-taxa beneficiaries of management based on their auto-ecology (Biodiversity Auditing - see Dolman et al. 202, Journal of Applied Ecology)
Perspectives
This was an incredible landscape scale experiment, supported by Natural England, RSPB and the Defence Infrastructure Organsiation, and led by Robert Hawkes. However, this work was only possible through the expertise and dedication of a large team of entomologists.
Professor Paul M Dolman
University of East Anglia
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Multi-taxa consequences of management for an avian umbrella species, Biological Conservation, August 2019, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2019.05.039.
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