Soundscapes and deep learning enable tracking biodiversity recovery in tropical forests.

Tropical forest recovery is fundamental to addressing the intertwined climate and biodiversity loss crises. While regenerating trees sequester carbon relatively quickly, the pace of biodiversity recovery remains contentious. Here, we use bioacoustics and metabarcoding to measure forest recovery post-agriculture in a global biodiversity hotspot in Ecuador. We show that the community composition, and not species richness, of vocalizing vertebrates identified by experts reflects the restoration gradient. Two automated measures - an acoustic index model and a bird community composition derived from an independently developed Convolutional Neural Network - correlated well with restoration (adj-R² = 0.62 and 0.69, respectively). Importantly, both measures reflected composition of non-vocalizing nocturnal insects identified via metabarcoding. We show that such automated monitoring tools, based on new technologies, can effectively monitor the success of forest recovery, using robust and reproducible data.

Trait-mediated responses of caterpillar communities to spongy moth outbreaks and subsequent tebufenozide treatments.

Outbreaks of the spongy moth Lymantria dispar can have devastating impacts on forest resources and ecosystems. Lepidoptera-specific insecticides, such as Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (BTK) and tebufenozide, are often deployed to prevent heavy defoliation of the forest canopy. While it has been suggested that using BTK poses less risk to non-target Lepidoptera than leaving an outbreak untreated, in situ testing of this assumption has been impeded by methodological challenges. The trade-offs between insecticide use and outbreaks have yet to be addressed for tebufenozide, which is believed to have stronger side effects than BTK. We investigated the short-term trade-offs between tebufenozide treatments and no-action strategies for the non-target herbivore community in forest canopies. Over 3 years, Lepidoptera and Symphyta larvae were sampled by canopy fogging in 48 oak stands in southeast Germany during and after a spongy moth outbreak. Half of the sites were treated with tebufenozide and changes in canopy cover were monitored. We contrasted the impacts of tebufenozide and defoliator outbreaks on the abundance, diversity, and functional structure of chewing herbivore communities. Tebufenozide treatments strongly reduced Lepidoptera up to 6 weeks after spraying. Populations gradually converged back to control levels after 2 years. Shelter-building species dominated caterpillar assemblages in treated plots in the post-spray weeks, while flight-dimorphic species were slow to recover and remained underrepresented in treated stands 2 years post-treatment. Spongy moth outbreaks had minor effects on leaf chewer communities. Summer Lepidoptera decreased only when severe defoliation occurred, whereas Symphyta declined 1 year after defoliation. Polyphagous species with only partial host plant overlap with the spongy moth were absent from heavily defoliated sites, suggesting greater sensitivity of generalists to defoliation-induced plant responses. These results demonstrate that both tebufenozide treatments and spongy moth outbreaks alter canopy herbivore communities. Tebufenozide had a stronger and longer lasting impact, but it was restricted to Lepidoptera, whereas the outbreak affected both Lepidoptera and Symphyta. These results are tied to the fact that only half of the outbreak sites experienced severe defoliation. This highlights the limited accuracy of current defoliation forecast methods, which are used as the basis for the decision to spray insecticides.

Ambient and substrate energy influence decomposer diversity differentially across trophic levels.

The species-energy hypothesis predicts increasing biodiversity with increasing energy in ecosystems. Proxies for energy availability are often grouped into ambient energy (i.e., solar radiation) and substrate energy (i.e., non-structural carbohydrates or nutritional content). The relative importance of substrate energy is thought to decrease with increasing trophic level from primary consumers to predators, with reciprocal effects of ambient energy. Yet, empirical tests are lacking. We compiled data on 332,557 deadwood-inhabiting beetles of 901 species reared from wood of 49 tree species across Europe. Using host-phylogeny-controlled models, we show that the relative importance of substrate energy versus ambient energy decreases with increasing trophic levels: the diversity of zoophagous and mycetophagous beetles was determined by ambient energy, while non-structural carbohydrate content in woody tissues determined that of xylophagous beetles. Our study thus overall supports the species-energy hypothesis and specifies that the relative importance of ambient temperature increases with increasing trophic level with opposite effects for substrate energy.

Quantifying and estimating ecological network diversity based on incomplete sampling data.

An ecological network refers to the ecological interactions among sets of species. Quantification of ecological network diversity and related sampling/estimation challenges have explicit analogues in species diversity research. A unified framework based on Hill numbers and their generalizations was developed to quantify taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity. Drawing on this unified framework, we propose three dimensions of network diversity that incorporate the frequency (or strength) of interactions, species phylogenies and traits. As with surveys in species inventories, nearly all network studies are based on sampling data and thus also suffer from under-sampling effects. Adapting the sampling/estimation theory and the iNEXT (interpolation/extrapolation) standardization developed for species diversity research, we propose the iNEXT.link method to analyse network sampling data. The proposed method integrates the following four inference procedures: (i) assessment of sample completeness of networks; (ii) asymptotic analysis via estimating the true network diversity; (iii) non-asymptotic analysis based on standardizing sample completeness via rarefaction and extrapolation with network diversity; and (iv) estimation of the degree of unevenness or specialization in networks based on standardized diversity. Interaction data between European trees and saproxylic beetles are used to illustrate the proposed procedures. The software iNEXT.link has been developed to facilitate all computations and graphics. This article is part of the theme issue 'Detecting and attributing the causes of biodiversity change: needs, gaps and solutions'.

Conifers and non-native tree species shift trophic niches of generalist arthropod predators in Central European beech forests.

BACKGROUND: Functional diversity is vital for forest ecosystem resilience in times of climate-induced forest diebacks. Admixing drought resistant non-native Douglas fir, as a partial replacement of climate-sensitive Norway spruce, to native beech forests in Europe appears promising for forest management, but possible consequences for associated biota and ecosystem functioning are poorly understood. To better link forest management and functional diversity of associated biota, we investigated the trophic niches (∆13C, ∆15N) of epigeic generalist predators (spiders and ground beetles) in mixed and pure stands of European beech, Norway spruce and non-native Douglas fir in north-west Germany. We assessed the multidimensional niche structure of arthropod predator communities using community-based isotopic metrics. RESULTS: Whilst arthropod ∆13C differed most between beech (high ∆13C) and coniferous stands (low ∆13C), ∆15N was lowest in non-native Douglas fir. Tree mixtures mitigated these effects. Further, conifers increased isotopic ranges and isotopic richness, which is linked to higher canopy openness and herb complexity. Isotopic divergence of ground beetles decreased with Douglas fir presence, and isotopic evenness of spiders in Douglas fir stands was lower in loamy sites with higher precipitation than in sandy, drier sites. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that tree species and particularly non-native trees alter the trophic niche structure of generalist arthropod predators. Resource use and feeding niche breadth in non-native Douglas fir and native spruce differed significantly from native beech, with more decomposer-fueled and narrower feeding niches in beech stands (∆13C, isotopic ranges and richness). Arthropod predators in non-native Douglas fir, however, had shorter (∆15N) and simplified (isotopic divergence) food chains compared to native forest stands; especially under beneficial abiotic conditions (isotopic evenness). These findings indicate potential adverse effects of Douglas fir on functional diversity of generalist arthropod predators. As tree mixtures mitigated differences between beech and conifers, mixed stands including (non-native) conifers constitute a promising compromise between economic and conservational interests.