Traits reveal ecological strategies driving carrion insect community assembly

Evans, MJ; Wallman, JF; Barton, PS

Traits reveal ecological strategies driving carrion insect community assembly

Evans, MJ Wallman, JF Barton, PS

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Publisher:: Wiley
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Ecological Entomology, 2020, 45, (5), pp. 966-977
Issue Date:: 2020-10-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Evans, MJ
dc.contributor.author	Wallman, JF
dc.contributor.author	Barton, PS
dc.date.accessioned	2020-10-16T05:29:17Z
dc.date.available	2020-10-16T05:29:17Z
dc.date.issued	2020-10-01
dc.identifier.citation	Ecological Entomology, 2020, 45, (5), pp. 966-977
dc.identifier.issn	0307-6946
dc.identifier.issn	1365-2311
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/143306
dc.description.abstract	© 2020 The Royal Entomological Society 1. The succession of carrion-associated (necrophilous) insects on decomposing carrion is well documented. To exploit the changing nutritious and dynamic resources available throughout the carrion decomposition process, different species colonise and consume carrion in a predictable temporal sequence. The traits of these necrophilous insects should reflect their ecological strategies. Morphological traits of these insects, such as body size and wing size, however, have not previously been examined during active and advanced decomposition. 2. We used fourth-corner multivariate generalised linear models to identify insect community morphological trait patterns and to quantify their change through time on decomposing rabbit carcasses in grassland and woodland environments. 3. We found that larger-bodied species of flies and carrion-specialist beetles were associated with the early stages of decomposition. The morphological traits of ants, in contrast, showed no changes at carcasses through time and instead showed body size differences between grassland and woodland environments. 4. Our findings indicate that specialist flies and beetles that arrive early in the decomposition process possess traits that enable rapid discovery of carrion at a large scale. Generalist beetles and ants do not share this same trait and are instead adapted to locate and consume a wider variety of resources in their preferred habitat type at their local scale. 5. Our results provide insights into the morphological adaptations linked to the ecological strategies of distinct components of carrion insect communities. Further, our results offer insights into the community assembly dynamics that structure the communities of necrophilous insect species.
dc.language	en
dc.publisher	Wiley
dc.relation.ispartof	Ecological Entomology
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1111/een.12869
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess
dc.subject	0501 Ecological Applications, 0602 Ecology, 0608 Zoology
dc.subject.classification	Entomology
dc.title	Traits reveal ecological strategies driving carrion insect community assembly
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	45
utslib.for	0501 Ecological Applications
utslib.for	0602 Ecology
utslib.for	0608 Zoology
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science/School of Life Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access	*
pubs.consider-herdc	false
dc.date.updated	2020-10-16T05:29:01Z
pubs.issue	5
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	45
utslib.citation.issue	5

Abstract:

© 2020 The Royal Entomological Society 1. The succession of carrion-associated (necrophilous) insects on decomposing carrion is well documented. To exploit the changing nutritious and dynamic resources available throughout the carrion decomposition process, different species colonise and consume carrion in a predictable temporal sequence. The traits of these necrophilous insects should reflect their ecological strategies. Morphological traits of these insects, such as body size and wing size, however, have not previously been examined during active and advanced decomposition. 2. We used fourth-corner multivariate generalised linear models to identify insect community morphological trait patterns and to quantify their change through time on decomposing rabbit carcasses in grassland and woodland environments. 3. We found that larger-bodied species of flies and carrion-specialist beetles were associated with the early stages of decomposition. The morphological traits of ants, in contrast, showed no changes at carcasses through time and instead showed body size differences between grassland and woodland environments. 4. Our findings indicate that specialist flies and beetles that arrive early in the decomposition process possess traits that enable rapid discovery of carrion at a large scale. Generalist beetles and ants do not share this same trait and are instead adapted to locate and consume a wider variety of resources in their preferred habitat type at their local scale. 5. Our results provide insights into the morphological adaptations linked to the ecological strategies of distinct components of carrion insect communities. Further, our results offer insights into the community assembly dynamics that structure the communities of necrophilous insect species.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/143306