Ecosystem Birth near Melting Glaciers: A Review on the Pioneer Role of Ground-Dwelling Arthropods
As glaciers retreat, their forelands represent “natural laboratories” for the study of primary succession. This review describes how certain arthropods conquer pristine ground and develop food webs before the establishment of vascular plants. Based on soil samples, pitfall traps, fallout and sticky...
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ftmdpi:oai:mdpi.com:/2075-4450/11/9/644/ 2023-08-20T04:04:41+02:00 Ecosystem Birth near Melting Glaciers: A Review on the Pioneer Role of Ground-Dwelling Arthropods Sigmund Hågvar Mauro Gobbi Rüdiger Kaufmann María Ingimarsdóttir Marco Caccianiga Barbara Valle Paolo Pantini Pietro Paolo Fanciulli Amber Vater agris 2020-09-19 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.3390/insects11090644 EN eng Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute Insect Ecology, Diversity and Conservation https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects11090644 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Insects; Volume 11; Issue 9; Pages: 644 arthropods Collembola food web foreland glacier pioneers succession Text 2020 ftmdpi https://doi.org/10.3390/insects11090644 2023-08-01T00:08:32Z As glaciers retreat, their forelands represent “natural laboratories” for the study of primary succession. This review describes how certain arthropods conquer pristine ground and develop food webs before the establishment of vascular plants. Based on soil samples, pitfall traps, fallout and sticky traps, gut content studies, and some unpublished data, we compare early arthropod succession on glacial forelands of northern Europe (Iceland, Norway including Svalbard, and Sweden) and of the Alps (Austria, Italy). While macroarthropod predators like ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae), harvestmen (Arachnida: Opiliones), and spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) have usually been considered as pioneers, assumed to feed on airborne prey, this review explains a different pattern. Here, we highlight that springtails (Collembola), probably feeding on biofilm made up of algae or cyanobacteria, are super-pioneers, even at high altitudes and under arctic conditions. We also point out that macroarthropod predators can use locally available prey, such as springtails or non-biting midges (Diptera: Chironomidae). Pioneer arthropod communities vary under different biogeographical and climatic conditions. Two pioneer food webs, from northern Europe and the Alps, respectively, differed in structure and function. However, certain genera and orders were common to both. Generalists and specialists live together in a pioneer community. Cold-adapted specialists are threatened by glacier melting. Text Arctic glacier glacier glacier Iceland Svalbard MDPI Open Access Publishing Arctic Norway Svalbard Insects 11 9 644 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
MDPI Open Access Publishing |
op_collection_id |
ftmdpi |
language |
English |
topic |
arthropods Collembola food web foreland glacier pioneers succession |
spellingShingle |
arthropods Collembola food web foreland glacier pioneers succession Sigmund Hågvar Mauro Gobbi Rüdiger Kaufmann María Ingimarsdóttir Marco Caccianiga Barbara Valle Paolo Pantini Pietro Paolo Fanciulli Amber Vater Ecosystem Birth near Melting Glaciers: A Review on the Pioneer Role of Ground-Dwelling Arthropods |
topic_facet |
arthropods Collembola food web foreland glacier pioneers succession |
description |
As glaciers retreat, their forelands represent “natural laboratories” for the study of primary succession. This review describes how certain arthropods conquer pristine ground and develop food webs before the establishment of vascular plants. Based on soil samples, pitfall traps, fallout and sticky traps, gut content studies, and some unpublished data, we compare early arthropod succession on glacial forelands of northern Europe (Iceland, Norway including Svalbard, and Sweden) and of the Alps (Austria, Italy). While macroarthropod predators like ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae), harvestmen (Arachnida: Opiliones), and spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) have usually been considered as pioneers, assumed to feed on airborne prey, this review explains a different pattern. Here, we highlight that springtails (Collembola), probably feeding on biofilm made up of algae or cyanobacteria, are super-pioneers, even at high altitudes and under arctic conditions. We also point out that macroarthropod predators can use locally available prey, such as springtails or non-biting midges (Diptera: Chironomidae). Pioneer arthropod communities vary under different biogeographical and climatic conditions. Two pioneer food webs, from northern Europe and the Alps, respectively, differed in structure and function. However, certain genera and orders were common to both. Generalists and specialists live together in a pioneer community. Cold-adapted specialists are threatened by glacier melting. |
format |
Text |
author |
Sigmund Hågvar Mauro Gobbi Rüdiger Kaufmann María Ingimarsdóttir Marco Caccianiga Barbara Valle Paolo Pantini Pietro Paolo Fanciulli Amber Vater |
author_facet |
Sigmund Hågvar Mauro Gobbi Rüdiger Kaufmann María Ingimarsdóttir Marco Caccianiga Barbara Valle Paolo Pantini Pietro Paolo Fanciulli Amber Vater |
author_sort |
Sigmund Hågvar |
title |
Ecosystem Birth near Melting Glaciers: A Review on the Pioneer Role of Ground-Dwelling Arthropods |
title_short |
Ecosystem Birth near Melting Glaciers: A Review on the Pioneer Role of Ground-Dwelling Arthropods |
title_full |
Ecosystem Birth near Melting Glaciers: A Review on the Pioneer Role of Ground-Dwelling Arthropods |
title_fullStr |
Ecosystem Birth near Melting Glaciers: A Review on the Pioneer Role of Ground-Dwelling Arthropods |
title_full_unstemmed |
Ecosystem Birth near Melting Glaciers: A Review on the Pioneer Role of Ground-Dwelling Arthropods |
title_sort |
ecosystem birth near melting glaciers: a review on the pioneer role of ground-dwelling arthropods |
publisher |
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/insects11090644 |
op_coverage |
agris |
geographic |
Arctic Norway Svalbard |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Norway Svalbard |
genre |
Arctic glacier glacier glacier Iceland Svalbard |
genre_facet |
Arctic glacier glacier glacier Iceland Svalbard |
op_source |
Insects; Volume 11; Issue 9; Pages: 644 |
op_relation |
Insect Ecology, Diversity and Conservation https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects11090644 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/insects11090644 |
container_title |
Insects |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
9 |
container_start_page |
644 |
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1774715054837465088 |