Assessing the effects of climate change on arthropod abundance in Azorean pastures: PASTURCLIM project's baseline monitoring data

Sophie Wallon; Catarina Melo; Noelline Tsafack; Rui B Elias; Paulo A V Borges

doi:10.3897/BDJ.11.e103723

Assessing the effects of climate change on arthropod abundance in Azorean pastures: PASTURCLIM project's baseline monitoring data

Biodivers Data J. 2023 Apr 28:11:e103723. doi: 10.3897/BDJ.11.e103723. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Sophie Wallon¹, Catarina Melo^{1

2}, Noelline Tsafack^{1

3}, Rui B Elias¹, Paulo A V Borges^{4

1}

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c)/Azorean Biodiversity Group, CHANGE - Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Environment, University of the Azores, Rua Capitão João d´Ávila, Pico da Urze, 9700-042, Angra do Heroísmo, Azores, Portugal Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c)/Azorean Biodiversity Group, CHANGE - Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Environment, University of the Azores, Rua Capitão João d´Ávila, Pico da Urze, 9700-042 Angra do Heroísmo, Azores Portugal.
² CFE - Centre for Functional Ecology, 3001-401 Coimbra, Portugal CFE - Centre for Functional Ecology 3001-401 Coimbra Portugal.
³ Regional Secretariat of Environment and Climate Change, Project LIFE BEETLES (LIFE 18NAT/PT/000864), Rua do Galo n118, 9700-040, Angra do Heroísmo, Azores, Portugal Regional Secretariat of Environment and Climate Change, Project LIFE BEETLES (LIFE 18NAT/PT/000864), Rua do Galo n118, 9700-040 Angra do Heroísmo, Azores Portugal.
⁴ IUCN SSC Mid-Atlantic Islands Invertebrate Specialist Group, Angra do Heroísmo, Azores, Portugal IUCN SSC Mid-Atlantic Islands Invertebrate Specialist Group Angra do Heroísmo, Azores Portugal.

Abstract

Background: The data we present are part of the project PASTURCLIM (Impact of climate change on pasture's productivity and nutritional composition in the Azores). The project aims to assess the consequences of climate change (e.g. temperature increase) on the grass production and its quality for forage, as well as to assess changes in the arthropod communities associated with the Azorean intensive pastures. An in situ experiment was set up using Open Top Chambers (OTCs), in order to simulate an increasing of temperature (average of +1.2ºC) on pastures. In this contribution, we present the data relative to the arthropod sampling.

New information: We provide an inventory of all arthropods recorded inside OTCs and in control plots in three intensively managed pastures dominated by grasses in Terceira Island (Azores): two of them dominated by ryegrass, Loliummultiflorum Lam. (Poaceae), located respectively at 186 m and 301 m above sea level; and one field dominated by common velvetgrass, Holcuslanatus L. (Poaceae), located at an altitude of 385 m.A total of 41351 specimens were collected. Organisms collected belong to four classes, 15 orders, 60 families and 171 species/morphospecies (including 34 taxa identified only at order, family or genus level). Therefore, for only 137 taxa, we have a scientific name associated (n = 38918). A total of 75% of the species (n = 129 species) are considered introduced (including all the species with indeterminate colonisation status that are possibly also exotic species (n = 7622)), representing 71% of the total abundance (n = 29664 specimens). A total of 19% of the species (n = 33 species) are considered native non-endemic representing 28% of the total abundance (n = 11608 specimens). Only one endemic species was sampled, the wolf spider Pardosaacorensis Simon, 1883 (1% of the species), representing 0.2% of the total abundance (n = 79 specimens). Spiders (5056 specimens) and beetles (18310 specimens) were the dominant taxa representing, respectively, 20 and 78 morphospecies.Since the main aim of this study was to have a better knowledge on arthropod communities present in Azorean pastures under a simulated temperature increase, the principal novelty of this paper is the contribution with distribution and abundance data to a baseline knowledge on the future consequences of climate changes on arthropod communities in Azorean pastures.

Keywords: Open Top Chamber; arthropods; climate change; grasses; pasture; pitfall traps..

Sophie Wallon, Catarina Melo, Noelline Tsafack, Rui B. Elias, Paulo A.V. Borges.

Grants and funding

This work was funded by the project PASTURCLIM (ACORES-01-0145-FEDER-000082) financed by FEDER in 85% and by Azorean Public funds by 15% through Operational Programme Azores 2020. All authors were also funded by FCT-UIDB/00329/2020-2024 (Thematic Line 1 – integrated ecological assessment of environmental change on biodiversity) and Azores DRCT Pluriannual Funding (M1.1.A/FUNC.UI&D/010/2021-2024). Darwin-Core and GBIF management were funded by the project Portal da Biodiversidade dos Açores (2022-2023) - PO Azores Project - M1.1.A/INFRAEST CIENT/001/2022. SW is currently being funded by the Ph.D. Grant DRCT - M3.1.a/F/018/2020.