The Influence of Fire on Illinois Hill Prairie Auchenorrhyncha (Insecta
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J Insect Conserv (2012) 16:433–445 DOI 10.1007/s10841-011-9430-7 ORIGINAL PAPER The influence of fire on Illinois hill prairie Auchenorrhyncha (Insecta: Hemiptera) diversity and integrity Adam M. Wallner • Brenda Molano-Flores • Christopher H. Dietrich Received: 25 January 2011 / Accepted: 23 July 2011 / Published online: 12 August 2011 Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011 Abstract Prescribed burning has been important in than sites undergoing burn management. In order for land maintaining the structure of plant communities in the managers to maintain the prairie Auchenorrhyncha com- tallgrass prairie. However, implementation of these burn munity and conserve vascular plants, this study recom- regimes often overlooks responses of other taxa, particu- mends infrequent rotational burning with a minimum of larly arthropods. In this study, the timing and frequency of 3–5 years; although additional studies are needed to burns were examined on one of the most diverse and determine the appropriate number of years between each abundant groups of herbivorous insects, Auchenorrhyncha. burn. These insects are ideal candidates in understanding the effects of fire on prairie arthropods because they are among Keywords Auchenorrhyncha Á Habitat quality index Á the most numerous invertebrate herbivores in the prairie Tallgrass prairie Á Prescribed burning Á Hill prairie and they have ecological characteristics that confer a wide range of responses to prescribed burning. A total of 19 Illinois hill prairies were sampled along the Mississippi and Introduction Sangamon Rivers in the summer of 2006 using a modified leaf-blower vacuum. These sites exhibited a wide range of Historically, fire has played a significant role in the burn management, from unburned to recently burned, and maintenance of North American tallgrass prairies (Gleason having been burned multiple times. Species richness, 1913; Anderson 1990; Collins and Gibson 1990; Robertson Auchenorrhyncha Quality Index (with and without abun- et al. 1997). Burning can prevent invasion of trees and dance data) and the mean coefficient of conservatism (with shrubs (Gibson and Hulbert 1987) and reduce the spread of and without abundance data) were calculated for each site. invasive non-prairie species (Anderson 1972; Wilson and Results suggest that unburned sites supported the greatest Stubbendieck 1997). Burning also can stimulate plant number of species and had higher Auchenorrhyncha productivity, increase native perennial grass abundance, Quality Index and mean coefficient of conservatism values and aid in the production of seedlings (Anderson 1965; Glenn-Lewin et al. 1990; Seastedt and Ramundo 1990) although these increases in plant productivity is dependent on the timing of fire (Bragg 1995; Jog et al. 2006). Elim- & A. M. Wallner ( ) ination of fire on prairie remnants has lead to an annual loss United States Department of Agriculture, APHIS, 151 W. Bolyston Dr., Worcester, MA 01606, USA of 0.45–1.03% of plant species (Leach and Givnish 1996), e-mail: [email protected] potentially reducing ecological integrity of these remnants. In an attempt to reverse these changes fire has been re- B. Molano-Flores Á C. H. Dietrich introduced or increased on these remnants under highly Illinois Natural History Survey, University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, 1816 S. Oak Street, Champaign, IL 61820, USA prescribed conditions (Johnson et al. 2008). Controlled e-mail: [email protected] burning has now become a frequently used management C. H. Dietrich tool for improving prairie remnant quality (Wright and e-mail: [email protected] Bailey 1980; Collins and Gibson 1990). 123 434 J Insect Conserv (2012) 16:433–445 Despite these advantages prescribed burning has had a specifically, these insects will be used to examine the fol- wide range of effects on other diverse and abundant groups lowing questions: (1) what is the response of prairie Auc- of prairie organisms, in particular terrestrial arthropods henorrhyncha integrity (i.e., the native species that should (Rice 1932; Cancelado and Yonke 1970; Riechert and be present given that their host plants occur on Illinois hill Reeder 1970; Nagel 1973; McCabe 1981; Opler 1981; prairies) and diversity after prescribed burns; and (2) how Hansen 1986; Anderson et al. 1989; Bock and Bock 1991; does burn frequency influence prairie Auchenorrhyncha Dana 1991; Orwig 1992; Fay and Samenus 1993; Hamilton integrity and diversity. Since many prairie Auchenorrhyn- 1995; Swengel 1996; Reed 1997; Harper et al. 2000; cha exhibit life history traits (e.g., low mobility, overwinter Panzer and Schwartz 2000; Swengel 2001; Panzer 2003). in dead vegetation or duff, and have low numbers of gen- Swengel (1996) observed that most conservative butterflies erations) that make them vulnerable to fire (Hamilton 1995; inhabit sites that have not been burned for 4 or more years, Reed 1997; Nickel 2003; Hamilton and Whitcomb 2010), whereas highly vagile butterflies, such as orange sulfurs, we hypothesize that prairie Auchenorrhyncha integrity and monarchs, and cabbage whites were common on burned diversity will respond negatively to recent and frequent sites. Evans (1984, 1988) found that sites unburned for burning. 4 years or more supported more fire sensitive, forbs-feed- ing grasshoppers whereas grasshoppers specializing on grasses were more abundant on sites burned annually or Methods biennially. On the other hand, Panzer (2002) found that most prairie-restricted insects, from seven insect orders, re- Study sites colonized recently burned sites after 2 years or less. Carabid beetles (Larsen and Williams 1999), prairie ants We sampled 19 Illinois hill prairies along the Mississippi (Trager 1990), and spiders (Halvorsen and Anderson 1980) and Sangamon Rivers in the summer of 2006 (Fig. 1). were unaffected by burning. Study sites extended from Monroe County to Jo Daviess Because terrestrial arthropods display a great degree of County. These sites ranged in size from 0.1 to 7 acres variation in response to controlled burning, no single burn (Table 1). Many of these sites were maintained by con- management program to protect all arthropods has been trolled burn management: 6 sites had not been burned in successful. For instance, some studies show that 3-years 30 years (i.e. unburned), 3 sites were recently burned in the rotational burns (Reed 1997) are adequate, other studies spring of 2006 (i.e. 0 year), 4 sites were burned in have found that 2-years rotational burns are successful the spring of 2005 (i.e. 1 year), 3 sites were burned in the (Panzer 2002), and other studies have found that a com- spring of 2004 (i.e., 2 year), and 3 sites were burned bination of rotational burning combined with an unburned between the spring of 2001 and 2003 (i.e., 3–5 years) refuge were effective in conserving many prairie-inhabit- (Table 1). Also, these sites displayed a range in burn fre- ing butterflies (Swengel and Swengel 2006). Additional quency: 5 sites were burned once, 3 sites were burned studies based on other diverse groups of prairie arthropods twice, and 5 sites were burned more than twice (Table 1). are required to provide land managers with a more com- Besides timing and frequency of prescribed burns at the plete understanding of the role of fire on terrestrial study sites, limited information was available regarding the arthropod communities. This information would aid land implementation of these prescribed burns (e.g., rotational managers in developing burn management practices that burns vs. entire unit) or other management practices (e.g., are less harmful to terrestrial arthropods, and in so doing grazing). Land management history was provided by land conserve a greater proportion of the prairie biota. managers and land owners. The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of Study sites were surrounded by secondary growth forest prescribed burning on Auchenorrhyncha (i.e., leafhoppers, and dominated by prairie grasses, such as Boueloua curti- planthoppers, spittle bugs, treehoppers, and cicadas), with pendula (Side Oats Grama), Schizachyrium scoparium the intent of providing new insights in the design and (Little Bluestem), and Andropogon gerardii (Big Blue- implementation of burn management practices in prairies. stem) and forbs, such as Amorpha canescens (lead plant). Auchenorrhyncha are ideal candidates in understanding the Furthermore, the majority of these sites, such as hill prai- effects of fire on prairie arthropods because are they among ries in Monroe and Randolph counties (Fig. 1), was once the most numerous invertebrate herbivores in the prairie, part of a large complex of sites with similar plant species including many species restricted to prairie habitats and composition (Evers 1955; Robertson et al. 1995), and thus they have ecological characteristics that confer a wide should harbor a similar Auchenorrhyncha fauna that are range of responses to prescribed burning (Hamilton 1995; comparable between sites. Lastly, all prairies surveyed for Harper et al. 2000; Panzer 1988; Panzer and Schwartz this study were loess hill prairies, which are island-like 2000, 2002, 2003; Hamilton and Whitcomb 2010). More openings of prairie that occur on steep slopes surrounded 123 J Insect Conserv (2012) 16:433–445 435 Fig. 1 Distribution of 19 hill prairie remnants sampled within the Illinois tallgrass prairie, USA. Circles in selected Illinois counties represent the general location of each hill prairie sampled. Map was obtained from http://www. nationalatlas.gov/