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Effects of Management on Beetle Diversity of Chalk-River Floodplains

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Effects of Management on Beetle Diversity of Chalk-River Floodplains Beetle diversity of chalk river floodplains Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University College London 1 by VICTORIA SHEPHERD Department of Geography University College London December 2013 1 I, VICTORIA SHEPHERD confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. VICTORIA SHEPHERD 2 Abstract Anthropogenic land use changes have increasingly altered and fragmented floodplain landscapes. While the impacts of these alterations are being recognised for many plant and vertebrate taxa, limited information is available for highly diverse invertebrate families. Using a variety of approaches to diversity measurement, this thesis investigates carabid and staphylinid beetle assemblages across a range of chalk floodplain habitats in Norfolk, England. It aims to establish the roles anthropogenic and environmental factors play in shaping their communities in order to inform tailored conservation practices. Site management was identified as the dominant influence on beetle assemblages, underpinning the development of distinct communities amongst floodplain meadow, fen and woodland habitats. Surrounding landscape configuration also influenced beetle assemblages, confirming the wide-ranging, multi-faceted impacts of anthropogenic land use changes. Beetle communities in floodplain woodlands were both specimen- and species-rich across the highly heterogeneous forest microhabitats hosted within. Functional diversity analysis highlighted the vulnerability of certain functional groups to management and fragmentation. It confirmed the importance of conserving remaining remnants of natural floodplain woodlands to support vulnerable beetle communities. Floodplain fens harboured rare species, while their overall beetle diversity was surprisingly low. This was attributed to their limited habitat extent, fragmented distribution, and potentially legacies of past land use. This thesis suggests that traditional management regimes must be maintained in fen habitats, and their connectivity promoted, to safeguard and restore the unique biological communities supported within. This study highlights the importance of adopting habitat-specific conservation objectives to ensure the persistence of specialist species, whilst maintaining a matrix of different floodplain habitats to preserve wider catchment diversity. As anthropogenic impacts on floodplain environments will continue, the potential role of beetles in biodiversity research and conservation, and in particular of staphylinid beetles that dominate the floodplain ground fauna, warrants increasing interest and recognition. 3 Acknowledgements Over the past five years I have received support and encouragement from a great number of individuals, only some of whom it is possible to give particular mention to here. First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisors, Jan Axmacher and Carl Sayer who never failed to support, encourage and have faith in me. To Dr Jan Axmacher who can explain even the most complex of biodiversity statistics, whose attention to detail drove me to finally learn to punctuate academic prose and whose mindfulness about my work/life balance made me slow down, take a step back and really enjoy my PhD. The good advice, support and friendship of my second supervisor, Dr Carl Sayer, has also been invaluable. His enthusiasm for North Norfolk is infectious and his idiom ‘there’s no such thing as a problem, only solutions’ allowed me to keep a level head during fieldwork and will stay with me through every challenge. I would like to acknowledge the financial and academic support of UCL Department of Geography, particularly in the award of a Postgraduate Teaching Assistantship. I would also like to give thanks to the UCL Graduate School, University of London Central Research Fund and National Trust for contributing financially to my fieldwork. Thanks also go to the various landowners along the River Glaven and River Bure for site access and generous hospitality, and to Mez de Meyer at the MoD Stanford Training Area. Particular thanks go to all of those in the River Glaven Conservation Group and Dave Brody of the National Trust, whose fantastic work has kept and continues to keep the magic of chalk streams (and their floodplains!) alive. In particular, a special thanks goes to Dr Ian Shepherd whose passion to understand and conserve the River Glaven catchment knows no bounds. The enduring fieldwork programme would not have been possible without the contribution of many intrepid helpers, so a special thanks goes to Izzy Jones, Tony Leech, Luca Marazzi, Chris Oehlert, Ian Patmore and my Mum and Dad, Veronica and Neil Shepherd. In particular Tony Leech was so generous with his time and on more than one occasion saved me from an inquisitive bull! A special thanks also goes to Ian Patmore for his ingenious inventions to make my life easier and fieldwork more efficient. Additionally, thanks go to Jackie and Roger Rudd at Roper Farm B&B who provided a home from home and taught me a thing or two about cattle farming! 4 Starting out in coleopterology would have been all the more scary if it were not for the encouragement, knowledge and mentoring of Peter Hammond. I would also like to thank Martin Collier for not laughing at my first attempts at mounting specimens, for verifying many samples and for his contagious passion for beetles. I am also so grateful to all those who contribute to R, the software which while making my life more frustrating at times, also made statistics accessible, enabled me to access the full potential of my data and also reinvigorated my passion for maths. Completing this work would have been nigh on impossible were it not for the support and encouragement of my friends and family, thank you for helping me to remain vaguely sane for the last few years in the midst of my PhD, multiple jobs and attempts to maintain a social life. A very important thanks goes to Sue Gibbs whose time and dedication helped me over the final hurdle. Great thanks go to my Mum and Dad (again!) whose car mileage might have seen better days after a fieldwork season, but whose love, support, and unending belief I could not be without. Thanks also to my Grandma, Rosemary Gower-Jones, who provided write-up-facilities-with-a-view and home cooked food to fuel the inspiration. Finally, I am indebted to my husband Rick, who made innumerable sacrifices, countless cooked dinners and provided immeasurable emotional support to enable me to pursue my dream of learning more. 5 Table of Contents Abstract.............................................................................................................................................. 3 Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... 4 Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................ 6 List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. 10 List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ 12 Chapter 1. Introduction................................................................................................ 17 1.1 Biodiversity ........................................................................................................................ 17 1.1.1 What is biodiversity? ............................................................................................................. 17 1.1.2 Measuring biodiversity ........................................................................................................ 19 1.1.3 Biodiversity loss ...................................................................................................................... 21 1.2 Beetle diversity ................................................................................................................. 23 1.2.1 Carabidae ................................................................................................................................... 24 1.2.2 Staphylinidae ............................................................................................................................ 25 1.2.3 Conservation of beetle diversity ....................................................................................... 29 1.3 Floodplains ......................................................................................................................... 30 1.3.1 Definitions ................................................................................................................................. 30 1.3.2 Floodplain biodiversity ........................................................................................................ 30 1.3.3 Anthropogenic impacts on floodplains .......................................................................... 32 1.3.4 Consequences of anthropogenic impacts for floodplain biodiversity .............. 34 1.3.5 Floodplain conservation and restoration ..................................................................... 36 1.4 Context for this thesis ..................................................................................................... 38 1.5 Aims and research questions ......................................................................................
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