|Appears in Collections:||Biological and Environmental Sciences Journal Articles|
|Peer Review Status:||Refereed|
|Title:||Ground-dwelling spider diversity in rare European oak and yew woodlands and the impact of grazing|
Killarney National Park
|Citation:||Fuller L, Newman M, Irwin S, Kelly T & O'Halloran J (2014) Ground-dwelling spider diversity in rare European oak and yew woodlands and the impact of grazing, Biodiversity and Conservation, 23 (8), pp. 1911-1929.|
|Abstract:||In Ireland only 2% of the total land area is native woodland, which tends to be small and fragmented. Killarney National Park in south-west Ireland contains the most extensive semi-natural woodland in the country, and includes oak (Quercus petraea) and yew (Taxus baccata) woodlands which are internationally protected. Here, over-grazing by large populations of red deer (Cervus elaphus) and Asian sika deer (Cervus nippon) have lead to changes in overstory and understory vegetation species composition and structure. This study presents the first description of ground-dwelling spider fauna in the rare woodlands of Killarney National Park and asked (1) do these rare woodlands support rare or specialist species, (2) does deer grazing have an effect on spider abundance, richness and species composition in the park, (3) what management recommendations can be made for deer in the park? Active ground-dwelling spiders were sampled in the oak and yew woodlands of the park by pitfall trapping within deer-proof exclosures and adjacent grazed controls. Four spider species classified as vulnerable were collected from these woodlands:Agyneta subtilisoccurred in the oak and yew woodlands butSaaristoa firma,Tapinocyba insectaandWalckenaeria dysderoideswere collected only in the oak woodland. Killarney National Park may be important for five species, not typically found in plantation forests, which rely on nationally scarce habitats. Deer grazing was linked with decreased ground-dwelling spider abundance and species richness in the oak woodland by reducing structural diversity of the habitat. Fewer effects of grazing were detected in the yew woodland, possibly due to increased culling in the area. Results provide evidence that controlling deer grazing is important for woodland biodiversity in Killarney National Park. Incorporating deer into woodland management in the park is recommended to maintain low grazing levels which will prevent woodland closure and maintain ground vegetation diversity.|
|Rights:||The publisher does not allow this work to be made publicly available in this Repository. Please use the Request a Copy feature at the foot of the Repository record to request a copy directly from the author. You can only request a copy if you wish to use this work for your own research or private study.|
|Fuller et al 2014 - Grazing.pdf||635.79 kB||Adobe PDF||Under Permanent Embargo Request a copy|
Note: If any of the files in this item are currently embargoed, you can request a copy directly from the author by clicking the padlock icon above. However, this facility is dependent on the depositor still being contactable at their original email address.
This item is protected by original copyright
Items in the Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.
If you believe that any material held in STORRE infringes copyright, please contact email@example.com providing details and we will remove the Work from public display in STORRE and investigate your claim.