caa a22 4500 605527237 CHVBK 20210128100807.0 cr unu---uuuuu 210128e20150901xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s10531-015-0929-1 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s10531-015-0929-1 Dwarf pine: invasive plant threatens biodiversity of alpine beetles [Elektronische Daten] [J. Kašák, M. Mazalová, J. Šipoš, T. Kuras] Despite their small extent, alpine ecosystems belong to the most valuable, yet highly threatened natural biotopes worldwide. Alpine habitats are endangered particularly by anthropogenic influences and climate change as well as invasions of non-native plants. Although plant invasions are regarded as one of the most serious threats to biodiversity globally, the knowledge of their impact on the arthropod assemblages of alpine environments is virtually absent. Therefore, we studied the effects of the non-native dwarf pine Pinus mugo on a model group of carabid beetles in the alpine zone of the Hrubý Jeseník Mts., Czech Republic. We evaluated the effects of age, cover and distance from dwarf pine stands on the community structure and the functional diversity of the Carabidae. The majority of the species significantly declined in abundance with increasing age and cover of dwarf pine stands. Species surviving there were typically food generalists associated with the forest environment. In contrast, carabids with high conservation value bound to open habitats (e.g., Amara erratica and Carabus sylvestris) decreased in dwarf pine areas as well as food specialists (e.g., Cychrus caraboides) and large forest species in the genus Carabus. The decline in abundance of carnivorous species may be a consequence of the similar decline in herbivores dependent on the native vegetation. Concurring with this interpretation, abundance of many herbivorous species (e.g. Amara spp.) decreased within pine stands. The negative effect of dwarf pine stands on the community structure of montane carabids was also apparent in changes of functional diversity. Age and cover of dwarf pine significantly decreased functional richness and divergence of carabid trophic groups. Considering the small area of alpine tundra in the Central European mountain ranges, the expansive dwarf pine represents a serious threat to this unique montane biodiversity. Therefore we recommend the immediate reduction or removal of non-native dwarf pine stands. Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht, 2015 Alpine ecosystems nationallicence Carabidae nationallicence Coleoptera nationallicence Functional diversity nationallicence Hrubý Jeseník Mts nationallicence Pinus mugo nationallicence Kašák J. Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Palacký University in Olomouc, 17. listopadu 50, 779 00, Olomouc, Czech Republic aut Mazalová M. Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Palacký University in Olomouc, Šlechtitelů 11, 783 71, Olomouc, Holice, Czech Republic aut Šipoš J. Department of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Science, University of Ostrava, Chittussiho 10, 710 00, Ostrava, Czech Republic aut Kuras T. Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Palacký University in Olomouc, Šlechtitelů 11, 783 71, Olomouc, Holice, Czech Republic aut Biodiversity and Conservation Springer Netherlands 24/10(2015-09-01), 2399-2415 0960-3115 24:10<2399 2015 24 10531 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-015-0929-1 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-015-0929-1 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Kašák J. Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Palacký University in Olomouc, 17. listopadu 50, 779 00, Olomouc, Czech Republic aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Mazalová M. Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Palacký University in Olomouc, Šlechtitelů 11, 783 71, Olomouc, Holice, Czech Republic aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Šipoš J. Department of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Science, University of Ostrava, Chittussiho 10, 710 00, Ostrava, Czech Republic aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Kuras T. Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Palacký University in Olomouc, Šlechtitelů 11, 783 71, Olomouc, Holice, Czech Republic aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Biodiversity and Conservation Springer Netherlands 24/10(2015-09-01), 2399-2415 0960-3115 24:10<2399 2015 24 10531