Biodiversity of arthropods living in dead wood is often understudied despite their potential effects on ecological processes such as wood decomposition and nutrient cycling. More time-efficient and less destructive methods are needed to study these saproxylic organisms to fully understand their global diversity. Because ecoacoustic methods have never been applied to saproxylic communities before, field and analytical methods such as waveguides, and soundproofing were developed, tested, and optimized. After developed methods were implemented in the field, Pearson's correlation tests were conducted to compare ecoacoustic index performance to traditional biodiversity indices. We found five significant correlations, all of which occurred at our Mississippi site, and all but one of which were negative correlations. Ecoacoustic indices performed best when correlated with order richness. Significance present in our study shows potential for ecoacoustics as a non-destructive method to study saproxylic arthropods, but methods still have room for improvement to optimize field application.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:MSSTATE/oai:scholarsjunction.msstate.edu:td-6125 |
| Date | 30 April 2021 |
| Creators | McAndrew, Kristy Marie |
| Publisher | Scholars Junction |
| Source Sets | Mississippi State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Theses and Dissertations |
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