Colonization of restored peatlands by insects : Diptera assemblages in mined and restored bogs in eastern Canada

The impact of peatland restoration on Diptera assemblages was studied across multiple organizational levels (taxon, size class, trophic group) among abandoned-mined, restored and natural sites of three bogs and the environmental variables affecting those assemblages were determined. More than 22,000 individuals representing 716 species were collected using pan traps, sweeping and Malaise traps. Restored and abandoned sites were similar to each other and both distinct from natural sites as shown by small-size class, acalyptrate and trophic assemblages. However, abandoned sites showed much lower evenness and generally supported lower species richness than restored and natural sites, due to the dominance of one or two saprophagous species. The coverage of bare peat, Sphagnum mosses and ericaceous shrubs explained most of the variance in species composition. Those results suggest that restoration enhanced the recovery of high species diversity, although more than seven years are needed to recover a complete trophic structure or to enable species with low dispersal ability to recolonize to pre-disturbance levels.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.112626
Date January 2007
CreatorsGrégoire Taillefer, Amélie.
PublisherMcGill University
Source SetsLibrary and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
Formatapplication/pdf
CoverageMaster of Science (Department of Natural Resource Sciences.)
RightsAll items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated.
Relationalephsysno: 002711484, proquestno: AAIMR51272, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest.

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