Biology subjects

Porch, N.

Publications and source records attributed to Porch, N..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Moisture structures litter faunal communities through productivity and trait filtering effects

Litter invertebrates mediate a substantial proportion of decomposition and nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems, yet how moisture availability structures their communities remains poorly understood. We propose that moisture availability could shape litter faunal communities through two alternate pathways: (1) a productivity effect: greater productivity and detrital inputs in wetter forests should increase litter-faunal abundance, (2) a trait effect: phylogenetic differences in water balance should filter communities according to taxon-specific moisture tolerances. We tested these expectations across 100 forest sites spanning a moisture gradient in south-eastern Australia, from dry sclerophyll forest to cool temperate rainforest. Measuring 11 focal invertebrate taxa, total litter-faunal abundance increased threefold across the moisture gradient, from 400,000 individuals per hectare of dry forest to 1.2 million individuals per hectare of rainforest - consistent with greater resource availability in wetter and more productive habitats. However, this overall abundance trend masked pronounced variation in community composition across habitat types. While moisture-sensitive crustaceans and myriapods (particularly Isopoda and Chilopoda) were concentrated in rainforest litter, two groups of hexapods (Blattodea and Embioptera) were most abundant in dry forest litter and declined sharply toward rainforest habitat. These contrasting responses indicate that dry forests do not simply represent depauperate versions of wet-forest communities but harbour their own distinct and abundant litter invertebrate assemblages. Thus, moisture structures litter faunal communities via both proposed mechanisms: (1) a productivity effect and (2) a trait filtering effect. Given that moisture fundamentally structures litter faunal communities, shifts in forest moisture regimes under climate change may substantially alter detritivore communities, with consequences for decomposition processes and nutrient cycling globally.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2025

A review of Sisyphini Dung Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae) endemic to Mauritius: insights from subfossil evidence and phylogenetic analysis

Five indigenous species of Scarabaeinae are known from Mauritius island, classified into two genera: the monotypic Nesovinsonia Martinez & Pereira, 1958 and Nesosisyphus Vinson, 1946. This study conducts a taxonomic review of the latter genus Nesosisyphus, and evaluates its recent extinction using historical and new occurrence records, subfossils, and niche modeling. We provide the first molecular phylogeny and evaluate the evolutionary relationships of Nesosisyphus by comparing two different phylogenetic trees: the first, based on a Ultraconserved Elements (UCEs hereafter) dataset, and the second one, on three loci (28S, 16S, COI). We identify five Mauritian Nesosisyphus species, including a new extinct one, Nesosisyphus draco sp. n., from a 4,000 yr old subfossil. We diagnose, illustrate, and provide an updated key to all the sisyphine species from Mauritius, as well as the occurrence map. Our niche modeling analysis reveals a broader past distribution range for Mauritian sisyphines, now confined to small, disjunct forest patches due to extensive forest contraction and local extinctions.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2020

Indigenous plants promote insect biodiversity in urban greenspaces

The contribution of urban greenspaces to support biodiversity and provide benefits for people is increasingly recognised. However, ongoing management practices still favour (1) vegetation oversimplification, often limiting greenspaces to lawns and tree canopy rather than multi-layered vegetation that includes under and midstorey; and (2) the use of nonnative plant species. These practices likely hinder the potential of greenspaces to sustain indigenous biodiversity, particularly for taxa like insects, that rely on plants for food and habitat. Yet, little is known about which plant species may maximise positive outcomes for taxonomically and functionally diverse insect communities in urban greenspaces. Additionally, while urban environments are expected to experience high rates of introductions, quantitative assessments of the relative occupancy of indigenous vs. introduced insect species in greenspace are rare - hindering understanding of how greenspace management may promote indigenous biodiversity while limiting the establishment of introduced insects. Using a hierarchically replicated study design across 15 public parks, we recorded occurrence data from 552 insect species on 133 plant species - differing in planting design element (lawn, midstorey and tree canopy), midstorey growth form (forbs, lilioids, graminoids and shrubs) and origin (nonnative, native and indigenous) - to assess: (1) the relative contributions of indigenous and introduced insect species and (2) which plant species sustained the highest number of indigenous insects. Our data indicates that the insect community was predominately composed of indigenous rather than introduced species. Our findings further highlight the core role of multi-layered vegetation in sustaining high insect biodiversity in urban areas, with indigenous midstorey and canopy representing key elements to maintain rich and functionally diverse indigenous insect communities. Intriguingly, graminoids supported the highest indigenous insect richness across all studied growth forms by plant origin groups. Taken together, our study emphasise the opportunity posed by indigenous understory and midstorey plants, particularly indigenous graminoids in our study area, to promote indigenous insect biodiversity in urban greenspaces. Our work provides a blueprint and stimulus for built-environment professionals to incorporate into their practice plant species palettes that foster a larger presence of indigenous over regionally native or nonnative plant species, whilst incorporating a broader mixture of midstorey growth forms.

ecology↗