Macro-invertebrate abundance on green roofs versus ground level sites in the city of Antwerp, Belgium

Authors

  • Jeffrey Jacobs UHasselt, Centre for Environmental Sciences, Research Group Zoology: Biodiversity & Toxicology, Agoralaan Gebouw-D, 3590 Diepenbeek
  • Natalie Beenaerts UHasselt, Centre for Environmental Sciences, Research Group Zoology: Biodiversity & Toxicology, Agoralaan Gebouw-D, 3590 Diepenbeek
  • Tom Artois UHasselt, Centre for Environmental Sciences, Research Group Zoology: Biodiversity & Toxicology, Agoralaan Gebouw-D, 3590 Diepenbeek

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26496/bjz.2023.106

Keywords:

abundance, invertebrates, green roofs, urbanization

Abstract

Here, the abundance of macro-invertebrates (Arthropoda and Gastropoda) of eight green roofs and their adjacent ground level habitats in the city of Antwerp, Belgium, is compared. All higher-level taxa found were present in both types of habitats without significant differences in their overall abundance between green roofs and ground level habitats. However, we found significant differences in abundances between the two types of habitats, when specific taxa were compared. Beetles (Coleoptera), isopods (Isopoda) and bees (Anthophila) were more abundant at ground level sites compared to green roofs, while for true bugs (Heteroptera) and cicadas (Auchenorrhyncha) the opposite was found. Our results support the idea that extensive green roofs in Belgium can provide a suitable habitat for different invertebrate taxa, but further research is needed to identify the true drivers behind differences in abundance between ground level and adjacent green roofs.

References

Barot S., Rossi J.P. & Lavelle P. (2007). Self-organising in a simple consumer-resource system, the example of earthworms. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 39: 2230–2240.

Batàry P., Kurucz,K., Suarez-Rubio M. & Chamberlain D.E. (2017). Non-linearities in bird responses across urbanization gradients: A meta-analysis. Global Change Biology 24 (3): 1046–1054. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13964

Bates D., Mächler M., Bolker B. & Walker S. (2015). Fitting linear mixed-effects models using lme4. Journal of Statistical Software 67 (1): 1–48. https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v067.i01

Bengtsonn H. (2017). matrixStats: Functions that Apply to Rows and Columns of Matrices (and to Vectors). R package version 0.52.2.

Berry E.C. & Jordan D. (2001). Temperature and soil moisture content effects on the growth of Lumbricus terrestris (Oligochaeta: Lumbricidae) under laboratory conditions. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 33: 133–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0038-0717(00)00112-7

Blank L., Vasl A., Schindler B.Y., Kadas G.J. & Blaustein L. (2017). Horizontal and vertical island biogeography of arthropods on green roofs: A review. Urban Ecosystems 20: 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-016-0639-9

Braaker S., Ghazoul J., Obrist M.K. & Moretti M. (2014). Habitat connectivity shapes urban arthropod communities: the key role of green roofs. Ecology 95: 1010–1021. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-0705.1

Braaker S., Obrist M.K., Ghazoul J. & Moretti M. (2017). Habitat connectivity and local conditions shape taxonomic and functional diversity of arthropods on green roofs. Journal of Animal Ecology 86: 521–531. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.12648

Brenneisen S. (2006). Space for urban wildlife: designing green roofs as habitats in Switzerland. Urban Habitats 4: 27–36.

Byrne L. (2007). Habitat structure: a fundamental concept and framework for urban soil ecology. Urban Ecosystems 10: 255–274. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-007-0027-6

Chace J.F. & Walsh J.J. (2006). Urban effects on native avifauna: A review. Landscape Urban Planning 74 (1): 46–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2004.08.007

Colla S.R., Willis E. & Packer L. (2009). Can green roofs provide habitat for urban bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae)? Cities and the Environment 2 (1): article4. Available at https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/cate/vol2/iss1/4 [accessed 4 January 3023].

Cooper R. & Whitmore R.C. (1990). Arthropod Sampling Methods in Ornithology, Avian Foraging: Theory, Methodology, and Applications. Studies in Avian Biology 13, Cooper Ornithological Society, California.

Csonka D., Halasy K., Buczkó K. & Hornung E. (2018). Morphological traits – desiccation resistance – habitat characteristics: a possible key for distribution in woodlice (Isopoda, Oniscidea). In: Hornung E., Taiti S. & Szlavecz K. (eds) Isopods in a changing world. ZooKeys 801: 481–499. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.801.23088

Dromgold J.R., Threlfall G., Norton B.A. & Williams N.S.G. (2020). Green roof and ground-level invertebrate communities are similar and are driven by building height and landscape context. Journal of Urban Ecology 6 (1): 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1093/jue/juz024

Elmqvist T., Zipperer W. & Güneralp B. (2016). Urbanisation, habitat loss, biodiversity decline: Solution pathways to break the cycle. In: Seta K., Solecki W.D. & Griffith C.A. (eds) Routledge Handbook of Urbanisation and Global Environmental Change: 139–151. Routledge, London and New York.

Faeth,S.H., Bang C. & Saari S. (2011). Urban biodiversity: Patterns and mechanisms. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1223: 69–81. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2010.05925.x

Fenoglio,M.S., Rossetti M.R. & Videla M. (2020). Negative effects of urbanization on terrestrial arthropod communities: a meta-analysis. Global Ecology and Biogeography 29 (8): 1412–1429. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13107

Hindell R.P., McKenzie B.M. & Tisdall J.M. (1997). Influence of drying and ageing on the stabilization of earthworm (Lumbricidae) casts. Biology and Fertility of Soils 25: 27–35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s003740050275

Holt R.D. (2016). Green roofs may cast shadows. Israel Journal of Ecology & Evolution 62: 15–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/15659801.2015.1118844

Jacobs J., Berg M., Beenaerts N. & Artois T. (2022). Biodiversity of Collembola on green roofs: A case study of three cities in Belgium. Ecological Engineering 177: 106572. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2022.106572

Jim C.Y. & Tsang S.W. (2011). Biophysical properties and thermal performance of an intensive green roof. Building and environment 46: 1263–1274. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2010.12.013

Jones R.A. (2002). Tecticolous Invertebrates. A Preliminary Investigation of the Invertebrate Fauna on Green Roofs in Urban London. English Nature.

Kadas G. (2006). Rare invertebrates colonizing green roofs in London. Urban habitats 4: 66–86.

Kaupp A., Brenneisen S., Klausnitzer B. & Nagel P. (2004). Eco-faunistic characteristics of the beetle fauna of vegetated roofs (Insecta: Coleoptera). Entomologische Blätter für Biologie und Systematik der Käfer 100: 47–83.

KMI, Koninklijk meteorologisch instituut (2021). Analyse van het jaar 2020 en 2021. Available from https://www.meteobelgie.be/klimatologie/waarnemingen-en-analyses/jaar-2020/2274-jaa-2020; https://www.meteo.be/resources/climatology/pdf/klimatologisch_maandoverzicht_202108.pdf (August 2021); https://www.meteo.be/resources/climatology/pdf/klimatologisch_maandoverzicht_202109.pdf (September 2021). [accessed 8 October 2021].

Korányi D., Szigeti V., Mezőfi L., Kondorosy E. & Marko V. (2020). Urbanization alters the abundance and composition of predator communities and leads to aphid outbreaks on urban trees. Urban Ecosystems 24: 571–586. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-020-01061-8

Kratschmer S., Kriechbaum M. & Pachinger B. (2018). Buzzing on top: Linking wild bee diversity, abundance and traits with green roof qualities. Urban Ecosystems 21: 429–446. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-017-0726-6

Ksiazek K., Fant J. & Skogen K. (2012). An assessment of pollen limitation on Chicago green roofs. Landscape and Urban Planning 107: 401–408. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2012.07.008

Ksiazek K.M., Herrmann J.D., Menke S. & Köhler M. (2018). If you build it, will they come? Plant and arthropod diversity on urban green roofs over time. Green Roofs and Urban Biodiversity Special Issue 1: 52–72.

Kumar R. & Kaushik S.C. (2005). Performance evaluation of green roof and shading for thermal protection of buildings. Building and environment 35: 1505–1511. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2011.12.1047

Kyro K. Brenneisen S., Kotzea D.J., Szallies A., Gener M. & Lehvävirtaa S. (2018). Local habitat characteristics have a stronger effect than the surrounding urban landscape on beetle communities on green roofs. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening 29: 122–130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2017.11.009

Lessard J.P. & Buddle C.M. (2005). The effects of urbanization on ant assemblages (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) associated with the Molson Nature Reserve, Quebec. Canadian Entomologist 137 (2): 215–225. https://doi.org/ doi:10.4039/n04-055

Li J.F., Wai O.W.H., Li Y.S., Zhan J.M., Ho Y.A., Li J. & Lam E. (2010). Effect of green roof on ambient CO2 concentration. Building and Environment 45: 2644–2651. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2010.05.025

Losey J.E., & Vaughan M. (2006). The economic value of ecological services provided by insects. BioScience 56: 311–323. https://doi.org/10.1641/0006-3568(2006)56[311:TEVOES]2.0.CO;2

MacArthur R.H. & Wilson E.O. (1963). An equilibrium theory of insular zoogeography. Evolution 17, 373-387. https://doi.org/10.2307/2407089

MacArthur R.H. & Wilson E.O. (1967). The Theory of Island Biogeography. Princeton University Press, Princeton.

MacIvor J.S. & Lundholm J.T. (2011). Insect species composition and diversity on intensive green roofs and adjacent level-ground habitats. Urban Ecosystems 14: 225–241. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-010-0149-0

Madre F., Vergnes A., Machon N. & Clergeau P. (2013). A comparison of 3 types of green roofs as habitats for arthropods. Ecological Engineering 57 109–117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2013.04.029

McKinney M. L. (2008). Effects of urbanization on species richness: A review of plants and animals. Urban Ecosystems 11 (2): 161–176. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-007-0045-4

Mentens J., Raes D. & Hermy M. (2006). Green roofs as a tool for solving rainwater runoff problems in the urbanized 21st century? Landscape urban planning 77: 217–226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2005.02.010

Oberndorfer E., Lundholm J., Bass B., Coffman R.R., Doshi H., Dunnett N., Gaffin S., Köhler M., Liu K.K.Y. & Rowe B. (2007). Green roofs as urban ecosystems: ecological structures, functions and services. Bioscience 57: 823–834. https://doi.org/10.1641/B571005

Oberprieler S.K., Andersen A. & Braby M.F. (2019). Invertebrate by-catch from vertebrate pitfall traps can be useful for documenting patterns of invertebrate diversity. Journal of Insect Conservation 23 (3): 547–54. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-019-00143-z

Ødegaard F. (2000). How many species of arthropods? Erwin’s estimate revised. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 71 (4): 583–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8312.2000.tb01279.x

Pataki D.E., Carreiro M.M., Cherrier J., Grulke N.E., Jennings V., Pincetl S., Pouyat R.V., Whitlow T.H. & Zipperer W.C. (2011). Coupling biogeochemical cycles in urban environments: ecosystem services, green solutions, and misconceptions. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 9: 27–36. https://doi.org/10.1890/090220

Pétremand G., Chittaro Y., Braaker S., Brenneisen S., Gerner M., Obrist M.K., Rochefort S., Szallies A. & Moretti M. (2018). Ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) communities on green roofs in Switzerland: synthesis and perspectives. Urban Ecosystems 21: 119–132. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-017-0697-7

Piano E., Souffreau C., Merckx T., Baardsen L.F., Backeljau T., Bonte D., Brans K.I., Cours M., Dahirel M., Debortoli N., Decaestecker E., De Wolf K., Engelen J.M.T., Fontaneto D., Gianuca A.T., Govaert L., Hanashiro F.T.T., Higuti J., Lens L., Martens K., Matthysen E., Pinseel E., Sablon R., Schon I., Stoks R., Van Doninck K., Van Dyck H., Vanormelingen P., Van Wichelen J., Vijverman W., De Meester L. & Hendrickx F. (2020). Urbanization drives cross-taxon declines in abundance and diversity at multiple spatial scales. Global Change Biology 26: 1196–1211. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14934

Pickett S.T.A. & Cadenasso M.L. (2009). Altered resources, disturbance, and heterogeneity: a framework for comparing urban and non-urban soils. Urban Ecosystems 12: 23–44. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-008-0047-x

Pickett S.T.A., Cadenasso M. L., Grove J.M., Boone C.G., Groffman,P.M., Irwin E., Kaushal, S.S., Marshall V., McGrath B.P., Nilon C.H., Pouyat R.V., Szlavecz K., Troy A. & Warren P. (2011). Urban ecological systems: scientific foundations and a decade of progress. Journal of Environmental Management 92: 331–362. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2010.08.022

Popic T.J., Davilla Y.C. & Wardle G.M. (2013). Evaluation of common methods for sampling invertebrate pollinator assemblages: net sampling out-perform pan traps. PLoS ONE 8 (6): e66665. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0066665

R Core Team (2020). R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria.

Reynolds B., Chapman J.W. & Stewart A.J.A. (2017). Windborne migration of Auchenorrhyncha (Hemiptera) over Britain. European Journal of Entomology 114,:554-564. https://doi.org/10.14411/eje.2017.070

Rocchini D., Ricotta,C., Chiarucci A. Dominicis V., Cirillo I. & Maccherini S. (2009). Relating spectral and species diversity through rarefaction curves. International Journal of Remote Sensing 30: 2705–2711. https://doi.org/10.1080/01431160902755312

Rumble H. (2013). Quantifying the Soil Community on Green Roofs. PhD Thesis, University of London. Available from https://pure.royalholloway.ac.uk/portal/files/18885396/Rumble_H_2013.pdf [accessed 4 January 2023].

Schuh R.T. & Slater J.A. (1995). True Bugs of the World (Hemiptera: Heteroptera): Classification and Natural History. Cornell University Press, Ithaca.

Seto K.C., Güneralp B. & Hutyra L.R. (2012). Global forecasts of urban expansion to 2030 and direct impacts on biodiversity and carbon pools. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 109: 16083–16088. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1211658109

Shafique M., Kim R. & Kyung-Ho K. (2018). Green roof for stormwater management in a highly urbanized area: the case of Seoul, Korea. Sustainability 10. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10030584

Shapiro S.S. & Wilk,M.B. (1965). An analysis of variance test for normality (complete samples). Biometrika 52 (3–4): 591–611.

Shrestha M., Garcia J., Chua J.H.J, Howard S., Tscheulin T., Dorin A., Nielsen A. & Dyer A.G. (2019). Fluorescent pan traps affect the capture rate of insect orders in different ways. Insects 10 (2): 40. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects10020040

Skvarla M.J., Larson J.L. & Dowling A.P.G. (2014). Pitfalls and preservatives: A review. The Journal of Entomological Society of Ontario 145: 15–43.

Tonietto R., Fant J., Ascher J., Ellis K. & Larkin D. (2011). A comparison of bee communities of Chicago green roofs, parks and prairies. Landscape and Urban Planning 103: 102–108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2011.07.004

Turrini T. & Knop E. (2015). A landscape ecology approach identifies important drivers of urban biodiversity. Global Change Biology 21: 1652–1667. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12825

United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2019). World Population Prospects 2019: Highlights. ST/ESA/SER.A/423.

Walker J.S., Grimm N.B., Briggs J.M., Gries C. & Dugan L. (2009). Effects of urbanization on plant species diversity in central Arizona. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 7 (9): 465–470. https://doi.org/10.1890/080084

Wickham H., François R., Henry L. & Müller K. (2022). dplyr: A Grammar of Data Manipulation. Available from https://dplyr.tidyverse.org, https://github.com/tidyverse/dplyr [accessed 4 January 2023].

Williams N.S.G., Lundholm J. & MacIvor J.S. (2014). Do green roofs help urban biodiversity conservation? Journal of Applied Ecology 51: 1643–1649. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12333

Downloads

Published

2023-01-05

How to Cite

Jacobs, J., Beenaerts, N., & Artois, T. (2023). Macro-invertebrate abundance on green roofs versus ground level sites in the city of Antwerp, Belgium. Belgian Journal of Zoology, 153. https://doi.org/10.26496/bjz.2023.106

Issue

Vol. 153 (2023)

Section

Articles

License

All published papers will be put on-line as high resolution PDF’s. Copyright thus remains with the authors. All manuscripts will be licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.