Forest edges and their effects on the arrival of dragonflies at north-temperate experimental ponds

Laís M. S. N. Leitea,b, Sarah K. Frencha,c,d , Christopher A. Searcya,e, Shannon J. McCauleya,c

  1. Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Rd., Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6
    Canada
  2. Current address: Laboratório de Limnologia, Ecotoxicologia e Ecologia Aquática, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais–UFMG, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
  3. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3B2
  4. Current address: Department of Biology, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3J 1P3
  5. Current address: Department of Biology, University of Miami, 1301 Memorial Drive, Coral Gables, FL 33146,
    USA

International Journal of Odonatology, Volume 24, Pages 38-50, 2021
https://doi.org/10.23797/2159-6719_24_2
Published: 27 May 2021 (Received: 15 October 2020, Accepted: 29 October 2020)

Abstract

The matrix, an environment in the landscape that individuals move through but do not reside in, can affect species dispersal and the arrival of individuals at habitat patches. Elements around this matrix that provide refuge or resources may shape the arrival of animals at habitat patches, even when those patches are equivalent in quality. Adult dragonflies (Odonata: Anisoptera) frequently use open terrestrial environments during movement and dispersal in north-temperate regions; however, they can also roost along forest edges. Because of the potential value of forest edges to adult dragonflies, we tested whether pond proximity (i. e., connectivity) to multiple forest edges was positively related to the abundance or diversity of arriving dragonflies. We observed dragonflies arriving at 9 experimental pond sites located within an open field landscape in Ontario, Canada. Experimental ponds differed in their distance to source ponds and to forest edges, a potential refuge for dragonflies.
We found no effect of connectivity to forest edges or distance to source ponds on the abundance or diversity of dragonflies arriving at a site. Dragonfly dispersal was therefore not limited at the spatial scale of our study (<305 m to source ponds). In addition, dragonflies did not seem to discriminate among sites based on the amount of nearby forest edge, although all sites within the generally open landscape had at least some forest edge in close proximity (10 – 79 m). Our results provide greater insight regarding the decisions that dragonflies make in response to landscape elements while dispersing to reproductive habitats.

Keywords: Odonata, dragonfly, Anisoptera, forest, community assembly, landscape matrix

Issue section: Original article