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dc.contributor.authorBotha, Monique
dc.contributor.authorSiebert, Stefan J.
dc.contributor.authorVan den Berg, Johnnie
dc.date.accessioned2017-04-20T12:37:16Z
dc.date.available2017-04-20T12:37:16Z
dc.date.issued2016
dc.identifier.citationBotha, M. et al. 2016. Do arthropod assemblages fit the grassland and savanna biomes of South Africa? South African journal of science, 112(9/10): Article no 20150424. [http://www.assaf.org.za/index.php/publications/sajs]en_US
dc.identifier.issn0038-2353
dc.identifier.issn1996-7489 (Online)
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10394/21506
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2016/20150424
dc.identifier.urihttp://www.sajs.co.za/do-arthropod-assemblages-fit-grassland-and-savanna-biomes-south-africa/monique-botha-stefan-j-siebert-johnnie-van-den-berg
dc.description.abstractThe long-standing tradition of classifying South Africa’s biogeographical area into biomes is commonly linked to vegetation structure and climate. Because arthropod communities are often governed by both these factors, it can be expected that arthropod communities would fit the biomes. To test this hypothesis, we considered how well arthropod species assemblages fit South Africa’s grassy biomes. Arthropod assemblages were sampled from six localities across the grassland and savanna biomes by means of suction sampling, to determine whether the two biomes have distinctive arthropod assemblages. Arthropod samples of these biomes clustered separately in multidimensional scaling analyses. Within biomes, arthropod assemblages were more distinctive for savanna localities than grassland. Arthropod samples of the two biomes clustered together when trophic groups were considered separately, suggesting some similarity in functional assemblages. Dissimilarity was greatest between biomes for phytophagous and predacious trophic groups, with most pronounced differentiation between biomes at sub-escarpment localities. Our results indicate that different arthropod assemblages do fit the grassy biomes to some extent, but the pattern is not as clear as it is for plant speciesen_US
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherASSAfen_US
dc.subjectSpecies distributionen_US
dc.subjectArthropod trophic groupsen_US
dc.subjectCluster analysisen_US
dc.subjectBiome-specificiten_US
dc.subjectArthropod species compositionen_US
dc.titleDo arthropod assemblages fit the grassland and savanna biomes of South Africa?en_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
dc.contributor.researchID12319724 - Van den Berg, Johann
dc.contributor.researchID12204145 - Siebert, Stefan John
dc.contributor.researchID21044082 - Botha, Monique


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