Can soda ash dumping grounds provide replacement habitats for digger wasps (Hymenoptera, Apoidea, Spheciformes)?

Lucyna Twerd,Barbara Waldon-Rudzionek,Piotr Olszewski,Maciej Krzyżyński,Peter Shaw

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0175664

Lucyna Twerd, Barbara Waldon-Rudzionek + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0175664

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Abstract

BackgroundPublished sources document a loss of biodiversity at an extreme rate, mainly because natural and semi-natural ecosystems are becoming fragmented and isolated, thus losing their biological functions. These changes significantly influence biological diversity, which is a complex phenomenon that changes over time. Contemporary ecologists must therefore draw attention to anthropogenic replacement habitats and increase their conservation status. In our studies we show the positive role of soda ash dumping grounds as an alternative habitat for digger wasps, especially the thermophilic species.Methodology/Principal findingsIn the years 2007–2010 we carried out investigations in postindustrial soda ash dumping grounds located in Central Poland. We demonstrated that these areas serve as replacement habitats for thermophilic species of Spheciformes and, indirectly, for their potential prey. The studies were conducted in three microhabitat types, varying in soil moisture, salinity and alkalinity, that were changing in the course of ecological succession. We trapped 2571 specimens belonging to 64 species of digger wasps. Species typical of open sunny spaces comprised 73% of the whole inventory. The obtained results suggest that the stage of succession determines the richness, abundance and diversity of Spheciformes. The most favorable conditions for digger wasps were observed in habitats at late successional stages.Conclusions/SignificanceOur results clearly showed that these habitats were replacement habitats for thermophilous Spheciformes, including rare taxa that require genetic, species and ecosystem protection, according to the Biodiversity Convention. We showed that some types of industry might play a positive role in the preservation of taxa in the landscape, and that even degraded industrial wasteland can replace habitats under anthropopressure, serving as refugia of biological diversity, especially for disturbance-dependent species.

Highlights

The development of agricultural systems, ongoing urbanization, industrialization and globalisation over the past century have led to an increase in the area of degraded lands, the fragmentation of natural vegetation and the loss of natural and semi-natural habitats [1]
In the years 2007–2010 we carried out investigations in postindustrial soda ash dumping grounds located in Central Poland. We demonstrated that these areas serve as replacement habitats for thermophilic species of Spheciformes and, indirectly, for their potential prey
We showed that some types of industry might play a positive role in the preservation of taxa in the landscape, and that even degraded industrial wasteland can replace habitats under anthropopressure, serving as refugia of biological diversity, especially for disturbance-dependent species

Summary

Introduction

The development of agricultural systems, ongoing urbanization, industrialization and globalisation over the past century have led to an increase in the area of degraded lands, the fragmentation of natural vegetation and the loss of natural and semi-natural habitats [1]. Stone, gravel and sand quarries, together with urban and agricultural areas, are the most typical anthropogenic habitats that provide refuges for biological diversity [2,3,4,5] Their role as replacement habitats to preserve insects biodiversity has recently attracted worldwide attention [6,7,8,9,10,11,12]. The alkaline and salty waste from the soda production process is rich in compounds such as CaSO4, Ca(OH), Fe(OH), silicates and aluminosilicates, and the supernatant is a solution of NaCl, KCl, NH4OH, Na2SO4, NaOH or MgCl2 [14] In our study these sediments had been stored and drained next to the factories in sedimentation basins, which are in the form of slag heaps 16 m high, covering ca. In our studies we show the positive role of soda ash dumping grounds as an alternative habitat for digger wasps, especially the thermophilic species

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