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Multi‐species occupancy models: an effective and flexible framework for studies of insect communities
Author(s) -
Mourguiart Bastien,
Couturier Thibaut,
Braud Yoan,
Mansons Jérôme,
Combrisson Damien,
Besnard Aurélien
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
ecological entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.865
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1365-2311
pISSN - 0307-6946
DOI - 10.1111/een.12991
Subject(s) - occupancy , species richness , sampling (signal processing) , ecology , sampling design , biology , netting , orthoptera , replicate , statistics , mathematics , computer science , population , demography , filter (signal processing) , sociology , political science , law , computer vision
Entomological studies often aim to estimate species distribution, community composition, or species‐richness patterns. False absences can, however, bias these estimates and should consequently not be overlooked in insect studies. Multi‐species occupancy models (MSOMs) afford a flexible solution to cover the main topics in ecological entomology while dealing with detectability issues. We sampled Orthoptera communities at 81 mountain grasslands sites in France, using three sampling techniques: sighting, listening, and sweep netting. Five plots were sampled per site. This sampling design allowed MSOMs to be used to estimate richness, occupancy, and detection probabilities while accounting for the effect of covariates. We also used MSOMs to evaluate the efficiency of the survey design and to assess the effects of sampling optimisation. The estimates obtained for altitudinal distribution were reliable, with known species distributions confirming the relevance of MSOMs to model the effects of covariates on Orthoptera communities. The species‐specific detection probability was often less than one and varied with the detection technique used and the grass height, confirming the need to deal with detection issues in orthopteran studies. We estimated an inventory completeness superior to 0.80 for 93% of the sites, and an overall detection probability superior to 0.95 for 52% of the species, suggesting the sampling design was suitable for studying occupancy in Orthoptera communities. We also found that the sweep netting step may be omitted or the number of plots reduced without affecting species detectability or inventory completeness. Those recommendations may help to optimise future sampling strategies.