Mossing around

Mosses are more than just plants, for a wild variety of tiny animals, moss patches are veritable jungles. Yet, few animal ecologists have ventured into this world (but see and see). We did a first field survey to study spatial variation in biodiversity on moss islands that form on tree trunks. It was a small project that formed the BSc thesis of Mario Driesen and under supervision of Hendrik Trekels. In this pilot study we wanted to test whether typical island biogeography principles apply to moss islands. Despite the insular structure, small scale variation in isolation and island size don’t seem to matter for biodiversity. Canopy cover was the most important environmental variable. However, overall, we conclude that invertebrate composition in moss patches may not only depend on local patch conditions, in a particular moss species. It also depended on the presence of other moss species in the direct vicinity which can be dispersal sources of other species.

The work has been published in Acta Oecologica

A moss island in the Sonian forest

Mario in the field (albeit not in the Sonian forest)