Fly me to the canopy: Diptera communities in oak forest crowns as bioindicators of stand decline

Abstract Diptera are among the most diverse and ecologically important insect orders in forest ecosystems and hold strong potential as bioindicators of ecosystem transformations under anthropogenic and environmental pressures. We examined the effects of oak decline, a process that alters canopy structure and resource availability, on canopy‐dwelling Diptera across 30 oak stands in six French forests. Diptera were sampled using green multi‐funnel traps placed in the lower canopy. Decline severity was derived from Sentinel‐2 imagery at multiple spatial scales. In total, more than 27,000 specimens were collected, representing 60 families and approximately 500 taxa. Overall diversity increased with decline severity, particularly for saproxylic and floricolous guilds. This pattern may result from changes in microclimatic conditions in more open, declining stands that promote Diptera activity, as well as from increased availability of deadwood and floral resources. Families such as Dolichopodidae, Empididae, Hybotidae and Anthomyiidae responded positively to decline severity, whereas Mycetophilidae and other mushroom‐associated taxa declined, possibly due to reduced fungal productivity and drier microhabitats. Stand characteristics, including height, density and oak basal area, generally had negative effects on richness and abundance, potentially through their influence on microclimate or resource distribution in denser stands. Co‐occurrence analyses indicated that species associations were predominantly random, followed by positive associations, and this pattern did not vary with decline severity. These results suggest that Diptera may serve as sensitive indicators of stand condition and structural changes associated with climate‐driven canopy decline.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Insect Conservation and Diversity
Published
2026-04-27
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/icad.70085
Primary Topic
Forest Ecology and Biodiversity Studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Fly me to the canopy: Diptera communities in oak forest crowns as bioindicators of stand decline

Santiago Jaume-Schinkel, Bruno Righetti, Anders Lindström, André Reimann et al.
Insect Conservation and Diversity
Forest Ecology and Biodiversity Studies
article

Fly me to the canopy: Diptera communities in oak forest crowns as bioindicators of stand decline

Santiago Jaume-Schinkel, Bruno Righetti, Anders Lindström, André Reimann, Rudolf Meier, Julia J. Mlynarek, Mike Ashworth, Patrick Grootaert, Clovis Quindroit, Ximo Mengual, PAUL L.T. BEUK, Aurélien Sallé, Pierre Tillier, E. P. Kameneva, Jocelyn Claude, Pierre-Yves Gloaguen, Christophe Daugeron, Tobias Lilja, Marija Ivković, Christophe Lauriaut, Tatiana Kúdelová, Jonas Mortelmans, Elodie Le Souchu, Cécile Vincent-Barbaroux, Thomas Lebard, Dalton De Souza Amorim, David Brice, Pauline Bierre, Valery O. Korneyev, Jean‐Paul Haenni, Christophe Bouget, Vivian Feng, Anastasia Paupe
article en

Abstract

Abstract Diptera are among the most diverse and ecologically important insect orders in forest ecosystems and hold strong potential as bioindicators of ecosystem transformations under anthropogenic and environmental pressures. We examined the effects of oak decline, a process that alters canopy structure and resource availability, on canopy‐dwelling Diptera across 30 oak stands in six French forests. Diptera were sampled using green multi‐funnel traps placed in the lower canopy. Decline severity was derived from Sentinel‐2 imagery at multiple spatial scales. In total, more than 27,000 specimens were collected, representing 60 families and approximately 500 taxa. Overall diversity increased with decline severity, particularly for saproxylic and floricolous guilds. This pattern may result from changes in microclimatic conditions in more open, declining stands that promote Diptera activity, as well as from increased availability of deadwood and floral resources. Families such as Dolichopodidae, Empididae, Hybotidae and Anthomyiidae responded positively to decline severity, whereas Mycetophilidae and other mushroom‐associated taxa declined, possibly due to reduced fungal productivity and drier microhabitats. Stand characteristics, including height, density and oak basal area, generally had negative effects on richness and abundance, potentially through their influence on microclimate or resource distribution in denser stands. Co‐occurrence analyses indicated that species associations were predominantly random, followed by positive associations, and this pattern did not vary with decline severity. These results suggest that Diptera may serve as sensitive indicators of stand condition and structural changes associated with climate‐driven canopy decline.

Insect Conservation and Diversity
Saint-Gobain (France) (FR), Université d'Orléans (FR), Flanders Marine Institute (BE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (MA), Medical Products Agency (SE), University of Zagreb (HR), Yeovil College (GB), Institute of Natural Sciences (BE), Espace pour la vie (CA), Natural History Museum of Geneva (CH), Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR), Institute for Biodiversity (DE), Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig (DE), Senckenberg Natural History Collections Dresden (DE), ENOES (FR), Natural History Museum Rotterdam (NL), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (FR), Parc national des Cévennes (FR), I.I. Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology (UA), Ottery St Mary Hospital (GB), Macopharma (France) (FR), Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (DE), Natural History Museum Maastricht, Universidade Federal de Goiás (BR), Université de Montréal (CA), Comenius University Bratislava (SK), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (MX)
Life in Land
Openalex Percentile: Top 9%
Forest Ecology and Biodiversity Studies
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.