Linking landscape and species: Effect of shrubs on patch preference of beetles in arid and semi-arid ecosystems

Linking individual behavior to spatial population processes, may clarify the complex link between species distribution and landscape properties. We asked how shrubs affect beetles in drylands and tested if we could explain distribution patterns of beetles by individual response to shrub landscape. We studied patch preference of ground-dwelling beetles segregated in a two-phase mosaic landscape, composed of shrub-covered and open patches and hypothesized that species richness and abundance are higher under shrubs due to the ameliorated microclimatic conditions and greater food resources. Pitfall trapping showed that shrub patches were preferred in shrub poor ecosystem because there was more food available under shrubs and cooler temperatures. However, similar conditions resulted in shrub preference only in an arid ecosystem, whereas in a semi-arid ecosystem, with high cover of shrubs, we found more beetles in the open patches. Observations in beetle movement patterns explained the contradicting effects of shrub patches in the two ecosystems. Beetle movement was affected by shrubs’ shading suggesting dependency on shrub structure rather than speciesdependency. Integrating analysis of beetle distribution in the population level with analysis of individual movement provides a robust framework for linking landscape properties to species behavior and distribution in a patchy landscape.