Diptera Community Composition and Succession Following Habitat Disturbance by Wildfire

Introduction Both biogeographic (for example, latitude) and local (for example, soil) processes determine composition and succession of biotic communities. Postfire succession of vegetation has been studied intensively in chaparral and coastal sage scrub. Fewer studies have examined postfire succession of animals, even though fires can drastically alter their abundance and diversity (Ahlgren and Ahlgren 1960, DeBano and others 1998). Work on response to fire has focused on vertebrates, with few studies on insects, several yielding conflicting results. Little is known about community ecology of Diptera. Flies exhibit high alpha-diversity, show remarkable variation in foods and habitats (occupying every trophic level), and are highly vagile (recolonization is likely to occur quickly). Studies of arthropod succession are important for understanding mechanisms that determine community structure, which can be critical to land management, conservation, and reserve design (Kremen and others 1993).