EFFECT OF TREE SPECIES DIVERSITY ON THE NEUROPTERID COMMUNITY IN A DECIDUOUS FOREST Axel GRUPPE 1 & Stephanie SOBEK 2,3 1 Institute of Animal Ecology, Technische Universität München, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, 85354 Freising, Germany, gruppe@wzw.tum.de; phone: 49 (0)8161 714601, fax: 49 (0)8161 714598 2 Department of Crop Science – Agroecology, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Germany 3 present address: Department of Biology, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada Abstract - The neuropterid communities of a temperate deciduous forest in Germany were studied using flight-interception traps in the tree crown stratum in the year 2005. In total 884 specimens were captured, representing 23 species of Neuropterida. The communities captured in monospecific beech stands significantly differed from those of more diverse stands. Diversity of Neuropterida was positive- ly correlated with tree species diversity. Abundance of dominant species was either negatively or positively correlated with tree diversity, indicating different levels of host tree association of the particular species. KEY WORDS: Habitat heterogeneity, Neuropterida, canopy fauna, tree species diver- sity, neuropterid diversity Izvleœek – UŒINEK RAZNOLIKOSTI DREVESNIH VRST NA MREÆE- KRILSKE ZDRUÆBE V LISTOPADNEM GOZDU S prestreznimi pastmi za leteœe æuæelke v drevesnih kroønjah smo leta 2005 raziskovali zdruæbe mreæekrilcev zmernega listopadnega gozda v Nemœiji. Ujeli smo skupno 884 primerkov, pripadajoœih 23 vrstam mreæekrilcev. Zdruæbe, ujete v enovrstnih bukovih sestojih so se pomembno razlikovale od tistih iz bolj raznolikih sestojev. Raznovrstnost mreæekrilcev je bila pozitivno odvisna od raznovrstnosti drevesnih vrst. Pogostost prevladujoœih vrst je bila negativno ali pozitivno odvisna od drevesne raznovrstnosti, kar kaæe na razliœne stopnje vezanosti na gostiteljska drevesa posameznih vrst. 17 ACTA ENTOMOLOGICA SLOVENICA LJUBLJANA, JUNIJ 2011 Vol. 19, øt. 1: 17–28