A brief biographic sketch of the author’s scientific education and the research activities at “Institutul de Speologie EmilRacoviţă” is presented. The text is offered as an homage to the centennial ...anniversary of this institution with its important contributionto the Romanian cultural activities (1920–2020)
In Ecuador there is a large number of caves, especially east of the Andean Mountains. However, knowledge about their fauna is scarce and dispersed. The objective of this study is to determine if ...there are differences among invertebrate communities that inhabit caves with different levels of speleotourism. Preliminary field trips were made from October 2016 to June 2017 to learn about the diversity of invertebrates. Subsequently, quantitative data of richness and abundance of species was taken in the months of October, November and December of 2017, using pitfall traps in three caves of the Napo province: Templo de Ceremonia, El Toglo and Mayanchi. 3004 individuals belonging to 55 morphospecies were collected, of which six are possibly troglobites. The non-metric multidimensional scaling and the Morisita-Horn index revealed differences in community structure that could be due to: the differences in frequency and intensity of flooding of the rivers that cross the caves, bat diversity, the amount of guano available and presence of geographical barriers between the caves. This study provides a baseline for the characterization of the invertebrate community of the Napo caves and highlights the need to continue sampling the invertebrate community to find new species, verify the state of conservation of the caves in the long term, and support with the training of guides and property owners to practice speleotourism in the caves in a sustainable and responsible manner.
En el Ecuador existe una gran cantidad de cuevas, sobre todo al este de la Cordillera de Los Andes. No obstante, el conocimiento acerca de su fauna es escaso y disperso. El objetivo de este estudio fue caracterizar y determinar si existen diferencias entre las comunidades de invertebrados que habitan las cuevas en la provincia del Napo. Se tomaron datos cuantitativos de riqueza y abundancia en los meses de octubre, noviembre y diciembre del 2017, utilizando trampas de caída en tres cuevas de la provincia del Napo: Templo de Ceremonia, El Toglo y Mayanchi. Se recolectaron 3 004 individuos pertenecientes a 55 morfoespecies, de las cuales seis posiblemente son troglobios. El análisis de escalamiento multidimensional e índice de Morisita-Horn, revelan que existen diferencias en la estructura de las comunidades, que podrían deberse a las diferencias en frecuencia e intensidad de las inundaciones de los ríos que atraviesan las cuevas, diversidad de murciélagos, la cantidad de guano disponible y la presencia de barreras geográficas entre las cuevas. Esta investigación provee una línea de base para la caracterización de la comunidad de invertebrados de las cuevas del Napo y destaca la necesidad de seguir muestreando la comunidad de invertebrados de las cuevas para encontrar nuevas especies y constatar el estado de conservación de las cuevas a largo plazo, y apoyar con la capacitación de guías y dueños de las propiedades para practiquen espeleoturismo en las cuevas de manera sostenible y responsable.
Groundwater comprises the largest freshwater ecosystem on the planet. It has a distinct regime of extreme, yet stable environmental conditions that have favoured the development of similar ...morphological and functional traits in the resident invertebrate fauna (stygofauna).
The analysis of community traits is increasingly used as an alternative to taxonomy‐based assessments of biodiversity, especially for monitoring ecosystem status and linking the functions of organisms to ecological processes, yet it has been rarely applied to stygofauna and groundwater ecosystems.
In this paper, we review the variation in functional traits among the invertebrate fauna of this important ecosystem. We focus on the stygofauna and processes of alluvium and fractured rock aquifers that are typified by small voids and fissures that constrain the habitats and environmental conditions.
As a first step, we compare trait variability between groundwater and surface water invertebrate communities and then examine the significance of the ranges of these traits to the vulnerability of the ecosystem to change.
Fifteen potentially useful functional traits are recognised. Eight of these have narrower ranges (i.e. exhibit fewer states, or attributes, of a particular trait) in groundwater than they do in surface water. Two traits have wider ranges.
Our synthesis suggests that the relative stability of groundwater environments has led to low trait variability. The low biomass and low reproductive rate of stygofauna suggest that recovery potential following disturbance is likely to be low.
For the purposes of both improved understanding and effective management, further work is needed to document additional functional traits and their states in groundwater fauna, enabling a better understanding of the relationship between response and effect traits in these ecosystems.
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Riassunto
Le acque sotterranee rappresentano il più vasto ecosistema di acqua dolce del pianeta. Esse sono caratterizzate da un regime peculiare di condizioni ambientali, per molti versi estreme ma stabili, che hanno favorito lo sviluppo di tratti morfologici e funzionali condivisi dalla maggior parte della fauna invertebrata che vi risiede.
Gli approcci funzionali allo studio della biodiversità sono utilizzati sempre più di frequente in alternativa a quelli tassonomici, in particolare per monitorare lo stato degli ecosistemi e mettere in relazione le funzioni degli organismi con i processi ecologici. Tuttavia, essi sono stati applicati raramente agli ecosistemi delle acque sotterranee.
In questo lavoro, abbiamo esaminato la variazione dei tratti funzionali della fauna invertebrata di questo importante ecosistema. Speciale attenzione è stata posta sulla fauna e sui processi ecologici negli acquiferi alluvionali e negli acquiferi litoidi fratturati che sono caratterizzati da vuoti e fessure di ridotte dimensioni che determinano la struttura degli habitat e le condizioni ambientali.
In primo luogo, abbiamo confrontato la variabilità dei tratti funzionali delle comunità di invertebrati delle acque sotterranee rispetto alla fauna delle acque superficiali. Successivamente, abbiamo esaminato l'entità di tale variabilità in relazione alla suscettibilità dell'ecosistema acquatico sotterraneo alle variazioni ambientali.
Abbiamo evidenziato dieci tratti funzionali potenzialmente utili, otto dei quali hanno intervalli di variazione più ristretti (cioè, sono caratterizzati da un numero ridotto di stati o modalità) nelle acque sotterranee rispetto alle acque superficiali. Due tratti hanno mostrato variazioni più ampie.
I risultati del nostro lavoro suggeriscono che la relativa stabilità ambientale delle acque sotterranee ha determinato una ridotta variabilità di tratti funzionali. L'esigua biomassa e i bassi tassi riproduttivi della fauna delle acque sotterranee fanno presumere che il potenziale di recupero degli ecosistemi acquatici sotterranei a seguito di un disturbo ambientale sia limitato.
Al fine di incrementare la conoscenza e la gestione efficace degli ecosistemi acquatici sotterranei, sono necessari nuovi studi volti ad indagare ulteriori tratti funzionali e le loro modalità. Questo consentirà una comprensione migliore della relazione tra tratti di risposta e tratti di effetto in tali ecosistemi.
Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Subterranean habitats around the world can shelter diversified and threatened faunal communities. However, issues related to alterations in the landscape and structure of subterranean habitats still ...need to be better understood. Therefore, we used a multi-spatial scale analysis of land cover, land use, and cave habitats to predict the diversity of communities of subterranean invertebrates. We hypothesized that changes in land cover promote alterations in both faunal richness and composition and microhabitat diversity and that microhabitat features determined subterranean biodiversity. Sixteen limestone caves were sampled in Brazil at micro, meso, and macro scales using quadrats (1m²), transects (100 meters) as sample units inside caves and buffers with the radius of 100 and 250 meters in the surroundings of the cave entrances. Models performed showed that land cover and land use influenced cave environments, regarding both microhabitats traits and terrestrial invertebrate richness and composition. We also observed a relationship between microhabitat structure and terrestrial invertebrate richness and composition. Our results showed that deforested areas had negative effects on species richness and changed their composition, while natural areas had positive effects on microhabitat diversity. The same effects were observed for both 100 and 250 meters buffers. Invertebrate richness was negatively predicted by deforested areas while positively predicted by natural areas. Richness was also positively predicted by the combination of all microhabitat traits, and dissimilarity of fauna was influenced by microhabitat diversity in mesoscale and microscale by all microhabitat elements. The results highlight the importance of the landscape surrounding the caves to conserve the subterranean habitats and their fauna. Due to the spatial and temporal changes in the global environmental scenario, we argue the urgency of further detailed studies in fragmented landscapes to define minimum areas of protection for cave environments.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
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•The Pilbara, Western Australia, is a biodiversity hotspot for subterranean fauna.•Twenty-four putative new species of Parabathynellidae identified from 32 locations.•New Pilbara ...species have expanded the known world diversity of this group by 22%.
Like other crustacean families, the Parabathynellidae is a poorly studied subterranean and aquatic (stygobiontic) group in Australia, with many regions of available habitat having not yet been surveyed. Here we used a combined approach of molecular species delimitation methods, applied to mitochondrial and nuclear genetic data, to identify putative new species from material obtained from remote subterranean habitats in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Based on collections from these new localities, we delineated a minimum of eight and up to 24 putative new species using a consensus from a range of molecular delineation methods and additional evidence. When we placed our new putative species into the broader phylogenetic framework of Australian Parabathynellidae, they grouped with two known genera and also within one new and distinct Pilbara-only clade. These new species significantly expand the known diversity of Parabathynellidae in that they represent a 22% increase to the 109 currently recognised species globally. Our investigations showed that sampling at new localities can yield extraordinary levels of new species diversity, with the majority of species showing likely restricted endemic geographical ranges. These findings represent only a small sample from a region comprising less than 2.5% of the Australian continent.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Here we describe the new species Pseudoporatia kananciue Iniesta, Bouzan, Souza & Brescovit, n. sp., widespread in the Amazonian ferruginous landscape of the state of Pará, Brazil. The species ...differs from its only congener P. perplexaGolovatch, 1999 by the presence of 19 body rings in adults (vs 20 body rings), the position of the porosteles on the paraterga, and the morphology of the gonopods. Notes on its ecology and comments on the diversity of millipedes in the region of Serra dos Carajás, state of Pará, Brazil, are also provided. Ajouts à la faune de mille-pattes d'un paysage ferrugineux amazonien: une nouvelle espèce de Pseudoporatia Golovatch, 1999 répandue dans les affleurements rocheux (Diplopoda, Polydesmida, Pyrgodesmidae). Nous décrivons ici la nouvelle espèce Pseudoporatia kananciue Iniesta, Bouzan, Souza & Brescovit, n. sp., répandue dans le paysage ferrugineux amazonien de l'État de Pará, Brésil. L'espèce diffère de son seul congénère P. perplexaGolovatch, 1999 par la présence de 19 anneaux corporels chez les adultes (contre 20 anneaux corporels), la position des porostèles sur les paraterga et la morphologie des gonopodes. Des notes sur son écologie et des commentaires sur la diversité des mille-pattes dans la région de Serra dos Carajás, État de Pará, Brésil, sont également fournis.
A taxonomic revision and a key to the pseudoscorpion species of Neobisium Chamberlin, 1930so far attributed to the subgenus Ommatoblothrus Beier, 1956from Corsica, Sardinia and mainland Italy are ...provided. The taxonomic status of the subgenera of Neobisium Chamberlin, 1930 is evaluated and the following new synonymies are proposed: Ommatoblothrus Beier, 1956 is a junior subjective synonym of Neobisium Chamberlin, 1930 (n. syn.), Heoblothrus Browning, 1965 is a junior subjective synonym of Neobisium Chamberlin, 1930 (n. syn.), Pennobisium uri 1988 is a junior subjective synonym of Neobisium Chamberlin, 1930 (n. syn.). The following new species are described: Neobisium (Neobisium) corsicum n. sp. (, loc. typ.: Corsica, Corte, Grotte de Valletto), Neobisium (N.) leolatellai n. sp. (, loc. typ.: Latium, Bassiano, Grotta della Cava 384 La/LT), Neobisium (N.) magrinii n. sp. (, loc. typ.: Latium, Coreno Ausonio, Grotta lArnale 871 La/FR), Neobisium (N.) petruzzielloi n. sp. (, loc. typ.: Campania, Avella, Grotta degli Sportiglioni 184 Cp/AV) and Neobisium (N.) vignai n. sp. (, loc. typ.: Latium, Amaseno, Grotta degli Ulivi 474 La/FR). The specimens of five populations from as many caves of the Lepini Mountains are provisionally attributed to Neobisium (N.) sp. aff. patrizii Beier, 1953, and the following new synonymy is proposed: Neobisium patrizii romanum Mahnert, 1980 is a junior subjective synonym of Neobisium patrizii patrizii Beier, 1953 (n. syn.).
Few studies have focused on non-troglomorphic fishes occurring in Brazilian caves, especially those in the Caatinga region. The present study is the first survey of fishes from karstic areas of the ...Jandaíra Formation in Rio Grande do Norte State, northeastern Brazil. This region is characterized by a high concentration of caves and a rich subterranean biodiversity, especially of troglobitic invertebrates, but remains considered a gap on the knowledge of the subterranean ichthyofauna in Brazil. Four field expeditions were carried out covering two dry and two rainy seasons, in 2018 and 2019, in 23 localities in small river basins along the western part of the Jandaíra Formation. A total of 829 fish specimens, none of them troglomorphic, was captured and identified as belonging to 25 species of 12 families and five orders. Amongst them, four species are endemic of the Mid-Northeastern Caatinga ecoregion, and two non-native species were recorded. Habitats were classified into three categories: superficial, associated to cave, and cave. Although no troglomorphic fish species was found in this study, we recorded 64.1% of the Apodi-Mossoró river ichthyofauna occurring in caves or associated to caves, corroborating the hypothesis that part of the ichthyofauna exploits these environments as a refuge during the dry season. In addition, we suggest conservation policies for the maintenance of subterranean and aquatic semiarid ecosystems in the Jandaira formation, which is currently under threat due to anthropogenic activities, such as mining and deforestation.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Stygofauna are aquatic fauna that have evolved to live underground. The impacts of anthropogenic climate change, extraction and pollution on groundwater pose major threats to groundwater health, ...prompting the need for efficient and reliable means to detect and monitor stygofaunal communities. Conventional survey techniques for these species rely on morphological identification and can be biased, labour‐intensive and often indeterminate to lower taxonomic levels. By contrast, environmental DNA (eDNA)‐based methods have the potential to dramatically improve on existing stygofaunal survey methods in a large range of habitats and for all life stages, reducing the need for the destructive manual collection of often critically endangered species or for specialized taxonomic expertise. We compared eDNA and haul‐net samples collected in 2020 and 2021 from 19 groundwater bores and a cave on Barrow Island, northwest Western Australia, and assessed how sampling factors influenced the quality of eDNA detection of stygofauna. The two detection methods were complementary; eDNA metabarcoding was able to detect soft‐bodied taxa and fish often missed by nets, but only detected seven of the nine stygofaunal crustacean orders identified from haul‐net specimens. Our results also indicated that eDNA metabarcoding could detect 54%–100% of stygofauna from shallow‐water samples and 82%–90% from sediment samples. However, there was significant variation in stygofaunal diversity between sample years and sampling types. The findings of this study demonstrate that haul‐net sampling has a tendency to underestimate stygofaunal diversity and that eDNA metabarcoding of groundwater can substantially improve the efficiency of stygofaunal surveys.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
