The series of Interviews continues Slovenian, Yugoslav, and Dinaric speleobiologist Boris Sket. His interest in subterranean fauna started in childhood. Professor Sket is one of the pioneering ...speleobiologists in Slovenia. As a professor at University of Ljubljana, he has been exploring all aspects of cave fauna since 1950s. He also brought speleobiology to University curriculum. He can be considered as a founder of SubBio Lab, a progressive group of speleobiologists from the University of Ljubljana.
A synthesis on cave‐dwelling spiders in Europe Mammola, Stefano; Cardoso, Pedro; Ribera, Carles ...
Journal of zoological systematics and evolutionary research,
August 2018, 2018-08-00, 20180801, Letnik:
56, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
We provide the first overview on spiders living in subterranean habitats in Europe, including the first European subterranean spider checklist. In Europe, there are 486 spider species known to dwell ...in caves and other subterranean habitats, distributed across 22 families. Despite a few species being able to colonize caves across the whole continent, approximately 90% of the species show a restricted distribution, occurring exclusively in one or two countries. From a biogeographic perspective, southern Europe emerges as the main hot spot of subterranean spider diversity, showing the highest richness of endemic species. Compared to other temperate regions of the world, some families appear to be well represented and other poorly represented (or lacking) in European subterranean habitats. Overall, it appears that the taxonomical knowledge on subterranean spiders in Europe is sufficient, but not evenly distributed. As this checklist represents a useful baseline for advances in this field, we point out specific areas of interest for future research.
We present the first overview on cave‐dwelling spiders in Europe, including a detailed checklist of the European species. European caves yield the remarkable diversity of nearly 500 species. At least 200 species are confined to the deep subterranean domain, showing adaptations such as depigmentation and loss of eyes. From a biogeographic perspective, southern Europe emerges as the main hot spot of subterranean spider diversity.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Aim
In addition to cave size and other subterranean habitat characteristics, cave entrances are important structurers of neotropical cave communities. However, little is known about the epigean ...ecosystems factors that might dictate the influence of entrances and the relationship among surface and cave communities, as entrance regions are ecotonal zones between the epigean and hypogean ecosystems. We aimed to assess the influence of epigean and hypogean factors as potential drivers of invertebrate species richness in Neotropical caves as well as the influence of the regional pool of invertebrate diversity on cave invertebrate diversity.
Location
Limestone caves in south‐eastern Brazil.
Taxon
Invertebrates
Methods
Data were collected in 48 caves within the Cerrado biome (Brazilian Savanna). The fauna sampling was performed by a direct intuitive search (DIS). Landscape characteristics and climatic parameters were accessed using geographic information systems. The characterization of the caves occurred during each sampling event. Regional diversity was based on the Taxonomic Catalog of Brazilian Fauna. To clarify the factors that significantly influence invertebrate species richness of the caves, we used generalized linear models (GLM). The relationship between regional diversity and cave diversity was evaluated based on linear models (LM).
Results
Overall, 1,173 species were found, of which 72 were obligate subterranean dwellers. The cave total species richness was influenced by hypogean factors and epigean factors. The species richness of obligate cave dwellers was significantly explained only by cave size. The regional pool of invertebrate species influenced the levels of biodiversity in the studied caves. The taxa with troglobitic species tended to be more diverse in caves than expected.
Main conclusions
In addition to the influences of intrinsic cave variables, we highlight the importance of epigean factors on subterranean diversity in the Neotropics. The study shows the significant influence of the regional species pool on cave faunal composition. These findings reinforce the importance of considering the surrounding areas in actions regarding cave biodiversity conservation.
That the ties between any obligate subterranean species and the hypogean environment depend on the interplay of a species' own physiological characteristics and all of the ecological characteristics ...of the adjacent epigean habitat(s), including biotic factors, has been emphasized. The reasons why troglomorphy cannot be included within criteria for classifying cave dwellers have been demonstrated. After a review of historic classifications, standardized definitions of the most widely used terms are proposed. The most easily recognized are four categories which are terminological approximations of the classic Schiner-Racovitza terminology: (1) troglobiont is a species or population, strictly bound to a hypogean habitat; (2) eutroglophile is an essentially epigean species, but able to maintain a permanent subterranean population; (3) subtroglophile is inclined perpetually or temporarily to inhabit a subterranean habitat but is bound to the surface for some biological functions (e.g. feeding); (4) trogloxene is a species only occurring sporadically underground.
Bathyscidius basarai D. Čeplík, Lakota J. Čeplík, sp. nov., is described from Shpella e Blazit cave, located near the village of Bruç in central Albania. The new species is illustrated, morphological ...comparison with other species, as well as the distribution, including the map for the whole genus Bathyscidius Jeannel, 1910 and information on its natural history is given. The new species is tentatively placed in the subgenus Ionobathyscidius Polak Jalžić, 2019. Basic zoogeography for the subtribe Bathysiotina Guéorguiev, 1974, with the main focus on taxa of the Balkan Peninsula is provided.
The Postojna-Planina Cave System (PPCS) in central Slovenia is a globally exceptional site of subterranean biodiversity, comprised of many interconnected caves with cumulative passage length ...exceeding 34 km. Two rivers sink into the caves of the PPCS, called the Pivka and Rak, and join underground into Unica River, which emerges to the surface. The studies of fauna of PPCS began in the 19th century with the first scientific descriptions of specialized cave animals in the world, making it “the cradle of speleobiology”. Currently, the species list of PPCS contains 116 troglobiotic animal species belonging to eight phyla, confirming its status as the richest in the world. Of these, 47 species have been scientifically described from the PPCS, and more than 10 await formal taxonomic descriptions. We expect that further sampling, detailed analyses of less studied taxa, and the use of molecular methods may reveal more species. To keep the cave animals’ checklist in PPCS up-to-date, we have supplemented the printed checklist with an online interface. As the revised checklist is a necessary first step for further activities, we discuss the importance of PPCS in terms of future research and conservation.
Nemaspela Šilhavý, 1966 (Opiliones: Nemastomatidae) is a genus of exclusively troglobiotic harvestmen species inhabiting caves in the Crimea, Caucasus and Balkan Peninsula. In this paper, Nemaspela ...borkoae sp. nov., recently found in four caves in Montenegro, is described. The new species is characterized by its small body, 1.5–2.1 mm long, and very long, thin appendages, with legs II about 15 times as long as the body. Although very similar, Nemaspela ladae Karaman, 2013 and N. borkoae sp. nov. can be easily distinguished by the terminally rounded vs conical glans, straight vs conspicuously ventrally bent pedipalp tarsus on its proximal portion and pedipalp tarsus measuring about ½ vs ⅔ tibia length. Nemaspela ladae and N. borkoae sp. nov. constitute the western Nemaspela group, both missing the male cheliceral apophysis present in all species of the eastern Nemaspela group from the Crimea and Caucasus, except in N. femorecurvata Martens, 2006. However, according to the glans morphology, N. borkoae sp. nov. seems much more closely related to several species from the Caucasus than to N. ladae from the Balkan Peninsula. We speculate that N. ladae and N. borkoae sp. nov. might originate from two epigean ancestral lineages.
The Western Balkan’s Vjetrenica Cave in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina is renowned for high richness of subterranean species. However, the data on its fauna have been published only in monographs ...printed in a small number of copies, making them hardly accessible to the wider scientific community. To overcome this issue, we compiled the data from published monographs with the data from our own recent field surveys. Further, as they are connected via water channels or small crevices in bedrock, we defined the Vjetrenica Cave System as a system comprising Vjetrenica and Bjelušica Caves and Lukavac Spring. Altogether, 93 troglobiotic, i.e., obligate subterranean aquatic (48) and terrestrial (45), taxa were reported for the system, verifying the Vjetrenica Cave System as the second richest locality in subterranean biodiversity in the world. The global uniqueness of the system is also reflected in the fact that as many as 40 troglobiotic species were described from the system. Finally, we reviewed the factors endangering this unique subterranean community and questioned whether it will withstand human-induced changes and pressures due to infrastructural development in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Palpigradi are a poorly understood group of delicate arachnids, often found in caves or other subterranean habitats. Concomitantly, they have been neglected from a phylogenetic point of view. Here we ...present the first molecular phylogeny of palpigrades based on specimens collected in different subterranean habitats, both endogean (soil) and hypogean (caves), from Australia, Africa, Europe, South America and North America. Analyses of two nuclear ribosomal genes and COI under an array of methods and homology schemes found monophyly of Palpigradi, Eukoeneniidae and a division of Eukoeneniidae into four main clades, three of which include samples from multiple continents. This supports either ancient vicariance or long-range dispersal, two alternatives we cannot distinguish with the data at hand. In addition, we show that our results are robust to homology scheme and analytical method, encouraging further use of the markers employed in this study to continue drawing a broader picture of palpigrade relationships.
There are a total of 22 caves and karst wells with more than 25 specialized species resident (stygobionts and troglobionts). In this Special Issue, 14 of these sites are described in detail, along ...with the specialized fauna. An additional paper describes the richest known cave in China. A summary paper puts all 22 subterranean biodiversity sites in context.
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