Subsurface biota extends over a wide variety of habitats that can be spatially interconnected. The largest communities of this subsurface biota inhabit cavities and are well known mainly in caves ...where biologists are able to have access. Data about deep subterranean communities and arthropods living under one thousand meters was unknown. An expedition to world’s deepest cave, Krubera-Voronja in Western Caucasus, revealed an interesting subterranean community, living below 2000 meters and represented by more than 12 species of arthropods, including several new species for science. This deep cave biota is composed of troglobionts and also epigean species, that can penetrate until -2140 m. Deep subterranean ecosystems should not be seen only as an evolu- tionary dead end towards the troglomorphic syndrome, but also as a shelter for epigean species populations, especially during long periods of time when surface conditions are severe for their survival. Most of the subsurface biota depends on allochthonous sources of organic carbon coming from: water percolating from the surface, sinking streams that enter caves, and activities of animals mov- ing in and out of caves. The biocoenosis and the vertical distribution of invertebrate fauna of Krubera-Voronja are provided, from its entrance to the remarkable depth of 2140 meters, including the discovery of world’s deepest dwelling arthropod.
Salamanders are relevant components of many terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. However, despite the importance of salamanders in many resource–consumer networks, their functional role remains ...remarkably understudied. Therefore, this volume, entitled The Ecological Role of Salamanders as Prey and Predators, provides an opportunity for researchers to highlight the new research on the ecological role of salamanders and newts in prey–predator systems, their trophic behavior, and the variability of their trophic niche in space and time. Various innovative methods, such as COI metabarcoding and network analysis, are applied in the present study to test both the classical and new hypotheses concerning the trophic ecology of salamanders and their interactions with their prey. The present volume is composed of one review and seven research papers, all of which are published after undergoing a complete and impartial peer-review process.
Speleomantes are the only plethodontid salamanders present in Europe. Multiple studies have been performed to investigate the trophic niche of the eight Speleomantes species, but none of these ...studies included hybrid populations. For the first time, we studied the trophic niche of five Speleomantes hybrid populations. Each population was surveyed twice in 2020, and stomach flushing was performed on each captured salamander; stomach flushing is a harmless technique that allows stomach contents to be inspected. We also assessed the potential divergence in size and body condition between natural and introduced hybrids, and their parental species. Previously collected data on Speleomantes were included to increase the robustness of these analyses. In only 33 out of 134 sampled hybrid Speleomantes we recognized 81 items belonging to 11 prey categories. The frequency of empty stomachs was higher in females and individuals from natural hybrid populations, whereas the largest number of prey was consumed by males. We compared the total length and body condition of 685 adult salamanders belonging to three types of hybrids and three parental (sub)species. Three group of salamanders (one hybrid and two parental species) showed significantly larger size, whereas no difference in body condition was observed. This study provided novel ecological information on Speleomantes hybrid populations. We also provided insights into the potential divergence between hybrids and parental species in terms of size and body condition. We discuss our findings, and formulate several hypotheses that should be tested in the future.
Three new troglobitic Trechini from Southwestern Hubei, China (Coleoptera, Caraboidea, Trechidae).
Description and illustration of one new subgenus and three new species of troglobitic Caraboidea ...Trechini discovered in the Hubei province, China : Minimaphaenops (Enshiaphaenops) senecali n. subgen., n. sp., Sinotroglodytes ariagnoi n. sp. and Cathaiaphaenops (Amygdalotrechus) lagredeae n. sp.
Descriptions et illustrations d’un nouveau sous-genre et de trois nouvelles espèces troglobies de Caraboidea Trechini découverts dans la province du Hubei, en Chine : Minimaphaenops (Enshiaphaenops) senecali n. subgen., n. sp., Sinotroglodytes ariagnoi n. sp. et Cathaiaphaenops (Amygdalotrechus) lagredeae n. sp.
Deuve Thierry. Trois nouveaux Trechini troglobies du Hubei sud-occidental, en Chine (Coleoptera, Caraboidea, Trechidae). In: Bulletin de la Société entomologique de France, volume 121 (2),2016. pp. 129-135.
Intraspecific aggression is an important aspect of social behaviour that can significantly affect individual survivorship and population dynamics. Aggressiveness may be particularly important in ...food‐deprived habitats, like caves, but few studies have investigated behavioural and ecological determinants of aggressiveness and cannibalism in cave vertebrates. In this study, we evaluated the role of density, competition for food, starvation and rearing history under cave‐like conditions in promoting aggression. We performed a behavioural experiment on larvae collected from multiple underground springs and neighbouring streams, and we reared them under two different settings: total darkness and outdoor conditions. Intraspecific attacks were very scarce in hatchlings, and increased after 1 month. Starvation periods and high density clearly increased aggressiveness. Furthermore, aggressiveness strongly increased under competition conditions (presence of other larvae feeding). Aggressiveness increased with age more quickly in larvae from caves than in those from streams. Environmental features typically experienced by cave populations, such as starvation and high density, increase intraspecific attacks and might promote cannibalism. Strong plasticity for aggression may enhance the possibility to successfully colonize and exploit food‐deprived environments where no other predators can survive, such as underground environments.
Studies on the bivalve family Sphaeriidae in North Africa are very limited at the surface water level, but even more for caves. During an expedition in 2019 to the Ait M'hamed cave (Oum Er Rabia ...Basin), six specimens of the genus Pisidium were collected. Morphometric and genetic analyses showed that these individuals belong to the species Pisidium subtruncatum Malm, 1855. This work is the first step towards future exploration of cave Sphaeriidae in North Africa.
Photographic identification is an emerging method for recognising wild animals. This harmless methodology allows researchers to identify “naturally marked” individuals and therefore study their ...specific ecology and behaviour. However, before incurring potential data loss, it is recommended to test the methodology on the target species and evaluate the pros and cons. We assessed the reliability of photographic identification in adult
Hydromantes
salamanders from three species. Specifically, we assessed whether the dorsal pattern of adult salamanders changed over time, thus evaluating its potential use as a reliable marking methodology. We used capture-mark-recapture and controlled conditions (i.e. individuals kept in fauna boxes) to evaluate potential changes in the dorsal pattern of
Hydromantes
through time. We did not observe any change in the dorsal pattern in the three species during the study period. Photographic identification might be a useful marking technique for these endangered species. However, these animals are usually found in environments generally lacking light and thus, researchers must be careful in setting up proper light conditions to produce suitable pictures for individual identification of
Hydromantes
.
The discipline of subterranean biology has provided us incredible information on the diversity, ecology and evolution of species living in different typologies of subterranean habitats. However, a ...general lack of information on the relationships between cave species still exists, leaving uncertainty regarding the dynamics that hold together cave communities and the roles of specific organisms (from the least to the most adapted species) for the community, as well as the entire ecosystem. This Special Issue aims to stimulate and gather studies which are focusing on cave communities belonging to all different typologies of subterranean habitats, with the overarching goal to corroborate the key role of the subterranean biology in ecological and evolutionary studies.
A new species of cavernicolous Collembola belonging to the genus
Hypogastrura
Bourlet, 1839 from “Sima Miguel Ángel Blanco” (Jaén, Spain) is described:
Hypogastrura herrerosvelai
sp. nov.
belongs to ...the
H. monticola
group of species within the genus and is easy to distinguish from its three relatives,
Hypogastrura monticola
Stach, 1946,
H. hispanica
Steiner, 1955 and
H. dasiensis
Selga, 1966, by the dorsal chaetotaxy. On the other hand, the presence of the species
Hypogastrura socialis
(Uzel, 1890) in the Iberian Peninsula is confirmed.
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