Fauna and population structure of springtails (Hexapoda,Collembola) in zonal forest-steppe biotopes of the Middle Volga River basin

A total of 92 springtail species were revealed in forest-steppe areas of the Privolzhskaya Lesostep nature reserve. The considerable part of the species (25–40%) are inhabitants of steppe and open sites with the predominance of soil forms. The specific features of the chernozem soil fauna are determined by the rare species occupying deep soil layers. In different forest-steppe biotopes, the springtail communities are similar in the species composition but differ in the structure. Steppe and forest types of communities were distinguished. When the steppe is forested, the most drastic changes in the collembolan population are revealed in the transitional shrub zone. The marginal community is characterized by the most even structure and a variable set of dominants.     

Springtails (Hexapoda,Collembola) of Tundra Landscapes of the Kola Peninsula

A quantitative study of collembolan assemblages on the Barents Sea coast of the Kola Peninsula was performed. Altogether, 104 collembolan species of 55 genera and 16 families were found. Analysis of the faunal composition revealed its high similarity to that of the faunas of the neighboring regions of Norway as well as a marked decline in species richness as compared to the Siberian analogues. A high share of littoral forms with increased vagility and the predominance of species with “southern” (= boreal) and “western” distribution patterns are the main characteristics of the fauna studied; only a few true arctic forms were found, always with low abundance and occurrence levels. Most of the studied collembolan assemblages are characterized by the dominance of a few species which inhabit a part of or the entire range of plant communities. As a result, collembolan assemblages under various types of vegetation cover in different landscape elements often show only insignificant differences.     

Springtails (Collembola) in the Subpolar Landscapes of the Northern Hemisphere

An overview of previously published and new information on the collembolan fauna and assemblage structure in the polar desert zone is presented. So far, 71 springtail species from 37 genera and 11 families have been reliably recorded within the zone. Eleven species are added to the previously known fauna of Franz Josef Land, and the very north of Novaya Zemlya has been surveyed for the first time. Even the much better known fauna of Bolshevik Island, Severnaya Zemlya is enriched by 3 species. The known species richness of springtails of Ellef Ringnes Island, Canadian Arctic Archipelago, is also increased from 8 to 13 species. Most genera except Folsomia and Hypogastrura include only 1, more rarely 2 species in each study region of the polar desert zone. Species with circumpolar distribution patterns comprise more than 60% of the total list, but only 10 species are common to all the three provinces; this obviously indicates a certain regional specificity. Besides, the faunas of different provinces (and regions within a province) vary markedly in the proportion of species with more southern distribution patterns. Nevertheless, the collembolan assemblages in all the three provinces of the polar desert zone are rather similar at the structural level, this being a direct consequence of the general depletion of the complexes against the background of high total abundance and less pronounced habitat specificity of the common species.     

Terrestrial bugs (Heteroptera) in high mountains of the Suntar-Khayata Range (Eastern Yakutia)

Thirty-nine species of bugs, representing meso-and xerophilic inhabitants of open tundra, meadow, and steppe landscapes, were collected within the altitude range of 1260–1850 m above sea level in the upper Kyubyume River basin (63°13′N, 139°36′E, the Indigirka River basin). In the sub-golets sparse forest zone (up to 1550 m), 37 species were recorded, the dominant form being Chlamydatus pullus. The bugs were rare in most of the habitats; their species richness and abundance increased distinctly only on the south-facing slopes, reaching the maximum in the cryophytic steppe. The specific features of these complexes manifested themselves in the prevalence of Capnoda nigroaenea, a xerophilic species of alpine mountain steppes. The rest of the dominants comprised the ecologically flexible Emblethis brachynotus, Chlamydatus pullus, and Galeatus spinifrons. In the goletstundra zone, 8 species were found, half of them being arctic forms (Calacanthia trybomi, Orthotylus artemisiae, Ch. wilkinsoni, and Ch. opacus). Ch. wilkinsoni was the most common species. The species composition of bug groups in the dry lichen-dryad communities within this zone resembled that of similar communities of zonal tundra, whereas the humid habitats remained unpopulated, unlike their plain analogues. Comparison of the heteropteran fauna of mountain tundras in different regions of the Verkhoyansk-Kolyma mountain country attests to significant variations of its species composition. The possible reasons for these differences are discussed.     

Butterflies (Lepidoptera, Rhopalocera) in the Arctic fauna

The Arctic fauna includes 106 species of diurnal butterflies: Papilionidae (6 species), Pieridae (20), Lycaenidae (18), Nymphalidae (30), Satyridae (27), and Hesperiidae (5). Among them, representatives of the family Nymphalidae predominate as to the features characterizing the biological progress in the Arctic, as well as to the number of the most strongly pronounced arctic forms. The family Satyridae shares the first place with Nymphalidae by the number of species, but differs from the latter in the uneven or local distribution. The family Pieridae demonstrates a wide distribution of polyzonal and boreal species in the tundra zone. The distribution patterns of Lycaenidae are different in the Eurasian and Beringian-American sectors. Species of Papilionidae and Hesperiidae occur only in the southern part of the tundra zone. Each family is characterized by specific distribution in the Arctic subzones and landscapes and by latitudinal trends in its specific ratio in the faunas. There are 30 to 40 arctic species, including arctic proper (euarctic and hemiarctic) and hypoarctic, arctoalpine, arctomontane, and arctoboreal species. The species developing successfully under high-latitude conditions are Boloria chariclea, B. polaris, B. improba, Colias nastes, C. hecla, and Erebia fasciata; the first two species can be considered true euarctic forms. Specific features of the latitudinal and longitudinal distribution of the butterfly species in different parts of the Arctic are discussed.     

The fauna of free-living gamasid mites (Parasitiformes,Mesostigmata) in the northern Taiga: an analysis of the zonal specificity

According to the data of four-year sampling, the territory of the Pinega Reserve (Arkhangelsk Province) is populated by more than 117 gamasid mite species belonging to 18 families. A relative richness of this fauna is obviously associated with intensive karst processes. A number of species (arctic, Siberian, mountainous) is limited to karst localities characterized by low soil temperature and a short vegetation period. When comparing the local Mesostigmata faunas from different regions, it was suggested that only species lists of unspecialized free-leaving forms should be used. Changes in the species richness of separate families and their fraction in the total suborder diversity along the latitudinal gradient from dry steppes to polar deserts are individual, reflecting different ecological potencies. The zone of deciduous forests is characterized by the richest fauna of Mesostigmata as a whole and of the majority of its families. The northern boundaries for the distribution of separate families are outlined. The number of free-leaving species in the families Ascidae, Phytoseiidae, and Zerconidae varies most smoothly along the latitudinal gradient. Even in polar deserts, Ascidae and Phytoseiidae are represented by more than a single species. It is in the taiga that the family Ascidae becomes the most diverse among Mesostigmata. In the tundra zone, this tendency is more pronounced, and in polar deserts this family constitutes 70–83% of species in local faunas, represented mainly by the genus Arctoseius.     

Diversity and distribution of Collembola (Arthropoda: Hexapoda) of Brazil

Objectives of this study are to summarize the current state of knowledge of the diversity and distribution of Collembola in Brazil; to identify areas of most importance, interest, and need of additional research; and to enable development of experimental hypotheses for future research on Collembola in this region. The total number of collembolan species currently known from Brazil is 199, distributed among 19 families and 80 genera. The greatest numbers of species have been recorded from the states of Rio de Janeiro and Amazonas (with 69 and 56 species, respectively). Few or no species are known from most Brazilian states. Most of the species for which specific Brazilian environmental habitat information is available (93, 66%) are known only from forest environments. Most of the species (127, 64%) are known only from Brazil (most likely being endemic); 33 species (17%) are known only from Brazil and other neotropical areas; and 39 species (20%) have a distribution beyond the neotropical region. Results of this study indicate that much remains to be learned about the Brazilian collembolan fauna. This is especially true for areas of the northeastern, central-western, and southern regions. Studies to determine the species composition of collembolan communities in specific environments in Brazil are needed. The great diversity of Collembola species in Brazil is largely unknown and there are many opportunities for additional research on these environmentally important organisms in this area. Such additional research on the Collembola in Brazil is also essential for a better understanding of the neotropical (and world) collembolan fauna.     

Recolonization by Collembola of rehabilitated bauxite mines in Western Australia

Abstract The collembolan faunas of 30 bauxite mines rehabilitated by a range of different methods between 1966 and 1977, and three forest plots were surveyed in the spring and summer of 1978–79 with the aim of studying the restoration of decomposer activity in degraded areas. The rehabilitation methods included seeding and planting with a variety of native or exotic plant species. Physical and botanical parameters of the plots were also measured. Sixty species of Collembola were collected from the rehabilitated areas; nine of the 28 species found in the forest plots were not present on the mined sites. Principal components analysis suggested that the species richness of the collembolan community in rehabilitated areas is positively correlated with plot age. A parametric correlation analysis using a number of collembolan community characteristics revealed that, among other factors, the development of a species rich collembolan fauna is positively correlated with plant species richness and diversity, and also with percentage plant cover. These results provide directions for improving rehabilitation practices.     

Ecological significance of parthenogenesis in collembola

The occurrence of parthenogenesis in springtails of the Palaearctic was studied. Parthenogenetic species were recorded in all main phylogenetic lines and were more abundant in the families that included species with euedaphic life forms. Among Onychiuridae and Isotomidae, the fraction of species capable of reproducing without males was about 10–15%. The deep soil dwellers showed weaker capacities for aggregation in experiments. The parthenogenetic species comprise the majority of collembolan populations in different biotopes, up to 78% in forest soils and 50% in chernozems. Occupation of deep soil horizons and expansion of distribution ranges appear to be the result of biological progress of the species which have switched to parthenogenesis.     

The structure of a high latitude plant-flower visitor system: the dominance of flies

The species richness of insect flower visitors to all angiosperms at a subarctic-alpine site in northern Sweden was described and the plant-flower visitor matrix was analysed and compared to other high latitude systems and with systems from lower latitudes. In the habitat, 23 plant species had a total of 242 interactions with 388 flower-visiting insects, belonging to 118 taxa. Connectance of the plant-flower visitor matrix was 8.9. Comparing our findings with other studies, we get that the proportion of dipteran species of the total pollinator fauna increases with latitude but that the proportions of species of Diptera, Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera do not vary significantly among high latitude systems. Muscidae and Empididae were more abundant and generalised than other dipteran families visiting flowers in the arctic, their proportions of the total Diptera fauna increase with latitude and they are the most widespread families of flower-visiting insects in the arctic. Several Muscidae species are typical to alpine habitats in the arctic-subarctic zone. These species have special pollen feeding behaviour and an elongated proboscis, which improves access to closed flowers.
Compared to other published pollination system studies, the connectance of low latitude systems ranges between 3.4 and 28.1, whereas high latitude and high altitude systems vary between 8.6 and 19 (-60).     

A bat (Chiroptera) survey of Mora rainforest in Trinidad's Victoria-Mayaro Forest Reserve

The bat fauna of the Mora excelsa-dominated rainforest in the Victoria-Mayaro Forest Reserve (VMFR) in south-east Trinidad was assessed over a six-week period. Trapping effort totaled 271 mist net hours and caught 143 bats of 22 species at a rate of one bat every two net-hours. Simpsons diversity index (1/D) was 1.28 for primary Mora forest and extrapolation using Chaos' estimator, a non-parametric method, estimated the total number of species as 39. Phyllostomid bats of the subfamilies Phyllostominae and Stenodermatinae were well represented, and frugivores predominated in number, accounting for 77% of all captures in primary forest. The most abundant bat, the ground-storey frugivore, Carollia perspicillata, accounted for 43% of all captures in primary forest and, in contrast to most bats, was also abundant on man-made paths through the forest. Four species not previously recorded from the reserve, Tonatia bidens, Trachops cirrhosus, a Myotis sp., and the rare Phylloderma stenops, were captured, bringing the total number of bats species known from the reserve to 35. Thus, over half (52%) of Trinidad's 67 bat species occur in this one forest reserve, making it a high priority area for effective protection and management.     

Diversity and biogeographic patterns of the bryozoan fauna of the Faroe Islands

A total of 228 bryozoan species are recorded within the EEZ of the Faroe Islands, 74 of which are new to the area. Analysis of the distribution of the species among six sectors, each characterized by different environmental conditions, showed three faunal assemblages. Variation of the total Faroese bryozoan fauna and of the bryozoan fauna of most sectors, demonstrated significant negative relationships with depth. In general, analysis of the biogeographic composition showed a strong predominance of boreal over arctic species. However, with respect to faunas of each sector, the Norwegian Basin is characterized by a predominance of arctic species and may be regarded as a part of the Arctic Eurasian sub-region of the Arctic biogeographic region. Comparison of the bryozoan species of each sector with the bryozoan faunas of the other 12 areas in the North Atlantic and the neighbouring Arctic regions showed that only the Faroese shelf fauna has significant similarity with part of them, and thus can be regarded as part of the Scandinavian province of the Norwegian high-boreal sub-region of the Atlantic boreal region. Three sectors, the Faroese–Iceland Ridge, the Faroese–Shetland Channel and Norwegian Basin, belong to a transitional zone between the Atlantic Boreal and the Arctic biogeographic regions. The deep south-western sector forms a separate faunal cluster when compared with both the other sectors within the Faroese area and with the faunas of other large geographic areas, and may be regarded as a separate biogeographic zone of the Boreal Atlantic region due to its high proportion of specific species.     

Ground beetles (coleoptera,carabidae) of the Ola Plateau highlands,Kolyma Uplands

The ground beetle fauna was studied in 12 biotopes of the tundra belt on Ola Plateau, 130 km NW of Magadan. In all, 16 species were found above timber line (900–1220 m), which is comparable with the diversity in the mountain tundras of the upper reaches of the Kolyma (Berman et al., 1984; Bukhkalo, 1997), but the faunistic similarity of these regions is low (Jaccard’s coefficient 22–29%). Besides the widespread species, a group of ground beetles with limited ranges is present; it includes Carabus kolymensis Lafer, 1989 occurring in the East Siberian mountain tundras, the Siberian-Nearctic, mainly arctic Pterostichus agonus G. Horn, 1880, and the East Siberian Pterostichus eximius A. Mor., 1862. The use of the term “arctic species” in arealogical and ecological studies is discussed.     

The fauna of the rove beetles (Coleoptera,Staphylinidae) in the southern Meshchera Lowland

The fauna of rove beetles of the sandur landscape in southern Meshchera (Ryazan Province), noted for the contrasting mesorelief forms, was studied for the first time. The regional fauna was found to comprise 178 species, of which 143 are listed for the first time. The core of the faunistic complex of rove beetles consists of Holarctic, Trans-Eurasian, and Euro-Siberian species, most of which commonly occur in the forest zone of European Russia. At the same time, some species distributed in the valley landscapes of Eastern Europe (Bledius tenenbaumi, Xantholinus dvoraki) have been recorded in southern Meshchera.     

Beetles (Coleoptera) in polar deserts of the Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago

In the course of five expeditions to the Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago, four beetle species were found: Micralymma brevilingue (Staphylinidae), Chrysolina subsulcata, Ch. septentrionalis (Chrysomelidae), and Dienerella filum (Latridiidae). The zonal plant communities do not contain beetles at all. All the species found prefer intrazonal habitats, where the snowless season is prolonged. Only M. brevilingue is common enough in various biotopes of the archipelago. All the beetle species found are wingless, rather small, polytopic and have vast distribution areas (D. filum is a cosmopolitan polyzonal species, and the others are semi-circumpolar arctic forms). Obviously, M. brevilingue should be considered as the most cold-tolerant beetle species of the Northern Hemisphere. This is the first report on the coleopteran fauna in the polar desert zone.     

新疆东部天山蝶类多样性及其垂直分布

2006-2008年研究了新疆东部天山蝶类多样性和垂直分布.结果表明:研究区域内共记录蝴蝶7科43属63种,占新疆已记录蝶类种数的24.80％,区系组成主要是古北种,占73％;其次是广布种,占27％,没有发现东洋种.其中蛱蝶科的物种数最多,为11属19种,蚬蝶科的物种数最少,只有1属1种.按海拔将生境分为5个垂直自然带,包括低山灌木草原带、山地森林草原带、亚高山草甸带、高山草甸带、垫状植被带.蝶类物种数和个体数排序为亚高山草甸带＞山地森林草原带＞低山灌木草原带＞高山草甸带＞垫状植被带.采用Shannon-Wiener指数和G-F指数对蝶类物种和科、属的多样性进行了分析评价,结果显示亚高山草甸带的蝶类多样性最为丰富,其次是山地森林草原带和低山灌木草原带,而高山草甸带和垫状植被带的蝶类多样性相对较低,物种和科、属多样性分析结果均一致.蝶类垂直分布明显,物种数和个体数随海拔变化的趋势类似,均为先增加后下降.蝶类区系成分随着海拔升高发生改变,广布种的比例逐渐降低,高山草甸带和垫状植被带只有古北种分布.研究结果显示,生境改变对蝴蝶群落影响明显,保护生境是保护蝴蝶生存的最主要措施.     

Report of Akabosia matsudoensis Kinoshita (Collembola; Paronellidae) from Korea,with notes on the Korean aquatic springtail fauna

A hygrophilous collembolan species, Akabosia matsudoensis is redescribed and illustrated with a list and key to other aquatic fauna belonging to Entomobryoidea from Korea. Specimens inhabiting the damp area near a creek were collected with hand net and aspirator. This species is characterized by the absence of scale, having 2 + 2 macrosetae on the vertex of the head, 2 feathered prelabial setae, dens crenulated and the base of mucro with bladder like appendage. Genus Akabosia reported only one species, A. matsudoensis, that was originally recorded in Japan; Korea is the second recorded country and it is the only Paronellidae from Korea.     

Springtails (Collembola) of eastern Chukotka: Characteristics of the fauna and species assemblages

A total of 139 collembolan species from 55 genera were found in coastal tundra near the settlement of Lavrentiya in the eastern part of the Chukchi Peninsula. The local fauna of the region is quite “Beringian” in species composition but its structure appears to be in full agreement with the known characteristics of southern tundra faunas of other sectors in the Arctic. The specificity of collembolan complexes of the main plant associations in the studied area is not very high because the predominant collembolan species usually inhabit a wide range of communities. The performed study on Collembola fails to confirm the conventional view of a significantly higher diversity of northeastern Palaearctic faunas. Despite the rather southern position of the studied coastal tundra, the species richness of its collembolan fauna seems to be the same as or only slightly higher than that of analogous landscapes in the other Arctic sectors. The apparent discrepancy between relatively low diversity of Collembola at the local level as shown herein and its rich regional fauna may be the result of increased differentiation of the collembolan fauna of the region characterized by very complex orography and extremely contrasting climatic conditions.     

A Check-List of the Spiders (Araneae) of the Bolshekhekhtsyrski Nature Reserve, Khabarovsk Province, the Russian Far East

326 species of spiders belonging to 26 families are recorded from the Bolshekhekhtsyrski State Nature Reserve,of them 70 are new records for the reserve and six are new to the fauna of Russia:Asperthorax borealis Ono et Saito,2001; Cyclosa kumadai Tanikawa,1992; Cyclosa okumae Tanikawa,1992(earlier it was identified as C. argenteoalba Bosenberg et Strand,1906); Haplodrassus taepaikensis Paik,1992; Hypselistes fossilobus Fei et Zhu,1993; and Pachygnatha gaoi Zhu et al.,2003. The name Pronous minutus (S. Saito,1939) is synonymized with Pronoides brunneus Schenkel,1936. The male of H. taepaikensis is illustrated for the first time. Composition of the fauna is briefly discussed; 41% of the recorded species have their ranges confined to the SE Palaearctics. By its species diversity,the reserve's fauna is the second largest local fauna eastward of the Urals. An expected spider diversity of this reserve is likely to be over 400 species.     

Drainage basins in Central Asian deserts as natural traps for terrestrial insects (with Lake Eroyulanduz in Turkmenistan as an example)

Beetles of the family Buprestidae from the salt deposits of the surf zone of Lake Eroyulanduz (Badkhyz Nature Reserve, Turkmenistan) were studied. More than 48% species of the regional fauna were revealed, two of which, Sphenoptera chalybaea and S. repetekensis, were recorded for Badkhyz for the first time. Several rare species were found, known previously from a few specimens only. The possible dates of adult flight can be inferred from records in the salt deposits.