Revision of the plant geographical territories of Israel and Sinai

The phytogeographical territories of Israel and Sinai are revised using a large mass of species distribution data. With the help of chorotype frequencies for 25 km² individual squares in Israel, territories were defined on the basis of the first two most frequent chorotypes. The similarity of boundaries in the resulting phytogeographical map with a physiognomic map suggests that the latter may be used in preliminary stages of the preparation of plant geographical maps.     

Italian Dermestidae: notes on some species and?an?updated checklist (Coleoptera)

An up-to-date checklist of the Italian Dermestidae is provided. The presence of 95 species in Italy is confirmed, while further 5 species (Dermestes (Dermestes) vorax Motschulsky, 1860, Thorictuspilosus Peyron, 1857, T. wasmanni Reitter, 1895, Attagenus (Attagenus) simonis Reitter, 1881 and Globicornis (G.) breviclavis (Reitter, 1878)) and 1 subspecies (A. (A.) tigrinus pulcher Faldermann, 1835) are excluded from the Italian fauna.Attagenus (Attagenus) calabricus Reitter, 1881 and A. (A.) lobatus Rosenhauer, 1856 are for the first time recorded from Abruzzi and Tuscany respectively; A. (A.) silvaticus Zhantiev, 1976 is recorded for the first time from mainland Italy (Apulia); Anthrenus (Anthrenus) angustefasciatus Ganglbauer, 1904 is new to northern Italy (Friuli-Venezia Giulia), central Italy (Tuscany), Apulia and Basilicata; A. (A.) munroi Hinton, 1943 is new to central Italy (Elba Island); A. (A.) delicatus Kiesenwetter, 1851 is for the first time recorded from Apulia; Globicornis (Globicornis) fasciata (Fairmaire & Brisout de Barneville, 1859) is new to southern Italy (Basilicata); G. (Hadrotoma) sulcata (C.N.F. Brisout de Barneville, 1866) is for the first time recorded from central Italy (Abruzzi), Campania and Sicily, whileTrogoderma inclusum LeConte, 1854 is new to Apulia.Seven species (Dermestes (Dermestes) peruvianus Laporte de Castelnau, 1840, D. (Dermestinus) carnivorus Fabricius, 1775, D. (Dermestinus) hankae Háva, 1999, D. (Dermestinus) intermedius intermedius Kalík, 1951, D. (Dermestinus) szekessyi Kalík, 1950, Anthrenus (Anthrenops) coloratus Reitter, 1881 and Trogodermaangustum (Solier, 1849)) recently recorded from Italy (without further details) are discussed.The lectotype and a paralectotype are designated forAttagenus (A.) calabricus Reitter, 1881 from Calabria.Attagenus pellio (Linnaeus, 1758) var. pilosissimus Roubal, 1932 is removed from synonymy with A. (A.) pellio and recognized as a valid species (stat. prom.); it is known from Lombardy, Apulia and Calabria.     

Diversity and ecology of the bryophytes in the cave environment: a study on the volcanic and karstic caves of Sicily

The results of a long investigation (20 years) on bryophyte diversity of 28 Sicilian caves are reported; the study regarded both karstic and volcanic caves, located at altitudes ranging from 15 to 2030 m a.s.l. The bryophyte diversity consists of a total of 136 taxa, 20 liverworts, 3 hornworts and 113 mosses. The ecological analysis was performed using the Ellenberg indicator values for moisture, light and soil reaction to the substrate. On the whole, mesophytic and meso-hygrophytic, sciophytic and photo-sciophytic species strongly prevail independently from the geological nature of the caves; the values of the soil reaction to the substrate well reflect the characteristics of the substrate. The phytogeographical analysis shows the prevalence of the Mediterranean species, followed by the temperate and southern-temperate species. It is remarkable the occurrence of boreo-arctic-montane species, which find refuge for their survival in some high-altitude caves. Some typical species well adapted to the cave environment are reported, including Amphidium mougeotii, Isopterygiopsis pulchella, Thamnobryum alopecurum and Rhynchostegiella tenella, showing a troglophilous character. The occurrence of species of phytogeographical significance, as well as of conservation interest, e.g. Ptychostomum cernuum, Tortula bolanderi, Rhabdoweisia fugax, Grimmia torquata, Brachytheciastrum collinum, very rare in Italy, is emphasized too.     

Distribution patterns of the small mammals (Insectivora and Rodentia) in a transitional zone between the Eurosiberian and the Mediterranean regions

To determine, by means of quantitative analyses, the distribution patterns of the insectivores and rodents in Catalonia using physiographical regions as Operative Geographical Units (OGUs). Catalonia (north‐eastern Iberian Peninsula). Based on the presence/absence of twenty‐five small mammals in thirteen physiographical regions, which were used as OGUs, the following aspects were studied: (a) identification of biotic boundaries; (b) determination of chorological association of species; (c) climatic characterization of the biotic regions and the chorotypes. Groups of biotic regions and species were established, and their statistical significance was tested. The possible effect of several climatic factors on these groupings was studied using discriminant analyses. A significant biotic boundary was found to separate the central and eastern Pyrenees from the remaining physiographical regions. The climatic variables that defined this boundary were related to the severity and the availability of environmental energy. Four chorotypes were identified. One chorotype was constituted by Pyrenean or Pre‐Pyrenean species, an association determined by their mid‐European requirements; another chorotype was formed by Eurosiberian species, but showed a variable degree of tolerance to Mediterranean conditions; a third chorotype included species with a wide distribution that are Mediterranean, anthropic, generalist or have very specific habitats; and finally the fourth chorotype was constituted by a strictly Mediterranean species. The climatic factors that accounted for the distribution of these chorotypes were the mean July temperature and the mean annual precipitation. We conclude that the axial zone of the Pyrenees, except the coastal portion, determines two biotic regions in Catalonia. As for the classification of species, using quantitative techniques for the first time, we offer a new biogeographicalal configuration for the small mammals in this temperate‐Mediterranean transition.     

Transition along gradient from warm to mesic temperate forests evaluated by GAMM

Aims The aim of the study was to discover what set of variables best explains the transition from warm to mesic forest vegetation. Based on various variables grouped into sets (geomorphological, ecological, structural, soil characteristics and chorological), six models were built and tested by generalized additive mixed models (GAMMs). We assumed that each set of variables has different explanatory power. Our aim was to compare the six different models (sets of variables), to test which model best explains the species turnover in forest communities along the transition between warm and mesic temperate forests and to try to find reasons for the different explanatory power of the models.Methods The research took place in the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula. Field sampling was done according to standard methods. The gradient from warm to mesic forests was defined as the turnover of species and evaluated by projection of samples on the first unconstrained DCA axis. Geomorphological, ecological, structural and soil characteristics, together with chorological sets of variables, were regressed on the turnover of species composition. Based on the five sets of variables, six models were constructed and tested by generalized additive mixed models.Important findings Ecological conditions best explain the change of forest communities along the gradient; evolution and the development of vegetation reflected in chorotypes are also of high importance; geomorphology and structure seem not to change so dramatically and soil shows the least significant differences of all. Ecological variables are the most important set of variables in the transition between warm and mesic temperate forests but eco-evolutionary dynamics after the Pleistocene should also be taken into consideration.     

Biogeographical analysis of species of the tribe Cytiseae (Fabaceae) in the Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands

Aim To analyse quantitatively the biogeographical distribution pattern of species of the Cytiseae Bercht. & J. Presl (= Genisteae Benth.) tribe in the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands, and to identify environmental variables related to the distributional patterns. Location Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands, using the 61 administrative provinces as operational geographical units. Methods In order to identify chorotypes (groups of species with similar geographical distribution), we performed a upgma classification based on the similarity index of Baroni‐Urbani & Buser. The method of McCoy et al. [Ecology 67 (1986), 749] enabled us to detect the significant groups and to differentiate them from those groupings that could be generated at random. Logistic regression analyses and environmental gradient analyses (DCA and CCA) were performed in order to find the relationships between the environmental variables and the observed distributional patterns. Results Sixteen chorotypes were obtained between the Cytiseae species of the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands. The thermal variables showed the greatest influence in species distribution. Specifically, temperatures (maximum, minimum and mean) of the coldest months were associated with the majority of the chorotypes. Main conclusions The species of the Cytiseae tribe were not randomly distributed in space, and can be classified in groups of species with common distributional patterns. The importance of cold tolerance in the distribution of these species, as well as their preference for acidic soils, was demonstrated. Certain general tendencies seem to exist with respect to the distribution of the biota in the Iberian Peninsula, and these seem to be independent of the taxonomic groups involved and to be determined by convergent macroclimatic factors.     

On biotas and their names

Biogeographers working under different approaches have proposed several terms to refer to biotas, e.g. the flora and fauna of a region, and to name subsets of taxa within such biotas. It is not clear whether they refer exactly to the same entities and which is the most adequate term to refer to them. Ten concepts refer to the set of taxa that inhabit an area at a single temporal plane (concrete biota, chronofauna, area of endemism, nuclear area, phytocorion, centre of endemism, generalized track, biogeographical assemblage, taxonomic assemblage, and species assemblage), whereas another nine concepts refer to subsets of taxa within a biota (biotic element, historical source, historical component, faunal element, cenocron, dispersal pattern, distributional pattern, lineage, and historical biota). Three concepts can be ascribed to both groups, depending on the author considered (horofauna, chorotype and biotic component). I propose to use the terms ‘biota’ and ‘cenocron’ as general terms, within a framework of integrative pluralism. Biotas can be considered individuals, for which the terms area of endemism, generalized track or chorotype can be preferred for specific analyses. Cenocrons incorporate a temporal dimension when implying explicitly or implicitly a different time of their incorporation to the biota.     

Distribution Patterns of Indigenous Freshwater Fishes in the Tagus River Basin, Spain

Classification and ordination methods used to examine the internal complexity of the Mediterranean Tagus River catchment based on fish distribution revealed that it is not a homogeneous biogeographical unit. The indigenous fishes analyzed in this study are distributed through the basin forming geographical communities (chorotypes), some of which are associated with environmental factors like river morphology, water quality or geographical location. Nevertheless, 40% of the variation in species occurrence remains unexplained by either environmental or geographical variables, suggesting that historical factors may influence the freshwater fish distribution patterns. Three main biogeographical areas, delimited by significant boundaries, were identified. Two of them are identified as the upper and the middle-lower basins of the Tagus River catchment; the third corresponds to the Alagón River and seems to be linked to historical factors of the catchment.