Different collecting methods reveal different ecological groups of centipedes (Chilopoda)

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Soil invertebrates are studied by a number of methods. Here we used zoological methods (soil sampling, pitfall trapping, litter sifting, and hand collecting) to sample centipede communities in four floodplain forests (Czech Republic, Europe) and compared the efficiency of these methods. Heat-extraction from soil samples was the most effective, followed by pitfall trapping. The centipedes found by us can be divided into five ecological groups: 1) larger, abundant lithobiomorphs, 2) larger, scarcer lithobiomorphs, 3) smaller, soil lithobiomorphs, 4) abundant geophilomorphs, and 5) scarcer geophilomorphs.

Can montane and cave centipedes inhabit soil?

“…Sampling of centipedes using three subterranean traps for 1 year yielded 63 trapped individuals. This number of trapped centipedes seems to be relatively low compared to common Barber traps (e.g., Tuf, 2015), but adequate in comparison to other published studies about subterranean traps: one unidentified centipede was trapped by several such traps during 2 weeks in Steinernes Meer in Carinthia, Austria (Schlick-Steiner and Steiner, 2000) and 69 specimens were trapped during 1 year in three traps in Western Carpathians Mts., Slovakia (Rendoš et al, 2012(Rendoš et al, , 2016.…”

“…Other species recorded in deeper layers, Strigamia acuminata and Strigamia transsilvanica, represent the order Geophilomorpha, the members of which are adapted to living in soils correspondingly with its English name, "soil centipedes" (see Tuf, 2015). Their prolonged segmented soft body with short legs is adapted to crawling through soil crevices.…”

Millipede and centipede assemblages on the northern and southern slopes of the lowland Altais, southwestern Siberia, Russia (Diplopoda, Chilopoda)

“…The geophilomorph prefers deeper soil layers and the lithobiomorph prioritizes the surface and upper soil layers (GLM: F = 6.41, p = 0.013 and F = 4.01, p = 0.048, respectively). This is not surprising, as the preference for the upper layers of soil by L. (M.) curtipes is well known (Tuf 2002, 2015). The ability of geophilomorphs to penetrate to deeper soil layers is documented and also recorded, using subterranean pitfall traps, too (Tuf et al 2017).…”

Are primary forests irreplaceable for sustaining Neotropical landscapes' biodiversity and functioning? Contributions for restoration using ecological indicators

“…Specialized keys were used to identify the collected specimens, as well as consultations with experts (Table S3, Supplementary material). Since pitfall traps collect mostly soil surface dwelling invertebrates (Tuf, ), we have consider for this work beetle families that are commonly captured and represent diverse guilds within ecosystems: Scarabaeidae, Carabidae, Histeridae, Staphylinidae, Hyborosidae, Nitidulidae, Curculionidae and Leiodidae. Richness (number of species), Abundance (number of individuals) and Shannon diversity (Shannon Index) were the measures considered to estimate Taxonomic diversity (TD).…”