Arthropods of Alpine Aeolian Ecosystems

Edwards, John S.

doi:10.1146/annurev.en.32.010187.001115

Cited by 74 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Because they live on the ground, the change of vegetation above the timberline does not affect them directly, but only through the decline of food availability resulting from the reduction of habitat diversity and complexity. Moreover, some authors (Swan, 1963;Mani, 1968Mani, , 1990Edwards, 1987) emphasize the importance of windblown organic material for the survival of organisms at zones above the tree line. They postulate that at these elevations the abundance of this aeolian material is much greater than the primary productivity so as to constitute the main food resource for alpine organisms.…”

Section: Peakmentioning

confidence: 99%

The distribution of ground spiders (Araneae, Gnaphosidae) along the altitudinal gradient of Crete, Greece: species richness, activity and altitudinal range

Chatzaki

Lymberakis

Markakis

et al. 2005

Journal of Biogeography

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Aim To study the altitudinal variation of ground spiders (Araneae, Gnaphosidae) of Crete, Greece, as far as species composition, species richness, activity and range of distribution are concerned.Location Altitudinal zones (0-2400 m) along the three main mountain massifs of the island of Crete.Methods Thirty-three sampling sites were located from 0 to 2400 m a.s.l. on Crete, and sampled using pitfall traps. Material from the high-activity period of Gnaphosidae (mid-spring to mid-autumn) was analysed. Sampling sites were divided into five altitudinal zones of 500 m each. Statistical analysis involved univariate statistics (anova) and multivariate statistics, such as multidimensional scaling (MDS) and cluster analysis (UPGMA) using binomial data of species presence or absence.Results Species richness declines with altitude and follows a hump-shaped pattern. The activity pattern of the family, as a whole, is not correlated with altitude and is highly species-specific. In the highest zone, both species richness and activity decline dramatically. The altitudinal range of species distribution increases with altitude. On the Cretan summits live highly tolerant lowland species and isolated residents of the high mountains of Crete. Two different patterns of community structure are recorded.Main conclusions Communities of Gnaphosidae on Crete present two distinct structures following the altitudinal gradient, these being separated by a transitional zone between 1600 and 2000 m. This study supports previous results which show a hump-shaped decline in species richness of Gnaphosidae along altitudinal gradients, leading to a peak at 400-700 m, where an optimum of environmental factors exists. This makes this zone the meeting point of the often opportunistic lowland species with the older and most permanent residents of the island. Rapoport's rule on the positive correlation of the altitudinal range of species distributions with altitude is also supported. The high activity recorded for the species that persist on the high mountains of Crete is indicative of a tolerant arachnofauna, and is considered to result from relaxation of competitive interactions with other species. This is related to a reduction in species numbers, shortening of the activity period on high mountains and the unique presence of high mountain species that thrive only there. As shown in our study, strategies to cope with altitude are species-specific. Therefore, there cannot exist one single model to describe how animals react to the change in altitude, even under the same environmental conditions.

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Section: Peakmentioning

confidence: 99%

The distribution of ground spiders (Araneae, Gnaphosidae) along the altitudinal gradient of Crete, Greece: species richness, activity and altitudinal range

Chatzaki

Lymberakis

Markakis

et al. 2005

Journal of Biogeography

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“…These processes have duly received much attention in the literature on Arctic ecosystems. The significance of another potentially important allochthonous source of nutrients, wind dispersed invertebrates, however, has been largely ignored, despite abundant data describing significant aerial deposition, even on snowfields and the Arctic icecap (Parry 1828, Fridriksson 1975, Ashmole et al 1983, Edwards 1987, Ashmole and Ashmole 1988, Antor 1994, Crawford et al 1995. The importance of allochthonous energy and nutrient inputs in driving the dynamics of local ecosystems has been stressed by Polis and Hurd (1995) and Polis et al (1997).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

What a wonderful web they weave: spiders, nutrient capture and early ecosystem development in the high Arctic – some counter‐intuitive ideas on community assembly

Hodkinson

Coulson²,

Harrison³

et al. 2001

Oikos

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Spiders are the earliest colonisers of newly exposed moraine substrates on the glacier foreland of the Midtre Lovénbreen at Ny‐Ålesund, W. Spitsbergen, Svalbard (78°N). Spider densities are highly correlated with allochthonous inputs of potential prey items, predominantly chironomid midges. Large allochthonous inputs of insects potentially provide significant quantities of nitrogen and phosphorus to the developing ecosystem from the earliest stages of succession, even before a conspicuous cyanobacterial crust has formed. Spiders entrap nutrients and their possible broader role in early ecosystem development is discussed.

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“…In the snowfield alpine zone (the "aeolian ecosystem"), Grylloblatta depend on deposition of wind-blown organic matter, usually small insects, carried long distances from low elevation sources (Edwards 1987). Although it has not been well documented, arthropod communities are depauperate in habitats frequented by grylloblattids and species interactions appear to be limited (see review by Mani [1968] for a discussion of alpine arthropod diversity).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

<p class="HeadingRunIn"><strong>Updated checklist of the ice-crawlers (Insecta: Grylloblattodea: Grylloblattidae) of North America, with notes on their natural history, biogeography and conservation</strong></p>

Schoville¹,

Graening²

2013

Zootaxa

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We provide an updated checklist and comprehensive distributional record of Grylloblatta (Grylloblattodea: Grylloblattidae) in North America. These distribution records are based upon a thorough review of the literature, as well as unpublished data of the authors and colleagues. Thirteen species of Grylloblatta are currently described, with up to 16 additional taxa awaiting formal description. Distributional data shows that endemism of Grylloblatta is high and geographic range size is typically small: the median geographical area of 13 species and six putative species is 179 km 2 . It is clear that there is a general lack of knowledge of species range limits and local population sizes; for example, three Grylloblatta species are known from just a single locality and less than 15 specimens each. Conservation status ranks are suggested in order to update the IUCN Red List and national Natural Heritage Network Database. Finally, we describe the natural history and seasonality of Grylloblatta, discuss their unique biogeography, and provide recommendations for future surveys of grylloblattid species by highlighting known distributional gaps.

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Arthropods of Alpine Aeolian Ecosystems

Cited by 74 publications

References 29 publications

The distribution of ground spiders (Araneae, Gnaphosidae) along the altitudinal gradient of Crete, Greece: species richness, activity and altitudinal range

The distribution of ground spiders (Araneae, Gnaphosidae) along the altitudinal gradient of Crete, Greece: species richness, activity and altitudinal range

What a wonderful web they weave: spiders, nutrient capture and early ecosystem development in the high Arctic – some counter‐intuitive ideas on community assembly

<p class="HeadingRunIn"><strong>Updated checklist of the ice-crawlers (Insecta: Grylloblattodea: Grylloblattidae) of North America, with notes on their natural history, biogeography and conservation</strong></p>

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