Structure of Harvestmen (Arachnida, Opiliones) Communities in Different, Anthropically Disturbed Beech Ecosystems (Western Carpathians, Slovakia)

Abstract

Structure of Harvestmen (Arachnida, Opiliones) Communities in Diff erent, Anthropically Disturbed Beech Ecosystems (Western Carpathians, Slovakia). Mihál, I., Černecká, Ľ. -Th e authors evaluate the impact of diff erent types of forestry management, and other anthropic disturbances, on harvestmen (Opiliones) communities in sub-mountain beech stands in the Western Carpathians. Harvestmen were studied in three main localities, consisting of nine partial plots (Žiar nad Hronom -(1) control closed canopy stand; Jalná -(2) control stand, (3) thinning stand, (4) 11-year old forest clearing, and (5) 2-year old forest clearing; Kováčová -(6) control stand, (7) coppice, (8) 10-year old forest clearing, and (9) 3-year old forest clearing). In total, 16 harvestmen species were found, representing 45.7 % of the 35 harvestmen species range known in Slovakia to date. Th e most abundant species, i. At the partial plot of the 3-year old forest clearing, we found eight harvestmen species and noticed a high number of specimens (5.49) caught in one individual trap, and this was also the highest number among all the nine sites.

Marked compositional changes in harvestmen assemblages in Amazonian forest islands induced by a mega dam

“…According to several other studies, the diversity of harvestmen recorded on the islands was low (Pinto‐da‐Rocha & Bonaldo, ; Bonaldo et al ., ; Tourinho et al ., ; ; Colmenares et al ., ; Porto et al ., ). The small number of species detected per island also reinforces diversity impoverishment in forest fragments, as suggested for the Atlantic Forest (Bragagnolo et al ., ) and temperate forests (Černecká et al, ; Mihál & Černecká, ). Indeed, more than half of the sampled islands exhibited only one to five species, whereas mainland sites retained 11–20 species, exhibiting a similar pattern obtained in other Amazonian sites (; Bonaldo et al, ; Tourinho et al ., ; ; ; Porto et al ., ).…”

“…Although few studies have shown the negative impacts of fragmented forest habitats on harvestmen assemblages in temperate forests (Černecká et al ., ; Mihál & Černecká, ), only one study to date – conducted in forest patches embedded within heterogeneous vegetation matrices in the Brazilian Atlantic forest – has assessed the effects of forest fragmentation on harvestmen within a tropical forest landscape (Bragagnolo et al ., ). In this study, harvestmen assemblages were more clearly structured by forest quality and size than other arthropod taxa, suggesting that they are good community‐wide indicators of intermediate‐level disturbances and can be used as a robust model to monitor tropical forest disturbance.…”

The influence of stand density on the structure of harvestmen communities (Opiliones) in a submountain beech forest

“…Considering the three most numerous species recorded (T. nepaeformis, O. tridens, D. scabrum), Mihál and Černecká (2017) confirmed only T. nepaeformis as a dominant component of harvestmen communities in submountain beech stands of the Western Carpathians. These authors recorded T. nepaeformis with a 19.9% dominance -as the second most abundant harvestman following Lophopilio palpinalis with 22.8% dominance.…”

“…The high species richness of harvestmen communities in beech forests was also confirmed by other authors. For example, Mihál and Černecká (2017) Table 1. Chosen parameters of harvestmen communities recorded at the experimental sites S1, S2, S3, S4…”

Evaluating higher taxa as surrogates of harvestmen biodiversity (Arachnida: Opiliones) along a latitudinal gradient in the Atlantic Forest

“…For example, Proud et al (2012) in a wet forest found the highest richness of harvestmen in specific microhabitats such as trees and fallen logs. Herbaceous cover also demonstrated positive effects on harvestmen species (Mihál & Černecká, 2017), considering that these microhabitats create shadows, which prevent organisms from being exposed to direct solar radiation. The harvestmen exhibit certain characteristics, such as their low dispersion capacity (Mestre & Pinto‐da‐Rocha, 2004; Pinto‐da‐Rocha et al, 2005) and preference for humid microhabitats (Gnaspini, 1996; Goodnight & Goodnight, 1976; Machado et al, 2000) due to their high susceptibility to desiccation (Pinto‐da‐Rocha et al, 2007), may contribute to aggravating the effects of natural habitat fragmentation on these organisms.…”