Cave features, seasonality and subterranean distribution of non-obligate cave dwellers

PeerJ

article

Enrico Lunghi¹  Raoul Manenti⁴  Gentile Francesco Ficetola⁴ 

[1] Department of Biogeography, Universität Trier Fachbereich VI: Raum-und Umweltwissenschaften;Museum of Natural History of Florence—Zoology Section ,(“La Specola”), University of Florence;Natural Oasis;Departement of Environmental Science and Policy, Università degli Studi di Milano;Laboratoire d’Ecologie Alpine ,(LECA), Université Grenoble-Alpes;LECA, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

关键词: Biospeleology;    Amphibian;    Spider;    Cave biology;    Invertebrate;    Gastropoda;    Detection probability;    Cricket;    Community;    Mixed models;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.3169

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Seasonality impacts species distributions through changes of the environmental conditions that affect the presence of individuals at a given place. Although the dynamics of cave microclimates are well known, only a few studies have evaluated the effects of such dynamics on non-strictly cave species. Here we assessed if species exploiting subterranean environments show changes in habitat occupation related to seasonal variation of cave microclimates. We surveyed 16 caves in central Italy every month for one year. Caves were subdivided into longitudinal sectors of three meters. In each sector we measured cave morphology and microclimatic features, assessed the occurrence of eight non-troglobitic taxa (orthopterans, spiders, gastropods and amphibians), and related species distribution to environmental features and sampling periods. The occurrence of most species was related to both cave morphology and microclimatic features. The survey month was the major factor determining the presence of species in cave sectors, indicating that cave-dwelling taxa show strong seasonality in activity and distribution. For multiple species, we detected interactions between sampling period and microclimatic features, suggesting that species may associate with different microhabitats throughout the year. The richest communities were found in sites with specific microclimates (i.e., high humidity, warm temperature and low light) but seasonality for species richness was strong as well, stressing the complexity of interactions between outdoor and subterranean environments.

【 授权许可】

CC BY