Autori: Ulrich W., Fiera C

Editorial: Acta Oecologica, 35(1) , p.45-52, 2009.

Rezumat:

Our knowledge about environmental correlates of the spatial distribution of animal species
stems mostly from the study of well known vertebrate and a few invertebrate taxa. The
poor spatial resolution of faunistic data and undersampling prohibit detailed spatial
modeling for the vast majority of arthropods. However, many such models are necessary
for a comparative approach to the impact of environmental factors on the spatial distribution
of species of different taxa. Here we use recent compilations of species richness of
35 European countries and larger islands and linear spatial autocorrelation modeling to
infer the influence of area and environmental variables on the number of springtail (Collembola)
species in Europe. We show that area, winter length and annual temperature
difference are major predictors of species richness. We also detected a significant negative
longitudinal gradient in the number of springtail species towards Eastern Europe that
might be caused by postglacial colonization. In turn, environmental heterogeneity and
vascular plant species richness did not significantly contribute to model performance.
Contrary to theoretical expectations, climate and longitude corrected species-area relationships
of Collembola did not significantly differ between islands and mainlands.

Cuvinte cheie: Collembola; Species-area relationship; Macroecology; Spatial autocorrelation, Latitudinal gradient; Longitudinal gradient