The Diversity of Arachnid Assemblages on the Endemic Tree Zelkova abelicea (Ulmaceae): An Evaluation of Fragmentation and Connectivity in Crete (Greece)
by
, , , , , ,
Dariusz J. Gwiazdowicz
1,*
,
Laurence Fazan
2, 
Giulio Gardini
3,
Dany Ghosn
4,
Sławomir Kaczmarek
5,
Alireza Nemati
6,
Ilektra Remoundou
4,
Tomasz Rutkowski
7,
Piotr Skubała
8,
Bogna Zawieja
9 and
Gregor Kozlowski
2,10,11
1
Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 71c, 60-625 Poznań, Poland
2
Department of Biology and Botanic Garden, University of Fribourg, Chemin du Musée 10, 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland
3
Via Monte Corno 12/1, 16166 Genova, Italy
4
Department of Geoinformation in Environmental Management—Alsyllio Agrokepiou, CIHEAM Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania, 73100 Chania, Greece
5
Department of Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Kazimierz Wielki University, Ossolińskich Av. 12, 85-094 Bydgoszcz, Poland
6
Plant Protection Department, Agricultural College, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord 8818634141, Iran
7
Natural History Collections, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-614 Poznań, Poland
8
Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Silesia in Katowice, Bankowa 9, 40-007 Katowice, Poland
9
Department of Mathematical and Statistical Methods, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 28, 60-637 Poznań, Poland
10
Natural History Museum Fribourg, Chemin du Musée 6, 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland
11
Shanghai Chenshan Plant Science Research Center, Plant Systematics and Evolutionary Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201602, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Insects 2024, 15(10), 788; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects15100788
Submission received: 21 August 2024
/
Revised: 6 October 2024
/
Accepted: 7 October 2024
/
Published: 10 October 2024
(This article belongs to the Section Other Arthropods and General Topics)
Simple Summary
Zelkova abelicea is an endemic tree growing only on eight mountain stands on the Greek island of Crete. The aim of this study was to determine the structure of the assemblages and analyze the diversity of the arachnid assemblages (spiders, pseudoscorpions, mites) living on these trees. Samples for the analyses were collected from tree trunks, oftentimes covered by bryophytes or lichens. In the examined material, 85 taxa were recorded. The most numerous represented group was mites (1134 specimens, 69 species), and the highest numbers of specimens were in the order Oribatida, namely Zygoribatula exilis (284 specimens) and Eremaeus tuberosus (210). Additionally, in order Mesostigmata, Hypoaspisella sp. was found, which is probably a species new to science. Among the eight sampled localities, Gerakari (646 specimens, 50 species) and Omalos (409, 43) had by far the richest assemblages. Our statistical analyses confirmed the highly diverse character of the arachnid assemblages at the individual sites, which is a consequence not only of the varied numbers of arachnids found, but also of the presence of very rare species, such as Androlaelaps shealsi, Cosmolaelaps lutegiensis or Hoploseius oblongus in the order Mesostigmata. These results highlight the high species diversity of arachnids found on Z. abelicea but also suggest the lack of connectivity between the isolated and fragmented forest stands on Crete.
Abstract
Zelkova abelicea is an endemic tree growing only on eight mountain stands on the Greek island of Crete. The aim of this study was to determine the structure of the assemblages and analyze the diversity of the arachnid assemblages living on Zelkova abelicea, an endemic tree species in Crete. Material for the analyses was collected from tree trunks, oftentimes covered by bryophytes or lichens. In the examined material, 85 taxa were recorded. The most numerous groups represented in the analyzed material were Acari, including representatives of the orders Mesostigmata (78 ind. of 18 spp.) and Oribatida (1056 ind. of 51 spp.). In the order Mesostigmata the species represented by the highest numbers of specimens were Onchodellus karawaiewi (15 individuals) and Hypoaspisella sp. (13), which is probably a species new to science. In turn, representatives of the order Oribatida were much more numerous, with Zygoribatula exilis (284) and Eremaeus tuberosus (210) being identified in the largest numbers. Among the eight sampled localities, Gerakari (646 ind. and 50 spp.) and Omalos (409 ind. and 43 spp., respectively) had by far the richest assemblages. Statistical analyses confirmed the highly diverse character of the arachnid assemblages at the individual sites, which is a consequence not only of the varied numbers of arachnids found, but also of the presence of very rare species, such as Androlaelaps shealsi, Cosmolaelaps lutegiensis or Hoploseius oblongus. These results highlight the high species diversity of the arachnids found on Z. abelicea but also suggest the lack of connectivity between the isolated and fragmented forest stands on Crete.
Keywords:
Acari; Araneae; Pseudoscorpiones; biodiversity; ecology of arthropods; zoogeography
