The current knowledge of pseudoscorpions in Estonia is summarized, based on specimens preserved in various Estonian collections and new material collected from 1993 to 2015. Altogether 474 studied specimens belonged to 14 species, including nine species recorded from Estonia for the first time. Supplemented by Apocheiridium rossicum, listed by literature data only, the number of known Estonian pseudoscorpions is now set at 15. The findings of Mesochelifer ressli are the northernmost known for the species. Some ecological and phenological observations were made on the most common species, along with notes on the habitat preferences of other species and the use of different trapping methods. The composition of the known Estonian fauna is compared with the published records from the neighbouring countries, revealing a highest similarity to the Finnish fauna.The possible occurrence of other species in Estonia and the latitudinal species diversity gradient in the Eastern Baltic region are shortly discussed.
Questions Long‐term fragmentation and land use in Europe have created a landscape pattern where small forest patches are embedded among agricultural landscapes. These small forest patches can be one of the few habitats left to maintain the species richness and ecosystem functions within intensively managed agroecosystems. We ask, which factors determine vascular plant species richness, community composition and forest community integrity in small forest patches in an agricultural landscape? Location NE Estonia. Methods We combine island biogeographic theory (patch area and isolation) with the properties of the surrounding landscape and local environmental conditions within a patch to study the drivers of species richness and community integrity. Results Patch area together with local environmental factors (understorey light conditions and soil reaction) determined both species richness and community integrity. Total species richness and forest generalists were related to patch area alone, whereas forest specialists were additionally dependent on patch light conditions. Species richness of grassland specialists in the forest patches increased with the amount of natural habitat in the surrounding landscape, while the presence of synanthropic species was positively related to soil reaction. Forest community integrity was higher in larger, more shaded patches with low soil reaction, which together defined suitable conditions for forest communities and hindered the intrusion of species from other habitats. Conclusions Under a suitable set of conditions, encompassing both favourable landscape and local environmental conditions, even small forest patches can provide habitat for both forest and grassland communities in agricultural landscapes. Comprehensive approaches, considering species composition, environment and landscape conditions simultaneously, are needed for making reliable predictions of biodiversity patterns.
The data on Estonian Myriapoda are scattered in various publications and there has been no overview of the fauna up to the present. A critical summary of the previous information on Estonian Myriapoda is given, supplemented by new records and distribution maps. Altogether, 5784 specimens from 276 collecting sites were studied. To the hitherto recorded 14 centipede species are added Lithobiusmelanops, L.microps, Geophiluscarpophagus, G.flavus, Strigamiatranssilvanica and Stenotaenialinearis, a probably introduced species. Of the 27 published Estonian millipede species, the data on two species proved erroneous, and two new species were recorded (Craspedosomaraulinsii and Cylindroiulusbritannicus). Two previously recorded millipede species – Brachyiuluspusillus and Mastigophorophyllonsaxonicum – were not found in the recent samples, the latter may have become more rare or extinct. Pauropoda and Symphyla lack previous reliable records. Combined with published data, the number of myriapod species known from Estonia is now set at 52. Some changes in species distribution and frequencies were detected comparing the published data with new records. Some data about habitat preferences of the more common species are also given. The majority of species have a western Palaearctic distribution, while six species are at the northern limit of their ranges.
Previously, two species of Zygentoma have been reported as synanthropic in Estonia (Lepisma saccharinum Linnaeus, 1758 and Thermobia domestica (Packard, 1873)). Ctenolepisma longicaudatum Escherich, 1905 is an invasive species that is currently expanding its range in Europe, but had no published records from the northern Baltic Region. Ctenolepisma longicaudatum was first found in Estonia in 2018. It has currently several established populations in public buildings in Tartu and Tallinn, but has not been found in private households, nor in other places in Estonia. A brief overview of its invasion history in northern Europe is given.
The genus Neocheiridium Beier, 1932 currently contains seven Neotropical (including Caribbean) and two Afrotropical species, with no Nearctic records. An undescribed species of Neocheiridium from South Carolina was discovered in the Ohio State University Acarology Collection and is described as Neocheiridium gullahorum, n. sp. (based on specimens of both sexes). A key to known world species of Neocheiridium is proposed.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.