Arthropod biodiversity patterns point to the Mesovoid Shallow Substratum (MSS) as a climate refugium

Global distribution of microwhip scorpions (Arachnida: Palpigradi)

“…Deep subterranean habitats are characterized by pronounced environmental stability and thermal inertia – including tropical caves, although the climatic stability is seemingly less pronounced (Mejía‐Ortíz et al, 2021). Subterranean habitats may thus have acted as ‘climatic refuges’ (Ledesma et al, 2020; Mammola, Piano, et al, 2019) for the survival and diversification of subterranean‐adapted species. Likewise, the regions that remained permanently forested at the surface may have been important for the diversification of palpigrades in soils, as similarly observed in other arthropod groups (Hoffmeister & Ferrari, 2016; Peres et al, 2015).…”

Reduction in the metabolic levels due to phenotypic plasticity in the Pyrenean newt, Calotriton asper, during cave colonization

“…Under such climate changes, various external organisms may be able to exploit subterranean environments as refugia (Mammola et al., 2019). For instance, movement of faunas from surface to subterranean habitats, and vice versa, have been reported in athropods, particularly in the mountainous areas, under adverse surface climate and habitat changes (Ledesma, 2020).…”

Determination of arthropod biodiversity and some ecological parameters of Erdal Şekeroğlu (Isparta, Turkey) and Kadıini (Antalya, Turkey) cave ecosystems with evaluation of usability of insects in cave mapping

“…Many scientific studies in cave ecosystems show that hexapods are more diverse than other arthropod classes. Additionally, a significant proportion of the arthropod species that are collected in the cave ecosystems are hexapods (Poulson & Culver, 1969;Schneider et al, 2010;Culver & Pipan, 2018;Niemiller & Taylor, 2019;Ledesma et al, 2020). Biodiversity parameters can be measured differently, even in different regions in the same cave ecosystem.…”