Microhabitat associations of land snails in forested dolinas: implications for coarse filter conservation

Kemencei, Zita; Farkas, Roland; Páll‐Gergely, Barna; Vilisics, Ferenc; Nagy, Antal; Hornung, Elisabeth; Sólymos, Péter

doi:10.1556/comec.15.2014.2.6

Cited by 24 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…However, other taxa also display distribution patterns reflecting changes in environmental conditions in dolines over short distances. For instance, the increased soil moisture content on north-facing slopes and bottoms of solution dolines in the Aggtelek Karst area (Hungary) has been shown to provide suitable habitats for several cool-adapted species of land snails (Mollusca) 49 and terrestrial isopods (Arthropoda) 65 . Dolines in Mexico, Australia and China (‘cenotes’ and ‘tiankengs’) have also been shown to maintain populations of rare taxa in various phyla 46,66–68 , highlighting dolines as important safe havens for biodiversity on a global scale.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Karst dolines provide diverse microhabitats for different functional groups in multiple phyla

Bátori

Vojtkó

Maák

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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Fine-scale topographic complexity creates important microclimates that can facilitate species to grow outside their main distributional range and increase biodiversity locally. Enclosed depressions in karst landscapes (‘dolines’) are topographically complex environments which produce microclimates that are drier and warmer (equator-facing slopes) and cooler and moister (pole-facing slopes and depression bottoms) than the surrounding climate. We show that the distribution patterns of functional groups for organisms in two different phyla, Arthropoda (ants) and Tracheophyta (vascular plants), mirror this variation of microclimate. We found that north-facing slopes and bottoms of solution dolines in northern Hungary provided key habitats for ant and plant species associated with cooler and/or moister conditions. Contrarily, south-facing slopes of dolines provided key habitats for species associated with warmer and/or drier conditions. Species occurring on the surrounding plateau were associated with intermediate conditions. We conclude that karst dolines provide a diversity of microclimatic habitats that may facilitate the persistence of taxa with diverse environmental preferences, indicating these dolines to be potential safe havens for multiple phyla under local and global climate oscillations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Karst dolines provide diverse microhabitats for different functional groups in multiple phyla

Bátori

Vojtkó

Maák

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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“…in doline bottoms at night (Bárány-Kevei, 1999). Although only a few studies have been published on the distribution of animal taxa in European dolines (and most of these studies focus on collapse dolines with cave entrances), their ability to support species adapted to cooler and/or moister conditions is widely accepted (Kemencei et al, 2014;Bátori et al, 2017;Su et al, 2017). For instance, Růžička et al (2016) mention Vitrea transsylvanica (Mollusca: Gastropoda), Micrargus georgescuae (Chelicerata: Araneae), and Ligidium germanicum (Crustacea: Isopoda) as cold-adapted mountain species from the lower parts of a collapse doline in the Moravian Karst (Czech Republic).…”

Section: Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, the accumulation of cold-adapted plants (e.g., high montane and glacial relict species) within certain microhabitats of dolines -such as poleward-facing slopes and bottoms -is a prime indicator of the presence of current warm-stage microrefugia. Although recent investigations have indicated that dolines may also provide safe havens for various functional groups of animals from different phyla (Vilisics et al, 2011;Kemencei et al, 2014;Raschmanová et al, 2015Raschmanová et al, , 2018Růžička et al, 2016;Battisti et al, 2017;Bátori et al, 2019), data on many taxa is scarce or completely lacking. Furthermore, most of these studies do not provide information about the effects of habitat heterogeneity and related vegetation patterns on the functional diversity of animal assemblages within dolines.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Karstic Microrefugia Host Functionally Specific Ant Assemblages

et al. 2020

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Karst landscapes are among the topographically most complex systems with various microhabitats, where species can persist despite unfavourable macro-environmental changes. These microhabitats can also function as stepping stones during range shifts. Although the enclosed depressions (dolines, sinkholes or tiankengs) of karst landscapes may act as such safe havens, data on the functional diversity of their animal assemblages are scarce. Here, we investigate the functional diversity (i.e., certain functional groups and functional traits) of ant assemblages in dolines and study whether dolines surrounded by resource-poor environments (i.e., Fagus sylvatica forests) may function as safe havens for different kinds of ants. We found that dolines have the potential to maintain distinctive ant assemblages characterised by specific functional groups and traits that are rare in the surrounding habitats. Although continuous Fagus sylvatica cover in dolines had a detrimental impact on ant assemblages, grassland dolines surrounded by grasslands or Fagus sylvatica forests supported the presence of some specific functional groups and traits. These results suggest that conservation management needs to consider the influence of vegetation characteristics not only in dolines but also on the surrounding plateau. Moderate grazing and/or mowing would be desirable in order to prevent shrub encroachment into grasslands to ensure optimal vegetation structure for ants in the long run. Therefore, proper management and conservation of these safe havens may mitigate the rate of biodiversity loss under global warming. There is a need to explore a wide variety of taxonomic groups and taxon-specific traits in parallel with the quality of the surrounding habitats when evaluating current and potential microrefugia.

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“…Dolines provide steep gradients of environmental conditions (e.g., soil moisture and temperature) within very short distances (Whiteman et al 2004;Chauchard et al 2007;Su et al 2017), enabling them to facilitate the persistence of various functional groups of species in various phyla (Růžička et al 2016;Breg Valjavec et al 2018a;Bátori et al 2019). As a result, they are characterised by high genetic (Egli 1991;Su et al 2017), taxonomic (Bátori et al 2014b;Kemencei et al 2014;Raschmanová et al 2015;Růžička et al 2016;Battisti et al 2017) and microhabitat diversity (Özkan et al 2010;Bátori et al 2019) and may offer the best chances of survival for cool-adapted species and/or species retreating from global warming (i.e. trailing edge and stabilized relict populations) (Hampe and Petit 2005;Bauer 2018;Bátori et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anthropogenic disturbances alter the conservation value of karst dolines

et al. 2019

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Dolines are depressions in karst landscapes that are of high value for conservation, providing habitats and supporting species not found in the surrounding landscape. This is due to their high microhabitat diversity and ability to decouple microclimate from regional climate changes, making them potential refugia for biodiversity. Nevertheless, local anthropogenic disturbances have had considerable impact on the species composition and vegetation structure of many dolines. Here we investigate the conservation value of dolines in three European karst areas, where different levels and types of anthropogenic disturbances have been shaping the vegetation for centuries, using the number of plant species that are cool-adapted, moist-adapted and of high conservation importance (i.e. vulnerable species) as indicators. We found that anthropogenic disturbances generally have a negative impact, reducing the number of vulnerable species supported by dolines. However, more cooladapted and moist-adapted species were found in some dolines planted with non-native Picea abies than in less disturbed dolines, indicating that anthropogenic disturbances can also have positive consequences for biodiversity. We conclude that anthropogenic disturbances alter the capacity of dolines to support vulnerable species, and that this will impact survival of species in landscapes under global warming. In this context, the effects of various disturbances on species composition and diversity need to carefully considered to determine the best conservation and/or management options.

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Microhabitat associations of land snails in forested dolinas: implications for coarse filter conservation

Cited by 24 publications

References 14 publications

Karst dolines provide diverse microhabitats for different functional groups in multiple phyla

Karst dolines provide diverse microhabitats for different functional groups in multiple phyla

Karstic Microrefugia Host Functionally Specific Ant Assemblages

Anthropogenic disturbances alter the conservation value of karst dolines

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