The status of two boreo-alpine species,Somatochlora alpestrisandS. arctica, in Romania and their vulnerability to the impact of climate change (Odonata: Corduliidae)

Abstract

It is expected that climate change will have a great impact on many species and habitats. This will be greater if populations are found at the edge of their range or are isolated, and could lead to regional extinction. Here we investigate the possible impact on two boreo-alpine dragonfly species, Somatochlora alpestris and S. arctica, at their range margins. Both species were unknown for most parts of south-eastern Europe. In 2007 we found 15 localities for S. alpestris and two for S. arctica in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania. Both species are there confined to mountain peat bogs. All localities are situated between 1300 m and 2100 m altitude, with the majority restricted to a small range between 1600 m and 1800 m. Based on the factor altitude we predict a hypothetical distribution map for S. alpestris. The underlying models exclusively rely on the ultimate factor "altitude" and explain more than 60% of the deviance. In addition, we assessed the impact of climate change for two scenarios: a 1.5 • C temperature increase and a 3 • C increase. The first resulted in altitudinal range shifts of +200 m and in a distributional shrinkage of 40%, the latter corresponds to an upward range shift of 600 m and a loss of 90% of the area. Habitat specialists, especially those at their margins of distribution, are hardly able to keep pace with climate change. It seems unlikely that mountain peat bogs will develop at rates comparable to those of current climate change. This may effect regional extinctions of boreo-alpine species.

Has Aeshna viridis EVERSMANN, 1836 (Odonata: Aeshnidae) really disappeared from southern Poland (East-Central Europe)?

“…The "winners" are thermophilous species, representing a broadly defined Mediterranean zoogeographical element, while the "losers" are cryophilous Siberian species (e.g. OTT 2001, FLENNER & SAHLÉN 2008, BERNARD et al 2009, CONZE et al 2010, DE KNIJF et al 2011. The regress of Siberian A. viridis on the southern edge of its distribution area in east-central Europe, including Poland, would appear to fit this pattern.…”

Fauna Vilinih Konjica (Odonata) Planine Zelengora I Nacionalnog Parka Sutjeska

“…Tokom naših istraživanja S. flaveolum je u najvećem broju registrovan na Gornjim Barama, odnosno jezerini kod Gornjih Bara, a vrsta je bila prisutna na svim istraživanim jezerima i njihovoj okolini. Tokom ledenog doba Balkansko poluostrvo bilo je refugijum za mnoge vrste iz sjevernih krajeva (St. Quentin, 1960), a sa promjenom klime i porastom temperatura vrste hladnijih staništa pomjerale su se sve više prema većim nadmorskim visinama, tako da ih danas u ovom dijelu Evrope nalazimo jedino još u najvišim planinskim predjelima (De Knijf et al, 2011;Boudot & Kalkman, 2015). Kako ove vrste na našem području predstavljaju relikte hladnih perioda u Evropi, one su i znatno osjetljivije i ugroženije zbog globalnog zatopljenja.…”

“…Za razliku od L. dubia, vrste koje su usko vezane za visokoplaninska tresetišta, a javljaju se na drugim planinski lancima jugoistočne Evrope, poput vrsta Aeshna subarctica Walker, 1908 i Somatochlora alpestris (Selys, 1840) do sada nisu registrovane na Dinaridima, dok za vrstu Somatochlora arctica (Zetterstedt, 1840) postoje samo podaci za krajnji sjeverozapadni dio Dinarida u Sloveniji (Boudot & Kalkman, 2015). Južna granica njihovog rasprostranjenja su Karpati u Rumuniji (De Knijf et al, 2011) i Rila u Bugarskoj (Marinov & Simov, 2004). S obzirom da se radi o izuzetno rijetkim reliktnim vrstama za koje nikada nisu postojali podaci o prisustvu u središnjim i jugooistočnim Dinaridima, izuzetno je mala mogućnost da u budućnosti budu registrovane na ovom području.…”

Odonata origins, biogeography, and diversification in an Eastern North American hotspot: multiple pathways to high temperate forest insect diversity

“…Likewise, most of the truly boreal NYS odonates on the rear edge of their often large ranges well north into Canada (i.e. many Somatochlora) are often ranked highly for conservation concern in northeastern NA and elsewhere (Bried & Mazzacano, 2010;DeKnijf et al, 2011).…”