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The biodiversity of terrestrial arthropods in Madeira and Selvagens archipelagos

Publication . Boieiro, Mário; Aguiar, António F.; Rego, Carla; Borges, Paulo A. V.; Serrano, Artur R. M.

[…]. El número de taxones de artrópodos terrestres citado de los archipiélagos de Madeira y Salvajes es respectivamente 3.801 y 201, entre los que hay un número significativo de endemismos (Borges et al., 2008b) (ver Tabla I; Fig. 5; Lámina II). Madeira, la isla más grande, con una orografía compleja y con el número mayor de diferentes tipos de hábitat, destaca claramente sobre las otras islas de los dos archipiélagos tanto en la riqueza de especies como en el número de taxones endémicos. Sin embargo, también se debe tener en cuenta que la biodiversidad de Madeira se ha estudiado más en detalle, ya que esta isla ha sido el objetivo de varias expediciones de historia natural y muchas visitas de taxónomos expertos de todo el mundo (ver la sección anterior). […].

2015Journal article

Open access

The biodiversity of terrestrial arthropods in Azores

Publication . Rego, Carla; Boieiro, Mário; Vieira, Virgílio; Borges, Paulo A. V.

[…]. El Departamento de Biología de la Universidad de las Azores organizó un total de 15 expediciones científicas en el periodo 1977-2011, que dieron lugar a varias publicaciones incluyendo muchas sobre los Lepidoptera del archipiélago (Carneiro, 1982; Carvalho, 1982, 1984, 1992; Guimarães, 1982; Sousa, 1982, 1985a, b, 1991, 1999; Meyer, 1991a, b; Vieira & Pintureau, 1991, 1993; Henderickx, 1995; Vieira, 1997, 2003, 2009; Carvalho et al., 1999; Tennent & Sousa, 2003; Vieira et al., 2003a; Karsholt & Vieira, 2005; Vieira & Karsholt, 2010). Desde 1975 a 1990, se realizaron estudios autoecológicos centrados en plagas agrícolas y sus parásitos, tales como Mythimna unipuncta Haworth (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) (Tavares, 1979; Vieira, 2000; Silva et al., 2003; Vieira et al., 2003b); Popillia japonica Newman (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae) (Simões & Martins, 1985) y Trichogramma sp. (Hymenoptera, Trichogrammatidae) (Oliveira, 1987). No fue hasta 1990 cuando los estudios sobre la ecología de las comunidades de artrópodos comenzaron a desarrollarse en el archipiélago (por ejemplo Cruz De Boelpaepe, 1991; Braz, 1992; Garcia, 1992; Oliveira & Tavares, 1992; Borges, 1995) (Fig. 6). El archipiélago de las Azores fue objetivo de menos expediciones científicas entomológicas o de entomólogos individuales que Madeira o las Islas Canarias. Sin embargo, recientemente se ha incrementado el interés en su fauna y flora. Esto, junto con el establecimiento de una universidad en las Azores, hace posible la proliferación de un gran conjunto de trabajos entomológicos, lo que se manifiesta en un incremento en el número de publicaciones sobre la biogeografía, ecología, entomología aplicada, bioespeleología y sistemática de los artrópodos de Azores (ver Vieira & Borges, 1993; Borges & Vieira, 1994). […].

2015Journal article

Open access

Using a space-for-time approach to select the best biodiversity-based indicators to assess the effects of aridity on Mediterranean drylands

Publication . Wendt, Clara Frasconi; Nunes, Alice; Verble, Robin; Santini, Giacomo; Boieiro, Mário; Branquinho, Cristina

Mediterranean drylands are particularly vulnerable to predicted increases in aridity which are expected to have negative consequences for biodiversity. To understand the effects of climate change on ecosystems, a framework for the selection of indicators based on the essential biodiversity variables (EBV) was proposed. In this framework, a functional approach has been suggested because functional traits have shown to be sensitive to small-scale environmental changes. Additionally, functional traits are also associated with ecosystem-limiting processes. In this context, we used ants as ecological indicators, as they are functionally important and respond in a measurable way to environmental changes. We identify which biodiversity-based indicators (e.g., taxonomic, single-trait and multi-trait indices) help track changes in Mediterranean drylands; for this, we used a space-for-time substitution climatic gradient in the western Mediterranean. Ants were sampled along an aridity gradient and identified to species level. Four continuous and seven categorical traits were measured or retrieved from literature. Continuous traits included Weber’s length, which is indicative for body length, head length, eye length and femur length; categorical traits were diet, behavioral dominance, daily activity, nest preference, mound presence, worker polymorphism and foraging strategy. We calculated taxonomic, functional structure and single- and multi-trait functional diversity indices and correlated them with aridity. We found that ant taxonomic and multi-trait functional diversity were maintained along the aridity gradient. Despite maintenance of species and functional diversity along the gradient, ant functional structure responded to aridity with increases in mean trait values of Weber’s length, eye length and femur length in the drier part of the gradient. Under wetter conditions, we found the highest proportion of ants with a seed-based diet, reflecting a potential increase in resource quantity. We observed a change in foraging strategy from group to individual as aridity increased. In conclusion, with a space-for-time substitution climatic gradient, this study shows the potential role of aridity as an environmental driver of ant trait values. These results highlight the value of ants and functional traits as indicators to track the effects of climate change on ecosystems. Finally, this study represents a starting point to monitor important species traits in the context of EBV and to use them as indicators to track the effects of aridity on Mediterranean dryland ecosystems.

2020-06Journal article

Restricted access