Exceptional invertebrate diversity in a scree slope in Eastern Spain

Abstract

© 2015, Springer International Publishing Switzerland. In this study, the invertebrate fauna of a colluvial Mesovoid Shallow Substratum (MSS) is Eastern Spain was characterized, and the importance of the MSS as refuge for endemic and rare species was assessed. Ten pitfall traps were buried up to 1 m deep inside multiperforated PVC tubes across a stone debris. Several environmental variables were measured in each sampling point. The completeness of the inventory was assessed, and different diversity patterns—variation in abundance, species richness and species composition—were analyzed. 4150 individuals and 164 species were captured, most of them arthropods. The number of individuals and species varied considerably among traps. Half of the species were represented by one or two individuals, and neither the species accumulation curves nor the curves for the non-parametric estimators showed any sign of stabilizing. Individuals of abundant species aggregated in one or a few traps. No consistent diversity patterns were found, except that distance among traps partially explained the similarity in species composition when considering only the most abundant species. This is a very rich but uneven assemblage that shows a high degree of species turnover between traps. One-sixth of the species can be classified as either troglobionts or troglophiles, but there is a significant presence of edaphic species. Obtaining complete fauna inventories in the MSS has proven to be a challenging task. The study of the MSS reveals important faunistic information, providing new taxa to science as well as interesting records of poorly known species.