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Distributional Patterns of Aquatic Empididae (Diptera) along an Elevational Diversity Gradient in a Low Mountain Range: An Example from Central Europe
SIMPLE SUMMARY: The insect distribution and diversity depend on many different abiotic and biotic factors, which is especially well documented in the high mountains but has not been studied in detail in the low mountain massifs. We studied 17 different macro and microhabitat factors that influence t...
Autores principales: | , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
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MDPI
2021
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7918972/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33671885 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects12020165 |
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author | Słowińska, Iwona Jaskuła, Radomir |
author_facet | Słowińska, Iwona Jaskuła, Radomir |
author_sort | Słowińska, Iwona |
collection | PubMed |
description | SIMPLE SUMMARY: The insect distribution and diversity depend on many different abiotic and biotic factors, which is especially well documented in the high mountains but has not been studied in detail in the low mountain massifs. We studied 17 different macro and microhabitat factors that influence the altitudinal distribution of 40 Hemerodromiinae and Clinocerinae species in the Pieniny Mts., Poland. This is the first such study in Central Europe and one of only a few in the world. The results clearly show that species richness and distribution of Hemerodromiinae and Clinocerinae species are changing with the elevational gradient, with a monotonic decline in species richness with increasing elevation observed for the first subfamily and the hump-shaped distribution pattern noted for the second subfamily, as well as the size of the stream/river and the surrounding area in species distribution in the Pieniny Mts. ABSTRACT: The two subfamilies Hemerodromiinae and Clinocerinae, also known as aquatic dance flies, are a group of small predatory insects occurring mainly in mountainous areas and the northern temperate. However, very little is known about distribution patterns for most of the species. Habitat preferences for 40 aquatic empidid species were analysed in the Pieniny Mts., Poland. Forty-six sampling sites from a major part of this relatively low mountain massif (400–770 m) were chosen, for which 17 micro and macrohabitat environmental variables were measured including both abiotic (altitude, stream mean width and depth, and shading) and biotic factors (13 dominant plant communities). Here we show that numerous studied aquatic Empididae were characterized by unique habitat preferences and were restricted to the foothills or the lower montane zone with only a few species characterized by wider elevational distribution. Chelifera pectinicauda, C. flavella, C. subangusta and Phyllodromia melanocephala (Hemerodromiinae), and Clinocera appendiculata, C. fontinalis, C. wesmaeli, Dolichocephala guttata, D. oblongoguttata, Kowarzia plectrum, Wiedemannia jazdzewskii, and W. thienemanni (Clinocerinae) were clearly associated with the highest altitudes and shaded areas while W. bistigma, W. lamellata, W. phantasma, and W. tricuspidata (Clinocerinae) were clearly associated with the lower elevated, wider stream valleys overgrown by willow brakes. Species richness and diversity decreased along elevational gradient with the hump-shaped diversity pattern noted for the subfamily Clinocerinae. The altitude, size of river/stream as well as the type of plant community were found as the most important factors in the distribution of the studied aquatic empidid species. The present study is the first one focused on elevational diversity gradient and habitat preferences of Hemerodromiinae and Clinocerinae of central Europe, and one of only a few in the world. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-7918972 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2021 |
publisher | MDPI |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-79189722021-03-02 Distributional Patterns of Aquatic Empididae (Diptera) along an Elevational Diversity Gradient in a Low Mountain Range: An Example from Central Europe Słowińska, Iwona Jaskuła, Radomir Insects Article SIMPLE SUMMARY: The insect distribution and diversity depend on many different abiotic and biotic factors, which is especially well documented in the high mountains but has not been studied in detail in the low mountain massifs. We studied 17 different macro and microhabitat factors that influence the altitudinal distribution of 40 Hemerodromiinae and Clinocerinae species in the Pieniny Mts., Poland. This is the first such study in Central Europe and one of only a few in the world. The results clearly show that species richness and distribution of Hemerodromiinae and Clinocerinae species are changing with the elevational gradient, with a monotonic decline in species richness with increasing elevation observed for the first subfamily and the hump-shaped distribution pattern noted for the second subfamily, as well as the size of the stream/river and the surrounding area in species distribution in the Pieniny Mts. ABSTRACT: The two subfamilies Hemerodromiinae and Clinocerinae, also known as aquatic dance flies, are a group of small predatory insects occurring mainly in mountainous areas and the northern temperate. However, very little is known about distribution patterns for most of the species. Habitat preferences for 40 aquatic empidid species were analysed in the Pieniny Mts., Poland. Forty-six sampling sites from a major part of this relatively low mountain massif (400–770 m) were chosen, for which 17 micro and macrohabitat environmental variables were measured including both abiotic (altitude, stream mean width and depth, and shading) and biotic factors (13 dominant plant communities). Here we show that numerous studied aquatic Empididae were characterized by unique habitat preferences and were restricted to the foothills or the lower montane zone with only a few species characterized by wider elevational distribution. Chelifera pectinicauda, C. flavella, C. subangusta and Phyllodromia melanocephala (Hemerodromiinae), and Clinocera appendiculata, C. fontinalis, C. wesmaeli, Dolichocephala guttata, D. oblongoguttata, Kowarzia plectrum, Wiedemannia jazdzewskii, and W. thienemanni (Clinocerinae) were clearly associated with the highest altitudes and shaded areas while W. bistigma, W. lamellata, W. phantasma, and W. tricuspidata (Clinocerinae) were clearly associated with the lower elevated, wider stream valleys overgrown by willow brakes. Species richness and diversity decreased along elevational gradient with the hump-shaped diversity pattern noted for the subfamily Clinocerinae. The altitude, size of river/stream as well as the type of plant community were found as the most important factors in the distribution of the studied aquatic empidid species. The present study is the first one focused on elevational diversity gradient and habitat preferences of Hemerodromiinae and Clinocerinae of central Europe, and one of only a few in the world. MDPI 2021-02-15 /pmc/articles/PMC7918972/ /pubmed/33671885 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects12020165 Text en © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
spellingShingle | Article Słowińska, Iwona Jaskuła, Radomir Distributional Patterns of Aquatic Empididae (Diptera) along an Elevational Diversity Gradient in a Low Mountain Range: An Example from Central Europe |
title | Distributional Patterns of Aquatic Empididae (Diptera) along an Elevational Diversity Gradient in a Low Mountain Range: An Example from Central Europe |
title_full | Distributional Patterns of Aquatic Empididae (Diptera) along an Elevational Diversity Gradient in a Low Mountain Range: An Example from Central Europe |
title_fullStr | Distributional Patterns of Aquatic Empididae (Diptera) along an Elevational Diversity Gradient in a Low Mountain Range: An Example from Central Europe |
title_full_unstemmed | Distributional Patterns of Aquatic Empididae (Diptera) along an Elevational Diversity Gradient in a Low Mountain Range: An Example from Central Europe |
title_short | Distributional Patterns of Aquatic Empididae (Diptera) along an Elevational Diversity Gradient in a Low Mountain Range: An Example from Central Europe |
title_sort | distributional patterns of aquatic empididae (diptera) along an elevational diversity gradient in a low mountain range: an example from central europe |
topic | Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7918972/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33671885 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects12020165 |
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