Exceptionally poor land snail fauna of central Yakutia (NE
Russia): climatic and habitat determinants of species richness

J 2013

Exceptionally poor land snail fauna of central Yakutia (NE Russia): climatic and habitat determinants of species richness

HORSÁK, Michal, Milan CHYTRÝ and Irena AXMANOVÁ

Basic information

Original name

Exceptionally poor land snail fauna of central Yakutia (NE Russia): climatic and habitat determinants of species richness

Authors

HORSÁK, Michal (203 Czech Republic, guarantor, belonging to the institution), Milan CHYTRÝ (203 Czech Republic, belonging to the institution) and Irena AXMANOVÁ (203 Czech Republic, belonging to the institution)

Edition

Polar Biology, 2013, 0722-4060

Other information

Language

English

Type of outcome

Článek v odborném periodiku

Field of Study

10600 1.6 Biological sciences

Country of publisher

Netherlands

Confidentiality degree

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

References:

URL

Impact factor

Impact factor: 2.071

RIV identification code

RIV/00216224:14310/13:00066059

Organization unit

Faculty of Science

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00300-012-1249-5

UT WoS

000313729400004

Keywords in English

Terrestrial snails; Cold climate; Low diversity; Suitable shelters; Species accumulation; Climate harshness hypothesis

Abstract

V originále

There is an ongoing debate on the causes of the latitudinal diversity gradient, but diversity decline towards high latitudes is poorly documented for many invertebrate taxa. Therefore, we sampled land snail assemblages at 79 sites and in various habitat types in central Yakutia, a region with extremely continental, cool and dry climate. We tested whether habitats lacking suitable shelters for winter survival harbour less species than those with vegetation cover that softens climatic extremes. Both local species diversity and regional species diversity were extremely low: 13 species were recorded in total with an average of 1.4 species per site. While the majority of grassland sites were without snails (26 of 34 sites), forest sites supported at least one snail species in most cases (38 of 45 sites). Within grasslands, snail occurrences were associated with a higher herb-layer biomass. Numbers of snail species correlated with the amount of available calcium only in forests, in which species accumulation towards more favourable habitats was possible due to softening of climate harshness. As minute snails are known to be effective passive dispersers and the study area was not glaciated during the last glacial stage, there was certainly enough time for colonization of all favourable habitats. Our results suggest climatically driven limitations of both local and regional land snail diversity in central Yakutia. We conclude that the hypothesis of climate harshness remains the most probable explanation of a sharp drop in land snail diversity in high-latitude areas with cold climate.

Links

GAP504/11/0454, research and development project

Name: Změny biodiverzity na přechodu pleistocénu a holocénu: současné analogie v reliktních ekosystémech Sibiře

Investor: Czech Science Foundation

GD526/09/H025, research and development project

Name: Evolučně-ekologická analýza společenstev a populací

Investor: Czech Science Foundation, Evolutionary ecological analysis of communities and populations

Citovat

HORSÁK, Michal, Milan CHYTRÝ and Irena AXMANOVÁ. Exceptionally poor land snail fauna of central Yakutia (NE Russia): climatic and habitat determinants of species richness. Polar Biology. 2013, vol. 36, No 2, p. 185-191. ISSN 0722-4060. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00300-012-1249-5.

@article{1092592,
   author = {Horsák, Michal and Chytrý, Milan and Axmanová, Irena},
   article_number = {2},
   doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00300-012-1249-5},
   keywords = {Terrestrial snails; Cold climate; Low diversity; Suitable shelters; Species accumulation; Climate harshness hypothesis},
   language = {eng},
   issn = {0722-4060},
   journal = {Polar Biology},
   title = {Exceptionally poor land snail fauna of central Yakutia (NE Russia): climatic and habitat determinants of species richness},
   url = {http://www.springerlink.com/content/ll65w5tn81v10r21/},
   volume = {36},
   year = {2013}
}

TY  - JOUR
ID  - 1092592
AU  - Horsák, Michal - Chytrý, Milan - Axmanová, Irena
PY  - 2013
TI  - Exceptionally poor land snail fauna of central Yakutia (NE Russia): climatic and habitat determinants of species richness
JF  - Polar Biology
VL  - 36
IS  - 2
SP  - 185-191
EP  - 185-191
SN  - 07224060
KW  - Terrestrial snails
KW  - Cold climate
KW  - Low diversity
KW  - Suitable shelters
KW  - Species accumulation
KW  - Climate harshness hypothesis
UR  - http://www.springerlink.com/content/ll65w5tn81v10r21/
N2  - There is an ongoing debate on the causes of the latitudinal diversity gradient, but diversity decline towards high latitudes is poorly documented for many invertebrate taxa. Therefore, we sampled land snail assemblages at 79 sites and in various habitat types in central Yakutia, a region with extremely continental, cool and dry climate. We tested whether habitats lacking suitable shelters for winter survival harbour less species than those with vegetation cover that softens climatic extremes. Both local species diversity and regional species diversity were extremely low: 13 species were recorded in total with an average of 1.4 species per site. While the majority of grassland sites were without snails (26 of 34 sites), forest sites supported at least one snail species in most cases (38 of 45 sites). Within grasslands, snail occurrences were associated with a higher herb-layer biomass. Numbers of snail species correlated with the amount of available calcium only in forests, in which species accumulation towards more favourable habitats was possible due to softening of climate harshness. As minute snails are known to be effective passive dispersers and the study area was not glaciated during the last glacial stage, there was certainly enough time for colonization of all favourable habitats. Our results suggest climatically driven limitations of both local and regional land snail diversity in central Yakutia. We conclude that the hypothesis of climate harshness remains the most probable explanation of a sharp drop in land snail diversity in high-latitude areas with cold climate.
ER  -

HORSÁK, Michal, Milan CHYTRÝ and Irena AXMANOVÁ. Exceptionally poor land snail fauna of central Yakutia (NE Russia): climatic and habitat determinants of species richness. \textit{Polar Biology}. 2013, vol.~36, No~2, p.~185-191. ISSN~0722-4060. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00300-012-1249-5.

Detailed Information on Publication Record