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Microhabitat associations of land snails in forested dolinas: implications for coarse filter conservation

Community Ecology volume 15, pages 180–186 (2014)Cite this article

Abstract

We determined microhabitat associations for 39 land snail species based on multimodel inference and generalized linear mixed models using a comprehensive and micro-scale data set from the Aggtelek Karst Area, Hungary. Patterns of microhabitat associations were highly nested among microhabitat types (litter, live trees, dead wood, rock) with high number of specialist species in dead wood and in rock microhabitats. Species composition was highly predictable in these microhabitats as opposed to live tree and litter faunas. Species richness was affected by microhabitat, topographic factors and local moisture conditions. Species richness in dead wood and rock microhabitats remained high irrespective of the topographic effects as opposed to litter and live tree microhabitats, where richness decreased with drier microhabitat conditions due to topography. Our results imply that consideration of topographic factors and microhabitat quality as part of coarse filter conservation measures could be beneficial to local land snail populations in the face of changing climate and disturbance regimes.

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Author information

Affiliations

  1. National Institute for Environment, 1253, Budapest Pf. 57, Hungary

    Z. Kemencei

  2. Szent István University, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Institute for Biology, Rottenbiller St. 50, 1077, Budapest, Hungary

    Z. Kemencei & E. Hornung

  3. Aggtelek National Park Directorate, Tengerszem oldal 1, 3758, Jósvafő, Hungary

    R. Farkas

  4. Department of Biology, Shinshu University, 390-8621, Matsumoto, Japan

    B. Páll-Gergely

  5. Faculty of Bio- and Environmental Sciences, Department of Environmental Sciences, Helsinki University, P.O. Box 65, 00014, Helsinki, Finland

    F. Vilisics

  6. Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management, Institute of Plant Protection, University of Debrecen, Böszörményi St. 138, 4032, Debrecen, Hungary

    A. Nagy & P. Sólymos

  7. Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, CW 405 Biological Sciences Bldg., T6G 2E9, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

    Z. Kemencei, R. Farkas, B. Páll-Gergely, F. Vilisics, A. Nagy, E. Hornung & P. Sólymos

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  1. Z. Kemencei
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  2. R. Farkas
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  5. A. Nagy
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  7. P. Sólymos
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Correspondence to Z. Kemencei.

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Kemencei, Z., Farkas, R., Páll-Gergely, B. et al. Microhabitat associations of land snails in forested dolinas: implications for coarse filter conservation. COMMUNITY ECOLOGY 15, 180–186 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1556/ComEc.15.2014.2.6

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Keywords

  • Abundance
  • Dispersion
  • Gastropoda
  • Habitat features
  • Indicator species
  • Mollusca
  • Niche width
  • Species composition
  • Species richness