Local diversity versus geographical distribution of arthropods occuring in a sandstone rock labyrinth

• Main Authors: Růžička, V. (Vlastimil), Mlejnek, R., Šmilauer, P.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: sandstone; microclimate; paleorefugium; Labyrinth; Upper Rock; Tundra
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0189387

The patterns of air temperatures and the assemblages of arthropods were studied along the environmental gradient in the Poseidon Sandstone Labyrinth within the Adršpašsko-Teplické Skály National Nature Reserve, NE Bohemia, Czech Republic. The mean annual temperature in the bottom portions of the labyrinth is 3.7°C. We registered 304 species of arthropods, which colonize the totality of areas in the labyrinth: cold bottom parts, dark caves, shady rock walls, as well as the sun-exposed upper rock margins. The cold parts of the labyrinth harbour populations of sixteen species of mountain arthropods and five species of arthropods with distributions in tundra or boreal forests, and similar disjunctive habitats in the temperate zone in Central Europe. At the present time, we consider the Poseidon Sandstone Labyrinth to be a paleorefugium of cold-adapted arthropods.