Lagged influence of North Atlantic Oscillation on population dynamics of a Mediterranean terrestrial salamander

The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is a large-scale climatic pattern that strongly influences the atmospheric circulation in the northern Hemisphere and by consequence the long-term variability of marine and terrestrial ecosystem over great part of northern Europe and western Mediterranean. In the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International Journal of Biometeorology
Main Authors: Salvidio, Sebastiano, Oneto, Fabrizio, Pastorino, Mauro V., OTTONELLO, DARIO
Other Authors: Ottonello, Dario
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2016
Subjects:
Amphibian
ARMA
Cross-correlation function
Mediterranean
Underground habitat
Winter climate
Settore BIO/05 - Zoologia
North Atlantic
North Atlantic oscillation
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10278/3659793
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-015-1028-4
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Summary:The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is a large-scale climatic pattern that strongly influences the atmospheric circulation in the northern Hemisphere and by consequence the long-term variability of marine and terrestrial ecosystem over great part of northern Europe and western Mediterranean. In the Mediterranean, the effects of the NAO on vertebrates has been studied mainly on bird populations but was rarely analysed in ectothermic animals, and in particular in amphibians. In this study, we investigated the relationships between winter, spring and summer NAO indexes and the long-term population dynamics of the plethodontid salamander Speleomantes strinatii. This terrestrial salamander was monitored inside an artificial cave in NW Italy for 24 consecutive years. The relationships between seasonal NAO indexes and the salamander dynamics were assessed by cross-correlation function (CCF) analysis, after prewhitening the time series by autoregressive moving average statistical modelling. Results of CCF analyses indicated that the salamander abundance varied in relation to the one-year ahead winter NAO (P = 0.018), while no relationships were found with spring and summer indexes. These results strengthen some previous findings that suggested a high sensitivity of temperate terrestrial amphibians to wintertime climatic conditions.

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