Altitudinal Variation of Oniscidean Communities on Cretan Mountains
Date
2003
ISBN
9789047412854Publisher
BrillPlace of publication
Leiden (The Netherlands)Source
The Biology of Terrestrial IsopodsPages
217-230Google Scholar check
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
In the present paper
we
present a study on the effect
of
geographical elevation on the communi-
ties
of
terrestrial isopods. We analysed the patterns
of
species diversity and the phenology ofOnis-
cidea species
in
successive altitudinal zones on the three high mountains
of
the island
of
Crete
(Greece) using monthly sampling with pitfall traps for one year. The results are compared with
similar data from other mountains in Greece. Species richness decreases gradually till the timber-
line and very few species are able to survive higher, in the sub-alpine and alpine habitats. The
phenology
of
the species reveals the shortening
of
the biological year on high altitudes and is re-
lated with the altitudinal exploitation range
of
the species. Some biogeographical problems con-
cerning the species assemblages
of
the mountains are also discussed.