Rl. Ferreira et Ms. Silva, Biodiversity under rocks: the role of microhabitats in structuring invertebrate communities in Brazilian outcrops, BIODIVERS C, 10(7), 2001, pp. 1171-1183
There is little knowledge on the factors that can structure communities of
tropical arthropods that live under rocks (lapidicolous communities). Using
28 rock shelters in a small granitic outcrop, we examined the relations am
ong area, inclination, organic matter content, substrate moisture and dista
nce from the border of the outcrop and richness and diversity of the commun
ities. In total, we collected 1216 individuals from 106 morphospecies of Ar
aneida, Acarina, Polyxenida, Spirostreptida, Dermaptera, Neuroptera, Orthop
tera, Dictyoptera, Psocoptera, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Diptera, Embioptera
, Homoptera, Isoptera, Heteroptera, Lepidoptera, Collembola, Nematoda and O
ligochaeta. The richness and diversity of the lapidicolous communities were
significantly correlated with area, inclination and distance from the edge
of the outcrop in the dry season. The richness and diversity of lapidicolo
us communities were significantly correlated with organic matter, substrate
moisture and area in the rainy season. Space availability seemed to be an
important structuring factor for lapidicolous communities in the present st
udy, the most significant variables (substrate moisture and organic matter)
were related to shelter area.