Biodiversity Data Journal : Data Paper (Biosciences)
PDF
Data Paper (Biosciences)
Monitoring arthropods under the scope of LIFE-SNAILS project: I - Santa Maria Island baseline data with implementation of the Index of Biotic Integrity
expand article infoPaulo A. V. Borges‡,§,|, Lucas Lamelas-López‡, Sébastien Lhoumeau‡, Nelson B. Moura, Mauro Ponte#, Abrão Leite¤, Laurine Parmentier«, Ricardo Abreu#
‡ cE3c- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes/Azorean Biodiversity Group, CHANGE – Global Change and Sustainability Institute, School of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of the Azores, Rua Capitão João d´Ávila, Pico da Urze, 9700-042, Angra do Heroísmo, Azores, Portugal
§ IUCN SSC Atlantic Islands Specialist Group, 9700-042, Angra do Heroísmo, Azores, Portugal
| IUCN SSC Species Monitoring Specialist Group, 9700-042, Angra do Heroísmo, Azores, Portugal
¶ Secretaria Regional do Ambiente e Alterações Climáticas, Project LIFE SNAILS (LIFE20 NAT/PT/001377), Rua Dr. Teófilo Braga nº 10/12/14, 9580 – 535, Vila do Porto, Santa Maria, Azores, Portugal
# Secretaria Regional do Ambiente e Alterações Climáticas, Project LIFE SNAILS (LIFE20 NAT/PT/001377), Rua do Galo nº 118, 9700-040, Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira, Azores, Portugal
¤ Rua Fernando Pessoa, nº99 R/C DTO 2765-483, Estoril, Portugal
« Rua da Oliveira nº8, 9700-136 Sé, Angra do Heroísmo, Azores, Portugal
Corresponding author: Paulo A. V. Borges (paulo.av.borges@uac.pt)
Academic editor: Pedro Cardoso
Received: 04 Dec 2023 | Accepted: 07 Feb 2024 | Published: 23 Feb 2024
© 2024 Paulo Borges, Lucas Lamelas-López, Sébastien Lhoumeau, Nelson Moura, Mauro Ponte, Abrão Leite, Laurine Parmentier, Ricardo Abreu
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation: Borges PAV, Lamelas-López L, Lhoumeau S, Moura NB, Ponte M, Leite A, Parmentier L, Abreu R (2024) Monitoring arthropods under the scope of LIFE-SNAILS project: I - Santa Maria Island baseline data with implementation of the Index of Biotic Integrity. Biodiversity Data Journal 12: e116829. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.12.e116829
 Open Access

Abstract

Background

The database we introduce is a pivotal component of the LIFE SNAILS project (Support and Naturalisation in Areas of Importance for Land Snails). This initiative is dedicated to safeguarding three endangered species of terrestrial molluscs, specifically, two snails (Oxychilus agostinhoi Martins 1981 and Leptaxis minor Backhuys, 1975) and a semi-slug (Plutonia angulosa (Morelet, 1860)), all of which are single island endemics from Santa Maria Island and face significant threats towards their populations.

In this study, we established a comprehensive database derived from a long-term arthropod monitoring campaign utilising SLAM (Sea, Land, Air, Malaise) traps. Although molluscs were not the primary focus, our findings serve as a credible proxy for evaluating the overall habitat quality for endemic invertebrates, with arthropods serving as principal indicators. From September to December of 2022, a total of 11 SLAM traps were installed and monitored monthly in eleven sites of mixed forests of Santa Maria Island.

New information

Based on the 33 available samples (11 sites x 3 sampling periods), we recorded a total of 118 taxa of arthropods (of which 94 were identified at species or subspecies level), belonging to three classes, 14 orders and 62 families. From the 94 identified taxa, a total of 21 species were endemic, 31 native non-endemic, 32 introduced and 10 indeterminate. We also provide additional information of the habitat quality (Index of Biotic Integrity), including general habitat and dominant species composition.

We registered three new records to the Island, the native bug Piezodorus lituratus (Fabricius, 1794) (Hemiptera, Pentatomidae), the Azorean endemic beetle Phloeosinus gillerforsi Bright, 1987 (Coleoptera, Curculionidae) and the exotic ant Hypoponera punctatissima (Roger, 1859) (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) and one new record for the Azores Archipelago, the native beetle Cephennium validum Assing & Meybohm, 2021 (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Scydmaeninae).

This publication not only contributes to the conservation of highly threatened endemic molluscs, through an assessment of habitat quality, based on arthropod communities and habitat description (e.g. native or exotic vegetation), but also provides an updated inventory of arthropods from Santa Maria Island.

Keywords

arthropods, Azores, Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI), long-term monitoring, Macaronesia, SLAM traps

Introduction

Landscape transformation, particularly through the replacement of natural habitats with agricultural areas, stands out as a primary contributor to global biodiversity loss (Diamond et al. 1997, Arnillas et al. 2017, Ntshanga et al. 2021, Ramos et al. 2022). The effects of landscape transformation are especially dramatic in island ecosystems, because despite encompassing merely about 5% of the world's land surface, islands are recognised as biodiversity hotspots (Myers et al. 2000), harbouring threatened (Kier et al. 2009, Tershy et al. 2015) and endemic (Myers et al. 2000, Kier et al. 2009) species. Additionally, population decline and/or species extinction are disproportionately rapid on islands (Tershy et al. 2015). Therefore, islands are an epicentre of biodiversity loss (Spatz et al. 2017, Borges et al. 2019).

In particular, the Azorean landscape has suffered severe transformations since Portuguese colonisation in the 15th century, mainly associated with the replacement of native forests by agricultural fields, forestry plantations and urban areas (Gaspar et al. 2008, Borges et al. 2019, Tsafack et al. 2023b). Less than 3% of the Archipelago land surface is currently covered by pristine forest (Gaspar et al. 2008). These pristine forests are currently under severe threat from invasive plant species and associated habitat degradation (Borges et al. 2019).

The concept of biotic integrity is often associated with the absence of external human influence, using pristine sites as benchmarks (Margules et al. 1994, Cardoso et al. 2006). To assess a site's biological integrity, comparisons are made with these benchmarks, based on defined criteria (Cardoso et al. 2006). Surrogate measures like habitat quality indices provide quick assessments of integrity by incorporating rough measures of habitat disturbance, mainly related with human activities (Angermeier and Davideanu 2004, Cardoso et al. 2006). Recent studies, such as Tsafack et al. (2023b), have developed biological integrity indices using the arthropod communities as indicators to assess the habitat quality of the Azorean forests. These indicators provide information about the status and biodiversity dynamics that allow us to support future conservations plans (Tsafack et al. 2023a, Tsafack et al. 2023b).

The LIFE SNAILS project (Support and Naturalisation in Areas of Importance for Land Snails) has the main aim to protect three species of terrestrial molluscs, two snails (Oxychilus agostinhoi Martins, 1981 and Leptaxis minor Backhuys, 1975) and a semi-slug (Plutonia angulosa (Morelet, 1860)), which are endemic to Santa Maria Island and whose populations are at high risk (two of them assessed as Critically Endangered and one as Endangered on IUCN Red Lists; de Frias Martins (2010), Cameron et al. (2016), de Frias Martins (2022)). The conservation threats for these species primarily include habitat degradation and destruction (e.g. disappearance of their endemic habitat) and, secondarily, the presence of invasive species (particularly Hedychium gardnerianum Sheph. ex Ker Gawl. expansion and exotic tree plantations) and droughts associated with climate change (de Frias Martins 2010, Cameron et al. 2016, de Frias Martins 2022).

General description

Purpose: 

To provide an inventory of arthropods, as principal indicators of habitat quality for endemic and threatened invertebrates, we used SLAM (Sea, Land, Air, Malaise) traps (Fig. 1) deployed on mixed forests of Santa Maria Island, under the scope of the LIFE SNAILS project, which has the main aim of protecting three species of threatened endemic terrestrial molluscs.

Figure 1.  

SLAM traps (Sea, Land, Air, Malaise traps) (Credit: Paulo A. V. Borges).

Additional information: 

The database we present is part of the LIFE SNAILS project (Support and Naturalisation in Areas of Importance for Land Snails), which has the main aim of protecting three species of terrestrial molluscs, two snails (Oxychilus agostinhoi and Leptaxis minor) and a semi-slug (Plutonia angulosa), endemic to Santa Maria Island and whose populations are threatened (two of them assessed as Critically Endangered and one as Endangered on IUCN Red Lists; de Frias Martins (2010), Cameron et al. (2016), de Frias Martins (2022)).

Project description

Title: 

The use of arthropods as surrogates of habitat quality within the scope of LIFE SNAILS project.

Personnel: 

The SLAM monitoring protocol was conceived and led by Paulo A.V. Borges.

Fieldwork (site selection and experimental setting): Nelson B. Moura, Mauro Ponte, Ricardo J.F. Abreu, Paulo A.V. Borges and António Manuel de Frias Martins.

Fieldwork (authorisation): Secretaria Regional do Ambiente e Alterações Climáticas.

Fieldwork: Nelson B. Moura & Paulo A. V. Borges

Parataxonomists: Abrão Leite & Laurine Parmentier.

Taxonomist: Paulo A. V. Borges.

Voucher specimen management: Abrão Leite & Laurine Parmentier.

Database management: Sébastien Lhoumeau and Paulo A. V. Borges.

Darwin Core databases: Sébastien Lhoumeau and Paulo A. V. Borges.

Study area description: 

Santa Maria is a small island (area: 97.2 km²; elevation: 590 m a.s.l.) of volcanic origin, belonging to the Oriental group of the Azores Archipelago (36°58′24″N 25°05′40″W). The sampling area consists of mixed-forests of endemic, native and exotic plant species. The main native and endemic species include Morella faya Wilbur, Erica azorica Hochst. ex Seub., Picconia azorica (Tutin) Knobl., Vaccinium cylindraceum Sm. or Laurus azorica (Seub.) Franco. The exotic species include Pittosporum undulatum Vent., Hedychium gardnerianum Sheph. ex Ker Gawl. and also forestry plantations of Cryptomeria japonica (Thunb. ex L.f.) D.Don.

The climate is temperate oceanic, with regular and abundant rainfall, high levels of relative humidity and persistent winds, mainly during the winter and autumn seasons.

Funding: 

Secretaria Regional do Ambiente e Alterações Climáticas, Project LIFE SNAILS (LIFE20 NAT/PT/001377).

Sampling methods

Description: 

A total of 11 sites were sampled in Santa Maria Island (Table 1; Fig. 2). The sampling area consisted of mixed-forests of endemic, native and exotic plant species. The main native and endemic species included Morella faya, Erica azorica, Picconia azorica, Vaccinium cylindraceum or Laurus azorica. The exotic species include Pittosporum undulatum, Hedychium gardnerianum and also forestry plantations of Cryptomeria japonica. Information of vegetation composition (dominant plant species in surrounding area) was recorded (see Table 2).

Table 1.
Download as
CSV
XLSX

Details on sites with the decimal longitude and latitude and minimum elevation in metres (m).

Site Code Locality Longitude Latitude Elevation (m)
SMR-NFPA-T01 Pico Alto T01 -25.087560 36.978040 460
SMR-SNAILS-T02 Casa dos Picos -25.081848 36.969886 400
SMR-SNAILS-T03 Linha Média Tensão -25.088924 36.973938 374
SMR-SNAILS-T04 Trilho BTT_Alto Nascente_1 -25.093743 36.984282 443
SMR-SNAILS-T05 Trilho BTT_Alto Nascente_2 -25.095865 36.984520 400
SMR-SNAILS-T06-2 Fontinhas Florestal Miradouro -25.077136 36.963267 400
SMR-SNAILS-T07-2 Ribeira do Salto -25.050221 36.981027 208
SMR-SNAILS-T08 Trilho Areia Branca 1 -25.090618 36.976793 419
SMR-SNAILS-T09 Trilho Areia Branca 2 -25.091595 36.976312 397
SMR-SNAILS-T10-2 Piquinhos -25.083498 36.971465 423
SMR-SNAILS-T11 Ribeira da Fonte Rainha -25.090315 36.966181 188
Table 2.
Download as
CSV
XLSX

Details on the plant species in each site.

Site Code Locality Main Plant Composition
SMR-NFPA-T01 Pico Alto T01

Endemic plants: Picconia azorica, Erica azorica, Laurus azorica, Vaccinium cylindraceum

Native plants: Morella faya, Myrsine retusa

Exotic invasive plants: Pittosporum undulatum, Hedychium gardnerianum

High diversity of endemic and native Pteridophyta and Bryophyta
SMR-SNAILS-T02 Casa dos Picos

Exotic invasive plants: Pittosporum undulatum, Hedychium gardnerianum, Acacia spp.
SMR-SNAILS-T03 Linha Média Tensão

Endemic plants: Picconia azorica

Exotic invasive plants: Cryptomeria japonica, Pittosporum undulatum, Hedychium gardnerianum, Rubus ulmifolius

High diversity of endemic and native Pteridophyta and Bryophyta
SMR-SNAILS-T04 Trilho BTT_Alto Nascente_1

Endemic plants: Picconia azorica.

Exotic invasive plants: Cryptomeria japonica, Pittosporum undulatum, Hedychium gardnerianum, Pisidium sp.

High diversity of endemic and native Pteridophyta and Bryophyta
SMR-SNAILS-T05 Trilho BTT_Alto Nascente_2

Exotic invasive plants: Eucalyptus spp., Pittosporum undulatum, Hedychium gardnerianum, Pisidium sp.

High diversity of endemic and native Pteridophyta and Bryophyta
SMR-SNAILS-T06-2 Fontinhas Florestal Miradouro

Endemic plants: Picconia azorica, Laurus azorica.

Exotic invasive plants: Cryptomeria japonica, Pittosporum undulatum, Hedychium gardnerianum, Rubus ulmifolius
SMR-SNAILS-T07-2 Ribeira do Salto

Endemic plants: Picconia azorica

Exotic invasive plants: Pittosporum undulatum, Hedychium gardnerianum

High diversity of endemic and native Pteridophyta and Bryophyta
SMR-SNAILS-T08 Trilho Areia Branca 1

Exotic invasive plants: Pittosporum undulatum, Hedychium gardnerianum

High diversity of endemic and native Pteridophyta and Bryophyta
SMR-SNAILS-T09 Trilho Areia Branca 2 Exotic invasive plants: Cryptomeria japonica, Hedychium gardnerianum
SMR-SNAILS-T10-2 Piquinhos

Endemic plants: Picconia azorica, Erica azorica

Exotic invasive plants: Pittosporum undulatum, Hedychium gardnerianum

High diversity of endemic and native Pteridophyta and Bryophyta
SMR-SNAILS-T11 Ribeira da Fonte Rainha Exotic invasive plants: Pittosporum undulatum, Hedychium gardnerianum
Figure 2.  

Location of 11 sampled sites on Santa Maria Island (Azores, Portugal). Information about Protected Areas is included.

Sampling description: 

Passive flight interception SLAM traps (Sea, Land, Air, Malaise traps) (Fig. 1) were used to sample each of 11 selected sites on the mixed-forests of Santa Maria Island, between September and December of 2022.

This trap consists in a structure of 110 x 110 x 110 cm, where the trapped arthropods crawl up the mesh and then fall inside the sampling recipient (Borges et al. 2017). Each one is filled with propylene glycol (pure 1,2-Propanodiol) to kill the captured arthropods and conserve the sample between collections. Although this protocol was developed to sample flying arthropods, by working as an extension of the tree, non-flying species such as spiders can also crawl into the trap (Borges et al. 2017), increasing the range of groups that can be sampled by this technique. As a result of this, previous studies have used these traps to analyse diversity and abundance changes in the arthropod communities in the pristine forests of the Azores (Tsafack et al. 2021, Lhoumeau and Borges 2023, Tsafack et al. 2023a, Tsafack et al. 2023b). The traps were installed during 30 consecutive days in three periods between September and December 2022, after which samples were collected.

Information of vegetation composition (dominant plant species in surrounding area) and elevation were recorded.

Quality control: 

All sorted specimens were identified by a taxonomist in the laboratory.

Step description: 

A reference collection was made for all collected specimens (whether or not identified at species level) by assigning them a morphospecies code number and depositing them at the Dalberto Teixeira Pombo Insect Collection (DTP), University of Azores (Terceira Island).

Geographic coverage

Description: 

Santa Maria Island, Azores, (Portugal).

Coordinates: 

25°5'45.6''S and 36°59'6N Latitude; 25°3'0'W and 36°57'46.8'E' Longitude.

Taxonomic coverage

Description: 

The following Classes and Orders of the Phylum Arthropoda are covered:

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Arachnida, Diplopoda, Insecta

Order: Araneae, Opiliones, Pseudoscorpiones, Julida, Archaeognatha, Blattodea, Coleoptera, Dermaptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Neuroptera, Phasmida, Psocodea, Thysanoptera.

Taxa included:
Rank Scientific Name Common Name
phylum Arthropoda Arthropods
class Arachnida Arachnids
class Diplopoda Millipedes
class Insecta Insects

Temporal coverage

Data range: 
2022-9-26 - 2022-12-22.

Collection data

Collection name: 
Dalberto Teixeira Pombo Insect Collection
Collection identifier: 
DTP
Specimen preservation method: 
Ethanol

Usage licence

Usage licence: 
Other
IP rights notes: 

Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial (CC-BY-NC) 4.0 Licence

Data resources

Data package title: 
Monitoring arthropods under the scope of LIFE-Snails project – Baseline Data
Resource link: 
https://doi.org/10.15468/nuue25
Alternative identifiers: 
https://www.gbif.org/dataset/715e3b90-a68d-47a5-b676-a8428e1aaf3a; http://ipt.gbif.pt/ipt/resource?r=arthropods_slam_snails&v=1.2
Number of data sets: 
2
Data set name: 
Event Table
Character set: 
UTF-8
Download URL: 
http://ipt.gbif.pt/ipt/resource?r=arthropods_slam_snails
Data format: 
Darwin Core Archive
Data format version: 
1.2
Description: 

The dataset was published in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility platform, GBIF (Borges et al. 2023). The following data table includes all the records for which a taxonomic identification of the species was possible. The dataset submitted to GBIF is structured as a sample event dataset that has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwCA), which is a standardised format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data file contains 33 records (eventID). This GBIF IPT (Integrated Publishing Toolkit, Version 2.5.6) archives the data and, thus, serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the Portuguese GBIF Portal IPT (Borges et al. 2023).

Column label Column description
eventID Identifier of the events, unique for the dataset.
stateProvince Name of the region of the sampling site (Azores).
islandGroup Name of the archipelago (Azores).
island Name of the island (Santa Maria).
country Country of the sampling site (Portugal).
countryCode ISO code of the country of the sampling site (PT).
municipality Municipality of the sampling sites (Vila do Porto).
minimumElevationInMetres The lower limit of the range of elevation (altitude, above sea level), in metres.
decimalLongitude Approximate centre point decimal longitude of the field site in GPS coordinates.
decimalLatitude Approximate centre point decimal latitude of the field site in GPS coordinates.
geodeticDatum The ellipsoid, geodetic datum or spatial reference system (SRS), upon which the geographic coordinates given in decimalLatitude and decimalLongitude are based.
coordinateUncertaintyInMetres Uncertainty of the coordinates of the centre of the sampling plot.
coordinatePrecision Precision of the coordinates.
georeferenceSources A list (concatenated and separated) of maps, gazetteers or other resources used to georeference the Location, described specifically enough to allow anyone in the future to use the same resources.
locationID Identifier of the location.
locality Name of the locality.
habitat The habitat of the sample.
year Year of the event.
eventDate Date or date range the record was collected.
sampleSizeValue The numeric amount of time spent in each sampling.
sampleSizeUnit The unit of the sample size value.
verbatimEventDate The verbatim original representation of the date and time information for an Event. In this case, we use the season and year.
samplingProtocol The sampling protocol used to capture the species (SLAM traps).
Data set name: 
Occurrence Table
Character set: 
UTF-8
Download URL: 
http://ipt.gbif.pt/ipt/resource?r=arthropods_slam_snails
Data format: 
Darwin Core Archive
Data format version: 
1.2
Description: 

The dataset was published in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility platform, GBIF (Borges et al. 2023). The following data table includes all the records for which a taxonomic identification of the species was possible. The dataset submitted to GBIF is structured as an occurrence table that has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwCA), which is a standard format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data file contains 578 records (occurrenceID). This GBIF IPT (Integrated Publishing Toolkit, Version 2.5.6) archives the data and, thus, serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the Portuguese GBIF Portal IPT (Borges et al. 2023).

Column label Column description
eventID Identifier of the events, unique for the dataset.
type Type of the record, as defined by the Public Core standard.
licence Reference to the licence under which the record is published.
institutionID The identity of the institution publishing the data.
collectionID The identity of the collection publishing the data.
collectionCode The code of the collection where the specimens are conserved.
institutionCode The code of the institution publishing the data.
DatasetName Name of the dataset.
basisOfRecord The nature of the data record.
recordedBy A list (concatenated and separated) of names of people, groups or organisations who performed the sampling in the field.
occurrenceID Identifier of the record, coded as a global unique identifier.
organismQuantity A number or enumeration value for the quantity of organisms.
organismQuantityType The type of quantification system used for the quantity of organisms.
sex The sex and quantity of the individuals captured.
lifeStage The life stage of the organisms captured.
establishmentMeans The process of establishment of the species in the location, using a controlled vocabulary: 'native', 'introduced', 'endemic', "indeterminate".
identifiedBy A list (concatenated and separated) of names of people, groups or organisations who assigned the Taxon to the subject.
dateIdentified The date on which the subject was determined as representing the Taxon.
scientificName Complete scientific name including author and year.
kingdom Kingdom name.
phylum Phylum name.
class Class name.
order Order name.
family Family name.
genus Genus name.
specificEpithet Specific epithet.
infraspecificEpithet Infraspecific epithet.
taxonRank Lowest taxonomic rank of the record.
scientificNameAuthorship Name of the author of the lowest taxon rank included in the record.
identificationRemarks Information about morphospecies identification (code in Dalberto Teixeira Pombo Collection).

Additional information

Results and Discussion

We collected a total of 3487 individuals, belonging to 118 taxa, three classes, 14 orders and 62 families (Table 3). In general, the most abundant orders were the insect classes of Hemiptera (n = 2218), Psocodea (n = 347) and Coleoptera (n = 335). A total of 94 out of 118 taxa were identified at species or subspecies level, collecting a total of 2284 individuals (= Total value shown in Table 3), where families Cixidae (Hemiptera; n = 938) and Thripidae (Thysanoptera; n = 160) were the most frequently recorded. A total of 1203 individuals were not recorded at species level, most of them belonging to the Aleyrodidae (Hemiptera; n = 914) and Trogiidae (Psocodea; n = 219) families.

Table 3.
Download as
CSV
XLSX

Inventory of arthropod species collected between September and December of 2022, on mixed-forests of Santa Maria Island (Azores), including order and family names, colonisation status (CS) (END - endemic from the Azores; NAT - native non-endemic; INT - introduced species; IND - indeterminate origin) (Borges et al. 2022) and overall abundance data (N) (adults plus juveniles). Individuals that were not identified to the species level have been excluded from this table.

Class Order Family Species CS N
Arachnida Araneae Araneidae Gibbaranea occidentalis Wunderlich, 1989 END 24
Arachnida Araneae Araneidae Mangora acalypha (Walckenaer, 1802) INT 1
Arachnida Araneae Cheiracanthiidae Cheiracanthium erraticum (Walckenaer, 1802) INT 5
Arachnida Araneae Cheiracanthiidae Cheiracanthium mildei L. Koch, 1864 INT 8
Arachnida Araneae Clubionidae Clubiona terrestris Westring, 1851 INT 1
Arachnida Araneae Clubionidae Porrhoclubiona decora (Blackwall, 1859) NAT 16
Arachnida Araneae Dictynidae Lathys dentichelis (Simon, 1883) NAT 6
Arachnida Araneae Dysderidae Dysdera crocata C. L. Koch, 1838 INT 4
Arachnida Araneae Linyphiidae Acorigone acoreensis (Wunderlich, 1992) END 1
Arachnida Araneae Linyphiidae Ostearius melanopygius (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1880) INT 2
Arachnida Araneae Linyphiidae Savigniorrhipis acoreensis Wunderlich, 1992 END 17
Arachnida Araneae Linyphiidae Tenuiphantes miguelensis (Wunderlich, 1992) NAT 5
Arachnida Araneae Mimetidae Ero furcata (Villers, 1789) INT 1
Arachnida Araneae Salticidae Macaroeris cata (Blackwall, 1867) NAT 1
Arachnida Araneae Salticidae Neon acoreensis Wunderlich, 2008 END 1
Arachnida Araneae Segestriidae Segestria florentina (Rossi, 1790) INT 3
Arachnida Araneae Tetragnathidae Leucognatha acoreensis Wunderlich, 1992 END 13
Arachnida Araneae Theridiidae Cryptachaea blattea (Urquhart, 1886) INT 2
Arachnida Araneae Theridiidae Lasaeola oceanica Simon, 1883 END 5
Arachnida Araneae Theridiidae Rugathodes acoreensis Wunderlich, 1992 END 11
Arachnida Araneae Theridiidae Steatoda nobilis (Thorell, 1875) NAT 1
Arachnida Opiliones Leiobunidae Leiobunum blackwalli Meade, 1861 NAT 28
Arachnida Pseudoscorpiones Chthoniidae Chthonius ischnocheles (Hermann, 1804) INT 1
Diplopoda Julida Julidae Ommatoiulus moreleti (Lucas, 1860) INT 5
Insecta Archaeognatha Machilidae Dilta saxicola (Womersley, 1930) NAT 1
Insecta Blattodea Corydiidae Zetha simonyi (Krauss, 1892) NAT 99
Insecta Coleoptera Apionidae Aspidapion radiolus (Marsham, 1802) INT 6
Insecta Coleoptera Chrysomelidae Chaetocnema hortensis (Fourcroy, 1785) INT 1
Insecta Coleoptera Chrysomelidae Epitrix cucumeris (Harris, 1851) INT 3
Insecta Coleoptera Chrysomelidae Longitarsus kutscherai (Rye, 1872) INT 24
Insecta Coleoptera Corylophidae Sericoderus lateralis (Gyllenhal, 1827) INT 1
Insecta Coleoptera Curculionidae Calacalles subcarinatus (Israelson, 1984) END 17
Insecta Coleoptera Curculionidae Cathormiocerus curvipes (Wollaston, 1854) NAT 1
Insecta Coleoptera Curculionidae Charagmus gressorius (Fabricius, 1792) NAT 2
Insecta Coleoptera Curculionidae Mecinus pascuorum (Gyllenhal, 1813) INT 1
Insecta Coleoptera Curculionidae Mogulones geographicus (Goeze, 1777) INT 1
Insecta Coleoptera Curculionidae Phloeosinus gillerforsi Bright, 1987 END 1
Insecta Coleoptera Curculionidae Rhopalomesites tardyi (Curtis, 1825) INT 1
Insecta Coleoptera Curculionidae Sitona discoideus Gyllenhal, 1834 INT 2
Insecta Coleoptera Elateridae Heteroderes azoricus (Tarnier, 1860) END 47
Insecta Coleoptera Leiodidae Catops coracinus Kellner, 1846 NAT 14
Insecta Coleoptera Nitidulidae Stelidota geminata (Say, 1825) INT 20
Insecta Coleoptera Phalacridae Stilbus testaceus (Panzer, 1797) NAT 2
Insecta Coleoptera Ptiliidae Ptenidium pusillum (Gyllenhal, 1808) INT 18
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Cephennium validum Assing & Meybohm, 2021 NAT 1
Insecta Coleoptera Silvanidae Cryptamorpha desjardinsii (Guérin-Méneville, 1844) INT 3
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Aleochara bipustulata (Linnaeus, 1760) IND 2
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Atheta aeneicollis (Sharp, 1869) IND 11
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Atheta fungi (Gravenhorst, 1806) IND 3
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Carpelimus corticinus (Gravenhorst, 1806) IND 2
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Cordalia obscura (Gravenhorst, 1802) IND 2
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Euconnus azoricus Franz, 1969 END 1
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Notothecta dryochares (Israelson, 1985) END 37
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Phloeonomus punctipennis Thomson, 1867 IND 1
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Proteinus atomarius Erichson, 1840 IND 2
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Tachyporus chrysomelinus (Linnaeus, 1758) IND 7
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae Tachyporus nitidulus (Fabricius, 1781) IND 43
Insecta Coleoptera Tenebrionidae Lagria hirta (Linnaeus, 1758) INT 4
Insecta Coleoptera Zopheridae Tarphius rufonodulosus Israelson, 1984 END 6
Insecta Dermaptera Forficulidae Forficula auricularia Linnaeus, 1758 INT 71
Insecta Hemiptera Cicadellidae Eupteryx azorica Ribaut, 1941 END 15
Insecta Hemiptera Cicadellidae Eupteryx filicum (Newman, 1853) NAT 3
Insecta Hemiptera Cixiidae Cixius azomariae Remane & Asche, 1979 END 938
Insecta Hemiptera Delphacidae Kelisia ribauti Wagner, 1938 NAT 1
Insecta Hemiptera Flatidae Cyphopterum adscendens (Herrich-Schäffer, 1835) NAT 13
Insecta Hemiptera Flatidae Siphanta acuta (Walker, 1851) INT 143
Insecta Hemiptera Liviidae Strophingia harteni Hodkinson, 1981 END 16
Insecta Hemiptera Lygaeidae Kleidocerys ericae (Horváth, 1909) NAT 6
Insecta Hemiptera Lygaeidae Nysius atlantidum Horváth, 1890 END 1
Insecta Hemiptera Microphysidae Loricula coleoptrata (Fallén, 1807) NAT 4
Insecta Hemiptera Miridae Monalocoris filicis (Linnaeus, 1758) NAT 2
Insecta Hemiptera Miridae Pinalitus oromii J. Ribes, 1992 END 126
Insecta Hemiptera Nabidae Nabis pseudoferus ibericus Remane, 1962 NAT 4
Insecta Hemiptera Pentatomidae Nezara viridula (Linnaeus, 1758) INT 2
Insecta Hemiptera Pentatomidae Piezodorus lituratus (Fabricius, 1794) NAT 1
Insecta Hemiptera Rhyparochromidae Scolopostethus decoratus (Hahn, 1833) NAT 10
Insecta Hemiptera Triozidae Trioza laurisilvae Hodkinson, 1990 NAT 4
Insecta Hymenoptera Formicidae Hypoponera eduardi (Forel, 1894) NAT 41
Insecta Hymenoptera Formicidae Hypoponera punctatissima (Roger, 1859) INT 2
Insecta Hymenoptera Formicidae Lasius grandis Forel, 1909 NAT 16
Insecta Neuroptera Hemerobiidae Hemerobius azoricus Tjeder, 1948 END 3
Insecta Phasmida Phasmatidae Carausius morosus (Sinéty, 1901) INT 1
Insecta Psocodea Caeciliusidae Valenzuela burmeisteri (Brauer, 1876) NAT 18
Insecta Psocodea Caeciliusidae Valenzuela flavidus (Stephens, 1836) NAT 12
Insecta Psocodea Ectopsocidae Ectopsocus briggsi McLachlan, 1899 INT 10
Insecta Psocodea Elipsocidae Elipsocus azoricus Meinander, 1975 END 52
Insecta Psocodea Elipsocidae Elipsocus brincki Badonnel, 1963 END 6
Insecta Psocodea Epipsocidae Bertkauia lucifuga (Rambur, 1842) NAT 5
Insecta Psocodea Psocidae Atlantopsocus adustus (Hagen, 1865) NAT 8
Insecta Psocodea Trichopsocidae Trichopsocus clarus (Banks, 1908) NAT 16
Insecta Thysanoptera Phlaeothripidae Hoplothrips corticis (De Geer, 1773) NAT 25
Insecta Thysanoptera Thripidae Ceratothrips ericae (Haliday, 1836) NAT 3
Insecta Thysanoptera Thripidae Heliothrips haemorrhoidalis (Bouché, 1833) INT 12
Insecta Thysanoptera Thripidae Hercinothrips bicinctus (Bagnall, 1919) INT 145

We registered one new species for the Azores Archipelago, the native beetle Cephennium validum Assing & Meybohm, 2021 (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Scydmaeninae), recently described from the Iberian Peninsula occurring in northwest Spain and northern Portugal (Assing and Meybohm 2021) (Fig. 3). In addition, we recorded three new species to the Island, the native bug Piezodorus lituratus (Fabricius, 1794) (Hemiptera, Pentatomidae), the Azorean endemic beetle Phloeosinus gillerforsi Bright, 1987 (Coleoptera, Curculionidae) and the exotic ant Hypoponera punctatissima (Roger, 1859) (Hymenoptera, Formicidae).

Figure 3.  

Cephennium validum Assing & Meybohm, 2021 (Credit: Javier Torrent).

In terms of colonisation status, it is remarkable that most of the collected individuals were endemic, adding to a total of 1338 individuals from 21 species, where Cixius azomariae Remane & Asche, 1979 (Hemiptera - Cixiidae; n = 938) and Pinalitus oromii J. Ribes, 1992 (Hemiptera - Miridae; n = 126) where the most abundant (Table 3). A total of 504 individuals have been introduced to the islands, belonging to 32 species, where Hercinothrips bicinctus (Bagnall, 1919) (Thysanoptera – Thripidae; n = 145) and Siphanta acuta (Walker, 1851) (Hemiptera – Flatidae; n = 143) were the most abundant (Table 3). A total of 368 individuals were native non-endemic, belonging to 31 species, where Zetha simonyi (Krauss, 1892) (Blattodea – Corydiidae; n = 99) and Hypoponera eduardi (Forel, 1894) (Hymenoptera – Formicidae; n = 41) were the most common species (Table 3). The remaining collected individuals had an indeterminate colonisation status, due to the impossibility for identification at species level or lack of studies on their origin (e.g. Aleochara bipustulata (Linnaeus, 1760); Borges et al. (2022)).

According to Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) proposed by Cardoso et al. (2006) and Tsafack et al. (2023b) we present the IBI Values for each site in Table 4. It is remarkable that all locations inside the protected area have a value of 7, out of a maximum possible value of 14 (Table 4; see Fig. 2). Sites with lower IBI values are associated with parameters related to introduced species, which are more abundant in forests dominated by exotic species and more tolerant to environmental disturbances (Cardoso et al. 2006, Tsafack et al. 2021). On the contrary, higher IBI values are related to a greater abundance of endemic species (e.g. see sites SMR-SNAILS-T06-2 and SMR-NFPA-T01) and correspond to highly pristine and well-conserved areas (Borges et al. 2005).

Table 4.
Download as
CSV
XLSX

Values of Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) in a scale of 0 to 14 points, for Autumn 2022, also indicating the values for each of the months studied (October, November and December 2022), for each sampled site in mixed forests of Santa Maria Island.

Site Code IBI - Autumn IBI - October IBI - November IBI - December
SMR-NFPA-T01 7 8 8 10
SMR-SNAILS-T02 10 7 6 10
SMR-SNAILS-T03 6 9 8 6
SMR-SNAILS-T04 7 10 5 8
SMR-SNAILS-T05 7 7 7 7
SMR-SNAILS-T06-2 10 11 8 9
SMR-SNAILS-T07-2 7 8 5 6
SMR-SNAILS-T08 7 8 5 6
SMR-SNAILS-T09 7 7 6 8
SMR-SNAILS-T10-2 4 7 5 6
SMR-SNAILS-T11 5 8 6 4

The study of arthropod communities and the development of monitoring campaigns to study their abundance and species richness have proved to be suitable indicators of habitat quality in the Azores (Cardoso et al. 2006, Tsafack et al. 2023b, Tsafack et al. 2023a). Most of recorded species in mixed forests of Santa Maria were native or endemic (n = 52), including three new records to the Island, as P. lituratus, P. gillerforsi and C. validum, which is an indicator of potential habitat suitability to endemic invertebrates, as the threatened endemic molluscs targeted by the LIFE SNAILS project.

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the project LIFE SNAILS (LIFE20 NAT/PT/001377). S.L. is funded by the Azorean Government Ph.D. grant numbers M3.1.a/F/012/2022. LLL is funded by the project FCT-UIDP/00329/2020-2024. PAVB was also supported by the projects Azores DRCT Pluriannual Funding (M1.1.A/FUNC.UI&D/010/2021-2024) and FCT-UIDB/00329/2020-2024 (DOI 10.54499/UIDB/00329/2020 (https://doi.org/10.54499/UIDB/00329/2020), Thematic Line 1 – integrated ecological assessment of environmental change on biodiversity).

Author contributions

PAVB: Conceptualisation; Methodology; Research (field and laboratory work); Resources; Data Curation; Darwin Core dataset preparation; Formal analysis and interpretation; manuscript writing.

LLL: Formal analysis and interpretation; manuscript writing.

SL: Data Curation; Darwin Core dataset preparation, Formal analysis and interpretation.

NBM, MP and RAL: Research (fieldwork); Resources.

AL and LP: Research (laboratory work); Resources; Data Curation.

All the authors participated in data interpretation and manuscript revision.

References

login to comment