Taxonomic Relatedness of Spider and Carabid Assemblages in a Wetland Ecosystem

assemblages in a wetland ecosystem. Zoological Studies 51(7): 1175-1187. Traditional community indices, i.e. Shannon diversity and Simpson’s dominance, are generally used to describe biological assemblages in order to infer ecological trends about the effects of disturbance. Such indices are correlated with species richness and abundance and may be strongly influenced by the sampling effort. Conversely, taxonomic relatedness indices show interesting statistical properties and are independent of the sampling effort. Additionally, high values of taxonomical relatedness indices have proven to reflect habitat functionality in marine ecosystems. Their use in terrestrial ecosystems is rare, and despite their good potential, they have never been used for biodiagnostic purposes. In this paper, we present the 1st application of taxonomic relatedness indices to arthropod assemblages (namely spiders and carabids) and their comparison with several traditional community parameters that are generally used to evaluate environmental disturbances. The study was set in a wetland area within the Natural Reserve of Fondo Toce (northwestern Italy). Four different habitats with different degrees of disturbance (a reed bed, a mown meadow, a riparian wood with mesophilous elements, and a transitional mesohygrophilic area invaded by non-native vegetation) were sampled using pitfall traps. The spider and carabid assemblages occurring in each habitat were characterized by means of multidimensional scaling (MDS) and by several community parameters, including abundance, species richness diversity, taxonomic relatedness indices, an

Annotated checklist of the spiders (Arachnida, Araneae) of the Site of Community Importance and Special Area of Conservation “Alpi Marittime” (NW Italy)

FIG. 6. — Metellina segmentata (Clerck, 1757) (Tetragnathidae), Entracque, Gorge della Reina. Photograph: Alberto Chiarle (2011).Published as part of Isaia, Marco, Paschetta, Mauro & Chiarle, Alberto, 2015, Annotated checklist of the spiders (Arachnida, Araneae) of the Site of Community Importance and Special Area of Conservation "Alpi Marittime" (NW Italy), pp. 57-114 in Zoosystema 37 (1) on page 76, DOI: 10.5252/z2015n1a4, http://zenodo.org/record/457768

Farmland biodiversity and agricultural management on 237 farms in 13 European and two African regions

Farmland is a major land cover type in Europe and Africa and provides habitat for numerous species. The severe decline in farmland biodiversity of the last decades has been attributed to changes in farming practices, and organic and low-input farming are assumed to mitigate detrimental effects of agricultural intensification on biodiversity. Since the farm enterprise is the primary unit of agricultural decision making, management-related effects at the field scale need to be assessed at the farm level. Therefore, in this study, data were collected on habitat characteristics, vascular plant, earthworm, spider, and bee communities and on the corresponding agricultural management in 237 farms in 13 European and two African regions. In 15 environmental and agricultural homogeneous regions, 6–20 farms with the same farm type (e.g., arable crops, grassland, or specific permanent crops) were selected. If available, an equal number of organic and non-organic farms were randomly selected. Alternatively, farms were sampled along a gradient of management intensity. For all selected farms, the entire farmed area was mapped, which resulted in total in the mapping of 11 338 units attributed to 194 standardized habitat types, provided together with additional descriptors. On each farm, one site per available habitat type was randomly selected for species diversity investigations. Species were sampled on 2115 sites and identified to the species level by expert taxonomists. Species lists and abundance estimates are provided for each site and sampling date (one date for plants and earthworms, three dates for spiders and bees). In addition, farmers provided information about their management practices in face-to-face interviews following a standardized questionnaire. Farm management indicators for each farm are available (e.g., nitrogen input, pesticide applications, or energy input). Analyses revealed a positive effect of unproductive areas and a negative effect of intensive management on biodiversity. Communities of the four taxonomic groups strongly differed in their response to habitat characteristics, agricultural management, and regional circumstances. The data has potential for further insights into interactions of farmland biodiversity and agricultural management at site, farm, and regional scale