Abstract
BackgroundLocal natural laboratories, designated by us as the “Evolution Canyon” model, are excellent tools to study regional and global ecological dynamics across life. They present abiotic and biotic contrasts locally, permitting the pursuit of observations and experiments across diverse taxa sharing sharp microecological subdivisions. Higher solar radiation received by the “African savannah-like” south-facing slopes (AS) in canyons north of the equator than by the opposite “European maquis-like” north-facing slopes (ES) is associated with higher abiotic stress. Scorpions are a suitable taxon to study interslope biodiversity differences, associated with the differences in abiotic factors (climate, drought), due to their ability to adapt to dry environments.Methodology/Principal FindingsScorpions were studied by the turning stone method and by UV light methods. The pattern observed in scorpions was contrasted with similar patterns in several other taxa at the same place. As expected, the AS proved to be significantly more speciose regarding scorpions, paralleling the interslope patterns in taxa such as lizards and snakes, butterflies (Rhopalocera), beetles (families Tenebrionidae, Dermestidae, Chrysomelidae), and grasshoppers (Orthoptera).Conclusions/SignificanceOur results support an earlier conclusion stating that the homogenizing effects of migration and stochasticity are not able to eliminate the interslope intra- and interspecific differences in biodiversity despite an interslope distance of only 100 m at the “EC” valley bottom. In our opinion, the interslope microclimate selection, driven mainly by differences in insolance, could be the primary factor responsible for the observed interslope pattern.
Highlights
Scorpions inhabit all terrestrial habitats with the exception of tundra, high-latitude taiga, and some high-elevation mountain tops and their spatial distribution is influenced, to a large extent, by temperature and precipitation [1]
Species richness All together six scorpion species were recorded at EC (Text S1, Table 1); out of these, five species were recorded during the first sampling season, six species during the second collection season, and four by the UV method (Table 1)
All six recorded scorpion species were present on the African savannah-like’’ south-facing slopes (AS), and four of them were found on the European maquis-like’’ north-facing slopes (ES) (Table 1)
Summary
Scorpions inhabit all terrestrial habitats with the exception of tundra, high-latitude taiga, and some high-elevation mountain tops and their spatial distribution is influenced, to a large extent, by temperature and precipitation [1] Their taxonomic richness is maximal in subtropical areas (23–38u latitude), decreasing toward the poles and the equator [1]. Local natural laboratories, designated by us as the ‘‘Evolution Canyon’’ model, are excellent tools to study regional and global ecological dynamics across life. They present abiotic and biotic contrasts locally, permitting the pursuit of observations and experiments across diverse taxa sharing sharp microecological subdivisions. Scorpions are a suitable taxon to study interslope biodiversity differences, associated with the differences in abiotic factors (climate, drought), due to their ability to adapt to dry environments
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