Abstract
The seasonal activity patterns of Scolopendra cingulata and S. cretica in relation to abiotic factors and microhabitat preferences in five eastern Mediterranean maquis formations were studied. The abundance of both species proved to be spatially non-variant, suggesting a uniform distribution of populations, which exhibited a statistically similar phenological pattern, peaking in early-midsummer. The variability of the temporal activity patterns in Crete, Naxos and Cyprus denotes the influence of insularity and rapid change of environmental conditions to the phenology of both species. The annually consistent seasonal activity represents an invariant pattern in continental areas such as Attiki and Samos. Although young and large adults were more abundant than juveniles, the microhabitat preferences of scolopendrids did not differ between the two species and in relation to age class and study site and did not change temporally. The correlation of abundance with high air temperature and low air relative humidity and precipitation shows that both species are thermophilous and xerophilous, well adapted to the environmental conditions of the eastern Mediterranean region.
Highlights
The ecosystems in the Mediterranean basin are insufficiently studied (Trihas and Legakis 1991) and little information exists on the ecology of arthropods in the eastern Mediterranean (Iatrou and Stamou 1989)
Young adult scolopendrids were the most abundant age class in Crete, Attiki and Cyprus, whereas large adults were dominant in Naxos and Samos, and juveniles were the least abundant age class at all study sites (Figure 2)
Scolopendra cretica and S. cingulata are among the dominant arthropod species in the Aegean and continental Greece (S. cretica only in Crete and its adjacent islets) (Simaiakis et al 2005; Kaltsas et al 2006)
Summary
The ecosystems in the Mediterranean basin are insufficiently studied (Trihas and Legakis 1991) and little information exists on the ecology of arthropods in the eastern Mediterranean (Iatrou and Stamou 1989). There are some works conducted in the eastern Mediterranean region dealing with the seasonal variation and temporal patterns of activity of millipedes (Iatrou and Stamou 1989), beetles (Trihas and Legakis 1991), scorpions (Kaltsas et al 2006, 2009), oribatid mites and springtails (Stamou et al 1993), as well as other arthropods (Pantis et al 1988). The centipedes of genus Scolopendra Linnaeus, 1758 are soil predators, living in moist surroundings, and are found mostly under stones and beneath the bark of decayed logs In the field they are rarely seen above ground during daylight and are mainly active during the wet periods (spring and autumn). There are nine species occurring in the Mediterranean region (Lewis 1985; Akkari et al 2008), five of which are known from mainland and insular Greece and Cyprus (Zapparoli 2002, but see Lewis 2010)
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