Abstract
BackgroundAzorean volcanic cave biodiversity is under considerable pressure due to ongoing threats of pollution, land use change, touristic activities or climate change. In this contribution, we present the IUCN Red List profiles of 15 cave-adapted arthropod species, endemic to the Azorean archipelago, including species belonging to the speciose genus Trechus (Carabidae), which is represented in Azores by seven species. The objective of this paper is to assess all endemic Azorean cave-adapted species and advise on possible future research and conservation actions critical for the long-term survival of the most endangered species.New informationMost species have a restricted distribution (i.e. occur in one or two caves), very small extent of occurrence (EOO) and a small area of occupancy (AOO). A continuing decline in the number of mature individuals is inferred from the ongoing cave habitat degradation. The two troglobitic species of the homopteran genus Cixius are in great danger of extinction due to major land-use changes in epigean habitats above their known localities. We suggest, as future measures of conservation, the regular monitoring of the species (every five years), the creation of additional protected caves, the limitation of several aggressive activities around the caves (e.g. decreasing pasture intensification) and in some cases the creation of fences in the entrance of the most important caves.
Highlights
Three archipelagos of Macaronesia (Azores, Madeira, Canaries) have unique arthropod cave biological diversity (Oromí and Izquierdo 1994, Reboleira et al 2011, Borges et al 2012)
After a previous assessment of the cave spider Turinyphia cavernicola (Borges et al 2016), in this contribution we present the IUCN Red List profiles of 15 additional cave-adapted arthropod species endemic to the Azores, leaving out the centipede subspecies Lithobius
To create the IUCN Red List profiles, we followed the standard procedures as in Borges et al (2016), Borges et al (2017) and Borges et al (2018): i) the original species descriptions were investigated to learn about the habitats and ecology of the species; ii) all the most recent literature was investigated to obtain information about synonyms and critical information for the taxonomic notes; iii) for the calculation of area of occupancy (AOO) and extent of occurrence (EOO), we consulted the Azorean Biodiversity Portal and downloaded CSV files with the distribution of each species; iv) images of the species were obtained from the repository available in the A zorean Biodiversity Portal, the most important source of information for Azores biodiversity
Summary
Three archipelagos of Macaronesia (Azores, Madeira, Canaries) have unique arthropod cave biological diversity (Oromí and Izquierdo 1994, Reboleira et al 2011, Borges et al 2012). The currently known diversity of Azorean troglobiont arthropods is composed of 17 described species and subspecies and four additional undescribed species (Borges and Oromí 1994, Borges et al 2012), all endemic to the archipelago. Azorean volcanic cave biodiversity is under considerable pressure due to ongoing threats of pollution, land use change, touristic activities or climate change. In this contribution, we present the IUCN Red List profiles of 15 cave-adapted arthropod species, endemic to the Azorean archipelago, including species belonging to the speciose genus Trechus (Carabidae), which is represented in Azores by seven species. As future measures of conservation, the regular monitoring of the species (every five years), the creation of additional protected caves, the limitation of several aggressive activities around the caves (e.g. decreasing pasture intensification) and in some cases the creation of fences in the entrance of the most important caves
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