Abstract
Phoridae (scuttle flies) are widely distributed, occur in many types of habitats and are ecologically versatile, which makes them an excellent bioindicator group for evaluating faunal diversity. The structure of scuttle fly communities was compared in two Mediterranean habitats in the Montseny Natural Park (Catalonia, Spain) that differ in vegetation and microclimate: beech forest and highland scrubland. 3684 male individuals belonging to 135 species of scuttle flies were identified. Scuttle flies were more abundant in beech forest than scrubland. Observed and estimated species richness were lower in scrubland than in beech forest, while diversity was similar in both habitats. Community evenness was greater in scrubland than beech forest. Therefore, the percentage of dominant and subdominant species was higher in scrubland than beech forest, while the percentage of rare species was higher in beech forest than scrubland. Scuttle fly species composition was significantly different in the two habitats, but it was similar among plots within the same habitat. Megaselia pectoralis (Wood, 1910) and Megaselia subpleuralis (Wood, 1909) were the dominant species in beech forest, while Megaselia pusilla (Meigen, 1830), Megaselia pumila (Meigen, 1830), Megaselia superciliata (Wood, 1910) and Megaselia diversa (Wood, 1909) were the dominant species in scrubland. Trophic specialization was higher in beech forest than scrubland. Saprophages were the dominant trophic group in beech forest, while fungivores and polyphages were dominant in scrubland. The high biodiversity of scuttle flies recorded in the Montseny Natural Park indicates that there is also a high diversity of other taxa there and that these Mediterranean mountains are of high conservation status.
Highlights
IntroductionPhoridae (scuttle flies) is a diverse family in the order Diptera with more than 3,700 species in more than 260 genera
Phoridae is a diverse family in the order Diptera with more than 3,700 species in more than 260 genera
Scuttle flies were more abundant in the beech forest and made up a higher percentage of the Diptera (5,846 Phoridae out of 72,004 Diptera, 8.11%) than in scrubland (1,199 Phoridae out of 23,326 Diptera, 5.14%)
Summary
Phoridae (scuttle flies) is a diverse family in the order Diptera with more than 3,700 species in more than 260 genera. Phoridae is one of the families of Diptera with the highest diversity of larval life forms, including saprophages, predators, fungivores, parasits and parasitoids (Disney, 1990; Disney et al, 2010). Scuttle flies are widely distributed and occur in different types of habitat, which makes them a suitable group for characterizing and comparing different ecosystems. Few studies have compared the structure of scuttle fly communities in different habitats (Weber & Prescher, 1990; Disney, 1994; Durska, 1996, 2001, 2006, 2013, 2015; Prescher et al, 2002; Zmihorski & Durska, 2010) and none of them has studied them in Mediterranean mountain ecosystems. The prevalence of scuttle flies and their high biological and trophic diversity make them an excellent bioindicator group for evaluating the faunal diversity of an ecosystem as a measure of its conservation value; a high diversity of scuttle flies ussually indicates a high diversity of other taxa (Disney, 1994)
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