Abstract
Temporary rivers are dynamic freshwater ecosystems, supporting unique and often highly diverse terrestrial communities in the riparian habitats during the flowing phase. However, studies investigating the differences in orthopteran and cockroach (Insecta: Orthoptera, Blattodea) assemblages between riparian and adjacent upland habitats are scarce, despite their abundance and functional importance in terrestrial ecosystems. Orthopterans and cockroaches were sampled in 2014 at 72 sites along the temporary Krčić River (SE Croatia) in two habitat types—riparian and karst, using pitfall traps. Abundance, taxa richness, true diversity and conservation value of ground-dwelling orthopterans and cockroaches were significantly higher in the karst than in the riparian habitat. This result can be ascribed to significant differences in environmental factors: soil temperature, air humidity and vegetation structure, namely tree, shrub and herb layer abundances. Most assemblage parameters and spatial distribution of ground-dwelling orthopteran and cockroach taxa were driven by higher soil temperature and less developed tree layer in the karst, both groups preferring open habitats. Karst sites with a well-developed shrub layer and herb layer had the highest conservation value for rare ground-dwelling orthopterans (e.g. Paramogoplistes novaki) and locally rare cockroaches (e.g. Ectobius balcani), respectively. Nevertheless, densely vegetated riparian sites also harboured some locally valuable species (e.g. Troglophilus cavicola). This study highlights the importance of open karst habitats in promoting the diversity of ground-dwelling orthopterans and cockroaches, and contributes to the understanding of key environmental factors driving their habitat choice, as a prerequisite for efficient conservation and monitoring.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to express our gratitude to Sandra Slivar, Marija Starčević and Vladimir Bartovsky for their help with field sampling. We are particularly indebted to Prof. Mladen Kerovec for providing additional financial support. Furthermore, we would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for improving the quality of this work with their constructive comments and suggestions.
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This work was supported by the University of Zagreb (Grant Numbers 202310, 202675).
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FR processed the orthopteran material, performed a part of the statistical analyses and lead the writing of the manuscript. AA performed vegetation sampling. GH processed the cockroach material. IT supervised the laboratory work. AB conceived the idea for this research, lead the fieldwork, performed a part of the statistical analyses and contributed to writing.
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Rebrina, F., Alegro, A., Hristov, G. et al. Open karst habitats promote the diversity of ground-dwelling orthopterans and cockroaches (Insecta: Orthoptera, Blattodea) along a temporary river. J Insect Conserv 24, 1017–1030 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-020-00271-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-020-00271-x