The use of woodlice assemblages (Crustacea, Isopoda, Oniscidea) in the assessment of habitat naturalness
Abstract
We evaluated richness and composition of Transdanubian terrestrial isopod assemblages from biogeographical, conservation biological and ecological point of view. By the means of uni- and multivariate statistics 785 locality records according to geographical position (UTM grids), altitude and habitat characteristics (type of vegetation, general moisture conditions within the habitat) were analysed. The presence of 48 valid species (48 % of the Hungarian isopod fauna) was proved in the surveyed region. Species richness by UTM grids varied between 1 and 28. It decreased significantly from natural (undisturbed) wet habitats to disturbed dry ones. The highest species richness of natural species was found in the Mecsek Mts (22 species/UTM), along the valley of river Drava (16/UTM). Budapest (28 spp) and the larger cities (Pécs – 24 spp; Kaposvár – 21 spp) were “hot-spots” for introduced, established introduced, mainly synantropic and generalist species. Species composition of degraded and natural, and within natural habitats highland and lowland sites, differed from each other. Composition of these three habitat classes showed extensive overlap, but the categorisation of the species were consistent with previously identified species groups for the Hungarian fauna. These results indicate a relatively uniform richness pattern with high compositional turnover according to geographical regions and habitat characteristics. Naturalness (degree of degradation) together with Alpine and Illiryc biogeographic influences play a crucial role in shaping terrestrial isopod assemblages.
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