1. Body size and mean individual biomass variation of ground-beetles community (Coleoptera: Carabidae) as a response to increasing altitude and associated vegetation types in mountainous ecosystem
- Author
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Dana Prelić, Milica Ristovska, Valentina Slavevska-Stamenković, Slavčo Hristovski, Lucija Šerić Jelaska, and Aleksandra Cvetkovska-Gjorgjievska
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,Biomass (ecology) ,biology ,Ecology ,010604 marine biology & hydrobiology ,Biodiversity ,Cell Biology ,Plant Science ,biology.organism_classification ,010603 evolutionary biology ,01 natural sciences ,Biochemistry ,Geography ,Altitude ,Ground beetle ,ground-beetle community ,altitudinal gradient ,forest vegetation ,body size ,biomass ,MIB ,Vegetation type ,Genetics ,Animal Science and Zoology ,Ecosystem ,Molecular Biology ,Bioindicator ,Beech ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics - Abstract
Carabid fauna is not sufficiently explored in Central and Western Balkan areas, especially in mountain ecosystems with unique biodiversity which is a result of specific environmental factors and geologic history. Furthermore, distribution of species and adaptation to varying environmental parameters change along the altitudinal gradients. All this highlights the need for biodiversity and ecological studies in order to assess the state of the mountain ecosystems and conservation significance. Carabids as good bioindicator group can be used as a tool for monitoring those changes. The aim of this study was to analyse the differences of body size distribution and mean individual biomass (MIB) of ground beetle assemblages as a response of changing conditions and vegetation types along an altitudinal gradient on Belasitsa Mountain in south Macedonia. Both parameters significantly decreased with increasing altitude and were consequently associated with the vegetation type. Larger bodied individuals and higher values of MIB were recorded in the white oak and oriental hornbeam forest stands with the values decreasing in sessile oak forests towards submontane and montane beech forest stands. This research yielded first list of carabid species inhabiting Belasitsa Mountain with insight of carabid body length and biomass distribution along altitudinal gradient.
- Published
- 2017
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