Publication details
Woodland mollusc communities along environmental gradients in the East Carpathians
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2007 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Biologia, Bratislava |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Ecology |
| Keywords | molluscs; community structure; woodland; calcium; leaf litter; elevation gradient |
| Description | Mollusc communities were sampled quantitatively at eleven sites representing different environmental conditions in the Bieszczady NP. Alder forest in the valleys hosted the richest fauna, with up to 41 species occurring sympatrically on 100 m2 of forest floor. The main predictor of mollusc assemblage composition was calcium content; the first DCA axis of molluscs most significantly and highly correlated with calcium content in the leaf litter and organic matter in the upper layer. The second axis significantly correlated with altitude and negatively with annual temperature, and thus can be explained as an elevational gradient. We observed slope aspect to constitute the third significant gradient. On the basis of forward selection in CCA analysis organic matter in the upper layer of soil was the best predictor of species composition, which explained 26% of total variance. It comes to prove that in mountain forest on non-calcareous bedrock molluscs obtain calcium mainly from leaf litter. |
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