Protistology 7 (1) 42–50 (2012) |
Testate amoebae communities from caves of some territories in European Russia and North-Eastern Italy |
1 Department of Zoology and Ecology, Penza State Pedagogical University, Penza, Russia
Summary The species composition of testate amoebae in caves from European Russia and North-East Italy was studied. Twenty-seven species were identified from various habitats inside caves (moist substratum on floor, guano, sediments of cave streams and pools, water droplets and bacterial mats on rocky surfaces). In caves of simple structure (without differing types of habitats), the species richness of testate amoebae was far lower than in that from habitats outside the caves. In heterogeneous caves, species diversity of testate amoebae reached comparable levels with rhizopod communities from soil litter and mosses growing on rocks and soils. The abundances of testate amoebae in all cases decreased significantly inside caves. Widely distributed eurybiont testate amoebae species shape the speleo-communities. The total list of testate amoebae found in caves, based on currently available and published data, amounts to 82 taxa. Key words: testate amoebae, caves, Italy, Russia
Address for correspondence: Olimpia Coppellotti. Department of Biology, University of Padova, Via U. Bassi 58/B, 35131 Padova, Italy; e-mail: olimpia.coppellotti@unipd.it |
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