We found a match
Your institution may have rights to this item. Sign in to continue.
- Title
Faunistic data and biogeography of terrestrial isopods from Tunisian wetlands.
- Authors
Khemaissia, Hajer; Jelassi, Raja; Souty‐Grosset, Catherine; Nasri‐Ammar, Karima
- Abstract
Abstract: In Tunisia, while wetlands are considered as remarkable habitats for their faunal and floral diversity, few studies on the biogeography and the diversity of terrestrial isopods were performed. To fill this gap, we carried out a field study in the supralittoral zone of 146 Tunisian wetlands belonging to eight types (lagoon, river, lake, sebkha, dam, hill reservoir, beach and chott) and to five bioclimatic zones (humid, subhumid, semi‐arid, arid and Saharan). Field work was carried out in spring 2010. Terrestrial isopods were collected in the morning by hand search each time with the same sampling effort. During the study, 22 species of terrestrial isopods belonging to nine families were collected. <italic>Porcellio variabilis</italic>,<italic> Porcellio laevis</italic>,<italic> Chaetophiloscia elongata</italic> and <italic>Armadillidium pelagicum</italic> are the most common species identified. From the northern to the southern regions, a gradual decrease in species richness has been shown. The identified species belonged to different biogeographical categories: Mediterranean, Mediterranean‐Atlantic, North Africa with circum‐Sicilian islands, semi‐arid and Saharan species. Some of these species are endemic to Tunisia (<italic>Porcellio dominici</italic>) or to North Africa (<italic>Armadillidium sulcatum</italic>,<italic> Armadillidium tunisiense</italic>,<italic> Porcellio marginenotatus</italic> and <italic>P. variabilis</italic>). Terrestrial isopod species differ according to wetland type and bioclimatic zone.
- Subjects
BIOGEOGRAPHY; ISOPODA; WETLANDS; PLANT diversity; ANIMAL diversity
- Publication
African Journal of Ecology, 2018, Vol 56, Issue 1, p38
- ISSN
0141-6707
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/aje.12415