Description
This manuscript reports on the biological materials of arthropods sampled by the members and collaborators of the University of Azores since the 1990’s on subterranean environments of the Azores. We will highlight the occurrence of endemic species in new localities, therefore increasing their known distribution range. These new records will update the conservation priority of the distinct caves, and records of unidentified taxa can call the attention of prospective taxonomists that might be keen on studying these materials.
A total of 74 species and subspecies are listed plus 16 taxa identified at family or genus level. The 74 identified taxa include 16 endemic species, from which ten are cave adapted species.
Data Records
The data in this sampling event resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 598 records.
1 extension data tables also exist. An extension record supplies extra information about a core record. The number of records in each extension data table is illustrated below.
This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.
Versions
The table below shows only published versions of the resource that are publicly accessible.
How to cite
Researchers should cite this work as follows:
Borges P A V, Crespo L C, Amorim I R (2025). Inventory of arthropods in Azorean Islands lava tubes and volcanic pits. Version 1.1. Universidade dos Açores. Samplingevent dataset. http://ipt.gbif.pt/ipt/resource?r=arthropods_azores_darco&v=1.1
Rights
Researchers should respect the following rights statement:
The publisher and rights holder of this work is Universidade dos Açores. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY 4.0) License.
GBIF Registration
This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: 4a3a1ea5-9ff6-459f-9b04-6ec577ef042e. Universidade dos Açores publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by GBIF Portugal.
Keywords
Occurrence; Specimen; Arthropods; Cave adapted species; Azores; Portugal
Contacts
- Associate Professor
- School of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of the Azores, Rua Capitão João d´Ávila, Pico da Urze
- +351968933212
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8448-7623
- Originator
- Reseracher
- School of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Rua Capitão João d’Ávila, Pico da Urze
- Originator
- Researcher
- School of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of the Azores, Rua Capitão João d´Ávila, Pico da Urze
- +351968933212
Geographic Coverage
This study covers seven of the Azorean islands excluding Corco and Flores Islands.
| Bounding Coordinates | South West [36.862, -28.872], North East [39.13, -24.741] |
|---|
Taxonomic Coverage
Several groups of Arthropods
| Kingdom | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Class | Entognatha, Arachnida, Insecta, Diplopoda, Chilopoda |
| Order | Hemiptera, Geophilomorpha, Opiliones, Pseudoscorpiones, Lithobiomorpha, Polydesmida, Scutigeromorpha, Coleoptera, Julida, Hymenoptera, Dermaptera, Diplura, Araneae, Chordeumatida |
| Family | Campodeidae, Aphididae, Pholcidae, Blaniulidae, Cryptophagidae, Theridiidae, Rhyparochromidae, Chthoniidae, Lygaeidae, Tetragnathidae, Carabidae, Linyphiidae, Lithobiidae, Leiobunidae, Scutigeridae, Curculionidae, Salticidae, Staphylinidae, Elateridae, Syarinidae, Dysderidae, Haplobainosomatidae, Anisolabididae, Paradoxosomatidae, Geophilidae, Polydesmidae, Silvanidae, Cicadellidae, Cixiidae, Leiodidae, Tenebrionidae, Julidae, Nitidulidae, Formicidae |
Temporal Coverage
| Start Date / End Date | 1991-06-07 / 2010-10-22 |
|---|
Project Data
ssaas
| Title | Inventory of arthropods in Azorean Islands lava tubes and volcanic pits |
|---|---|
| Identifier | DARCO-AZORES |
| Funding | This research was funded by Biodiversa+ (project ‘DarCo’), the European Biodiversity Partnership under the 2021–2022 BiodivProtect joint call for research proposals, cofunded by the European Commission (GA N°101052342) and Fundo Regional para a Ciência e Tecnologia (Portugal). In addition the Project AZORES BIOPORTAL supports the online availability of the species distribution for the general public. |
| Study Area Description | This study covers seven of the Azorean islands excluding Corvo and Flores Islands. |
| Design Description | The examination of cave-dwelling fauna in the Azores employed a range of standardized sampling protocols designed to capture the full spectrum of arthropod biodiversity across different subterranean habitats. Pitfall trapping and direct visual searching were the primary methods, each carefully adapted to the unique environmental conditions of the Azorean lava tubes and volcanic pits. Pitfall traps were strategically placed in diverse microhabitats, taking into account variations in humidity, temperature, and substrate composition. This approach maximized the chances of capturing both ground-dwelling and wandering arthropods. Meanwhile, systematic visual searches allowed researchers to detect species that might otherwise evade passive trapping, such as those that dwell on cave walls, ceilings, or in crevices. By combining active and passive techniques, the study achieved a more comprehensive assessment of arthropod assemblages and minimized sampling biases associated with any single method |
| Related Projects |
AZORES BOPORTAL AZORESBIOPORTAL |
The personnel involved in the project:
- Author
- Author
- Content Provider
Sampling Methods
We used Pitfall traps as the most highly effective method for capturing cave-dwelling arthropods, particularly ground beetles of the genus Trechus. Following Amorim (2005): Trap Setup: Small plastic pitfall traps were placed along standardized transects inside lava tubes and volcanic pits. Each transect consisted of 30 pitfall traps spaced along a 500-meter-long transect from the cave entrance inwards. Traps were dug into the ground and placed inside cracks on vertical walls and covered with mesh to protect against rats. To prevent flooding from the region’s high precipitation, plastic dishes were installed above traps as rain cover. As Baiting Strategy several types of baiting were used: i) Pitfall (bait: liver) - live traps baited with fresh cow and/or pig liver that was kept in a special container inside the traps, allowing the collecton of live species; ii) Pitfall (bait: turquin) - live traps baited with TURQUIN (a mixture of 1 litter of dark beer and some preservatives: 5 ml Formaldehyde; 5 ml Glacial Acetic Acid; 10 g Sodium Chloride) that was kept in a special container inside the traps, allowing the collecton of live species; iii) Pitfall (bait: liver + cheese) - live traps baited with fresh cow and/or pig liver and also cheese that was kept in a special container inside the traps, allowing the collecton of live species; iv) Pitfall (bait: turquin + cheese) - killing traps with TURQUIN and cheese that was kept in a special container inside the traps; v) Pitfall (bait: turquin + liver) - killing traps with TURQUIN and liver that was kept in a special container inside the traps. Pitfall traps were left in place for at least seven days and up to a month to ensure adequate specimen collection. Traps were monitored periodically to prevent desiccation or disturbance.
| Study Extent | Located along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in the North Atlantic Ocean (approximately 36°55′ to 39°43′ N and 24°33′ to 31°17′ W), the Azores archipelago comprises nine volcanic islands renowned for their extensive network of lava tubes and volcanic pits. Across the archipelago, around 300 such subterranean structures have been identified, with Pico and Terceira hosting the largest concentrations at 118 and 73 caves, respectively. |
|---|---|
| Quality Control | All specimens were sorted first at morphospecies level and later identifield by two senior taxonomists: Luís Carlos Crespo and Paulo A.V. Borges |
Method step description:
- Arthropod species taxonomic nomenclature follows Borges et al. (2022).
Collection Data
| Collection Name | Entomoteca Dalberto Teixeira Pombo (DTP) |
|---|---|
| Collection Identifier | DTP |
| Specimen preservation methods | Alcohol |
|---|
Bibliographic Citations
- Borges, P.A.V., Lamelas-Lopez, L., Andrade, R., Lhoumeau, S., Vieira, V., Soares, A.O., Borges, I., Boieiro, M., Cardoso, P., Crespo, L.C.F., Karsholt, O., Schülke, M., Serrano, A.R.M., Quartau, J.A. & Assing, V. (2022). An updated checklist of Azorean arthropods (Arthropoda). Biodiversity Data Journal, 10: e97682 DOI: 10.3897/BDJ.10.e97682
Additional Metadata
| Acknowledgements | This research was funded by Biodiversa+ (project ‘DarCo’), the European Biodiversity Partnership under the 2021–2022 BiodivProtect joint call for research proposals, cofunded by the European Commission (GA N°101052342) and Fundo Regional para a Ciência e Tecnologia (Portugal). |
|---|---|
| Introduction | Azorean lava caves offer critical habitats for a variety of endemic troglobitic species that have evolved distinctive adaptations to life underground, such as depigmentation, reduced or absent eyes, and elongated appendages. These adaptations are a direct response to the stable, lightless environment in which these species dwell. However, because of their isolated distribution and the scarcity of suitable subterranean ecosystems, many cave-dwelling species are highly vulnerable to disturbances such as habitat degradation and fragmentation. To safeguard these specialized organisms and the fragile subterranean environments they inhabit, conservation measures in the Azores include assigning caves to one of four priority categories. Through this system, specific caves—those housing rare or highly sensitive species—are designated for heightened protection, ensuring that management strategies address not only the caves themselves but also the surrounding environments crucial for maintaining cave ecological integrity |
| Getting Started | The Databse follows the Darwin Core Standards. |
| Purpose | The main purpose of this study is to report the results of a comprehensive survey of arthropod cave fauna throughout the Azores Islands. |
| Alternative Identifiers | 4a3a1ea5-9ff6-459f-9b04-6ec577ef042e |
| http://ipt.gbif.pt/ipt/resource?r=arthropods_azores_darco |