New records and detailed distribution and abundance of selected arthropod species collected between 1999 and 2011 in Azorean native forests.
BACKGROUND
In this contribution we present detailed distribution and abundance data for arthropod species identified during the BALA -Biodiversity ofArthropods from theLaurisilva of theAzores(1999-2004) and BALA2 projects (2010-2011) from 18 native forest fragments in seven of the nine Azorean islands (all excluding Graciosa and Corvo islands, which have no native forest left).


CONCLUSIONS
Of the total 286 species identified, 81% were captured between 1999 and 2000, a period during which only 39% of all the samples were collected. On average, arthropod richness for each island increased by 10% during the time frame of these projects. The classes Arachnida, Chilopoda and Diplopoda represent the most remarkable cases of new island records, with more than 30% of the records being novelties. This study stresses the need to expand the approaches applied in these projects to other habitats in the Azores, and more importantly to other less surveyed taxonomic groups (e.g. Diptera and Hymenoptera). These steps are fundamental for getting a more accurate assessment of biodiversity in the archipelago.
cE3c - Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes / Azorean Biodiversity Group and Universidade dos Açores - Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia do Ambiente, Rua Capitão João d'Ávila, São Pedro, 9700-042 Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira, Azores, Portugal.
Paulo A V
PA
Borges
cE3c - Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes / Azorean Biodiversity Group and Universidade dos Açores - Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia do Ambiente, Rua Capitão João d'Ávila, São Pedro, 9700-042 Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira, Azores, Portugal.
Clara
C
Gaspar
cE3c - Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes / Azorean Biodiversity Group and Universidade dos Açores - Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia do Ambiente, Rua Capitão João d'Ávila, São Pedro, 9700-042 Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira, Azores, Portugal; Departament de Biologia Animal and Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Universitat de Barcelona, Avinguda Diagonal 643, 08071, Barcelona, Spain.
Luís Carlos Fonseca
LC
Crespo
Environment and Microbiology Team, IPREM UMRCNRS-UPPA 5254, IBEAS BP1155, Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour, 64013 Pau Cedex, France; cE3c - Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes / Azorean Biodiversity Group and Universidade dos Açores - Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia do Ambiente, Rua Capitão João d'Ávila, São Pedro, 9700-042 Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira, Azores, Portugal.
François
F
Rigal
Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu 13, P.O.Box 17, 00014, Helsinki, Finland; cE3c - Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes / Azorean Biodiversity Group and Universidade dos Açores - Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia do Ambiente, Rua Capitão João d'Ávila, São Pedro, 9700-042 Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira, Azores, Portugal.
Pedro
P
Cardoso
cE3c - Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes / Azorean Biodiversity Group and Universidade dos Açores - Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia do Ambiente, Rua Capitão João d'Ávila, São Pedro, 9700-042 Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira, Azores, Portugal.
Fernando
F
Pereira
cE3c - Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes / Azorean Biodiversity Group and Universidade dos Açores - Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia do Ambiente, Rua Capitão João d'Ávila, São Pedro, 9700-042 Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira, Azores, Portugal.
Carla
C
Rego
cE3c - Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes / Azorean Biodiversity Group and Universidade dos Açores - Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia do Ambiente, Rua Capitão João d'Ávila, São Pedro, 9700-042 Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira, Azores, Portugal.
Isabel R
IR
Amorim
cE3c - Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes / Azorean Biodiversity Group and Universidade dos Açores - Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia do Ambiente, Rua Capitão João d'Ávila, São Pedro, 9700-042 Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira, Azores, Portugal.
Catarina
C
Melo
cE3c, Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes & Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, 1749-016, Lisbon, Portugal.
Carlos
C
Aguiar
cE3c, Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes & Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, 1749-016, Lisbon, Portugal.
Genage
G
André
cE3c - Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes / Azorean Biodiversity Group and Universidade dos Açores - Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia do Ambiente, Rua Capitão João d'Ávila, São Pedro, 9700-042 Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira, Azores, Portugal.
Enésima P
EP
Mendonça
Laboratório de Ecologia Evolutiva de Herbívoros de Dossel, DEBIO, Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Campus Morro do Cruzeiro, 35400-000, Ouro Preto, MG, Brazil; cE3c - Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes / Azorean Biodiversity Group and Universidade dos Açores - Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia do Ambiente, Rua Capitão João d'Ávila, São Pedro, 9700-042 Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira, Azores, Portugal.
Sérvio
S
Ribeiro
Departamento de Biogeografía y Cambio Global, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), C⁄Joseé Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain; cE3c - Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes / Azorean Biodiversity Group and Universidade dos Açores - Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia do Ambiente, Rua Capitão João d'Ávila, São Pedro, 9700-042 Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira, Azores, Portugal.
Joaquín
J
Hortal
Departamento de Biogeografía y Cambio Global, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), C⁄Joseé Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain; cE3c - Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes / Azorean Biodiversity Group and Universidade dos Açores - Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia do Ambiente, Rua Capitão João d'Ávila, São Pedro, 9700-042 Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira, Azores, Portugal.
Ana M C
AM
Santos
cE3c - Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes / Azorean Biodiversity Group and Universidade dos Açores - Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia do Ambiente, Rua Capitão João d'Ávila, São Pedro, 9700-042 Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira, Azores, Portugal.
Luís
L
Barcelos
Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100, Copenhagen OE, Denmark.
Henrik
H
Enghoff
Museum d´Histoire Naturelle, Case Postale 6434, 1211, Geneva, Swaziland.
Volker
V
Mahnert
Centro de Estudos da Macaronésia (CEM), Universidade da Madeira, Campus Universitário da Penteada - Bloco C - Piso 1, 9000-399 Funchal, Madeira, Portugal.
Margarida T
MT
Pita
Valencia 123-125, ent., 3a, E-08011, Barcelona, Spain.
Jordi
J
Ribes
Dep. de Ciencias de la Vida. Universidad de Alcalá, 28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.
Arturo
A
Baz
SPEN - Sociedade Portuguesa de Entomologia, Apartado 8221, P-1803-001, Lisboa, Portugal.
António B
AB
Sousa
cE3c - Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes / Azorean Biodiversity Group and Universidade dos Açores - Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia do Ambiente, Rua Capitão João d'Ávila, São Pedro, 9700-042 Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira, Azores, Portugal; Departamento de Biologia, Universidade dos Açores, Apartado 1422, 9501-301, Ponta Delgada, S. Miguel, Azores, Portugal.
Virgílio
V
Vieira
Hindenburgstr. 94, D-75334, Straubenhardt, Germany; Hindenburgstr. 94, D-75334, Straubenhardt, Germany.
Jörg
J
Wunderlich
Department of Ecology and Taxonomy, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, GR-15784, Greece; cE3c - Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes / Azorean Biodiversity Group and Universidade dos Açores - Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia do Ambiente, Rua Capitão João d'Ávila, São Pedro, 9700-042 Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira, Azores, Portugal.
Aristeidis
A
Parmakelis
Biodiversity Research Group, Oxford University, Centre for the Environment, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QY, United Kingdom.
Robert J
RJ
Whittaker
cE3c, Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes & Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, 1749-016, Lisbon, Portugal.
José Alberto
JA
Quartau
cE3c, Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes & Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, 1749-016, Lisbon, Portugal.
Artur R M
AR
Serrano
Department of Ecology and Taxonomy, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, GR-15784, Greece; cE3c - Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes / Azorean Biodiversity Group and Universidade dos Açores - Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia do Ambiente, Rua Capitão João d'Ávila, São Pedro, 9700-042 Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira, Azores, Portugal.
Kostas A
KA
Triantis
Azores; terrestrial arthropods; BALA project; laurissilva forest; Linnean; Wallacean and Prestonian shortfalls.