Double dare: Climate change and volcanic activity threatens local populations of Meta menardi (Araneae, Tetragnathidae) in Sicily
Meta menardi (Latreille, 1804) and M. bourneti Simon, 1922 (Araneae: Tetragnathidae) are ubiquitous inhabitants of the twilight zone of most hypogean sites across Europe. The two species are broadly distributed in Italy, including Sicily, where they show a remarkable segregation along the altitudina...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Global Ecology and Conservation |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989423003347 |
| _version_ | 1797653604419502080 |
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| author | Giuseppe Nicolosi Elena Piano Emanuela De Beni Marco Isaia |
| author_facet | Giuseppe Nicolosi Elena Piano Emanuela De Beni Marco Isaia |
| author_sort | Giuseppe Nicolosi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Meta menardi (Latreille, 1804) and M. bourneti Simon, 1922 (Araneae: Tetragnathidae) are ubiquitous inhabitants of the twilight zone of most hypogean sites across Europe. The two species are broadly distributed in Italy, including Sicily, where they show a remarkable segregation along the altitudinal gradient of Mount Etna. Thanks to our recent sampling activities in this area, we create a georeferenced dataset allowing the application of Species Distribution Modelling aiming at evaluating the current and the future habitat in light of the impacts caused by climate change on the local populations. We predicted a relatively wide suitable area for M bourneti, ranging from the sea level up to 1100 m a.sl., whereas for M. menardi the suitable area encompasses a narrow mid altitude strip, extending halfway between the areas suitable for M. bourneti, and the highly unsuitable volcanic uplands, heavily disturbed by the volcanic activity. The averaged future predictions for 2070 under RCP 8.5 scenario, show that M. bourneti will expand its range upwards, in areas that are now suitable for M. menardi. In turn, predictions for M. menardi indicate an extreme reduction of the current strip of suitable habitat, likely determining its local extinction. Our findings are further corroborated by the analysis of the bioclimatic niche of the two species assessed via multidimensional Hutchinsonian hypervolume, being much smaller in M. menardi compared to of M. bourneti. In light of our results, it seems likely that having wider climatic preference, M. bourneti will substitute M. menardi in most of its current range in Sicily. Future interventions aiming at the conservation of M. menardi on Mount Etna are strongly advised. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T16:46:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2724c9410a9341fc8dee1f84bd4c8d82 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2351-9894 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T16:46:59Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Ecology and Conservation |
| spelling | doaj.art-2724c9410a9341fc8dee1f84bd4c8d822023-10-22T04:49:15ZengElsevierGlobal Ecology and Conservation2351-98942023-12-0148e02699Double dare: Climate change and volcanic activity threatens local populations of Meta menardi (Araneae, Tetragnathidae) in SicilyGiuseppe Nicolosi0Elena Piano1Emanuela De Beni2Marco Isaia3Department of Life Sciences and System Biology, University of Torino, Via Accademia Albertina 13, 10123, Torino, ItalyDepartment of Life Sciences and System Biology, University of Torino, Via Accademia Albertina 13, 10123, Torino, ItalyIstituto Nazionale Di Geofisica E Vulcanologia, Osservatorio Etneo, Piazza Roma 2, 95125, Catania, ItalyDepartment of Life Sciences and System Biology, University of Torino, Via Accademia Albertina 13, 10123, Torino, Italy; Corresponding author.Meta menardi (Latreille, 1804) and M. bourneti Simon, 1922 (Araneae: Tetragnathidae) are ubiquitous inhabitants of the twilight zone of most hypogean sites across Europe. The two species are broadly distributed in Italy, including Sicily, where they show a remarkable segregation along the altitudinal gradient of Mount Etna. Thanks to our recent sampling activities in this area, we create a georeferenced dataset allowing the application of Species Distribution Modelling aiming at evaluating the current and the future habitat in light of the impacts caused by climate change on the local populations. We predicted a relatively wide suitable area for M bourneti, ranging from the sea level up to 1100 m a.sl., whereas for M. menardi the suitable area encompasses a narrow mid altitude strip, extending halfway between the areas suitable for M. bourneti, and the highly unsuitable volcanic uplands, heavily disturbed by the volcanic activity. The averaged future predictions for 2070 under RCP 8.5 scenario, show that M. bourneti will expand its range upwards, in areas that are now suitable for M. menardi. In turn, predictions for M. menardi indicate an extreme reduction of the current strip of suitable habitat, likely determining its local extinction. Our findings are further corroborated by the analysis of the bioclimatic niche of the two species assessed via multidimensional Hutchinsonian hypervolume, being much smaller in M. menardi compared to of M. bourneti. In light of our results, it seems likely that having wider climatic preference, M. bourneti will substitute M. menardi in most of its current range in Sicily. Future interventions aiming at the conservation of M. menardi on Mount Etna are strongly advised.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989423003347Cave-dwelling spidersMount EtnaLava cavesClimate changeNiche segregationSpecies distribution modelling |
| spellingShingle | Giuseppe Nicolosi Elena Piano Emanuela De Beni Marco Isaia Double dare: Climate change and volcanic activity threatens local populations of Meta menardi (Araneae, Tetragnathidae) in Sicily Global Ecology and Conservation Cave-dwelling spiders Mount Etna Lava caves Climate change Niche segregation Species distribution modelling |
| title | Double dare: Climate change and volcanic activity threatens local populations of Meta menardi (Araneae, Tetragnathidae) in Sicily |
| title_full | Double dare: Climate change and volcanic activity threatens local populations of Meta menardi (Araneae, Tetragnathidae) in Sicily |
| title_fullStr | Double dare: Climate change and volcanic activity threatens local populations of Meta menardi (Araneae, Tetragnathidae) in Sicily |
| title_full_unstemmed | Double dare: Climate change and volcanic activity threatens local populations of Meta menardi (Araneae, Tetragnathidae) in Sicily |
| title_short | Double dare: Climate change and volcanic activity threatens local populations of Meta menardi (Araneae, Tetragnathidae) in Sicily |
| title_sort | double dare climate change and volcanic activity threatens local populations of meta menardi araneae tetragnathidae in sicily |
| topic | Cave-dwelling spiders Mount Etna Lava caves Climate change Niche segregation Species distribution modelling |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989423003347 |
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