0000000001317061
AUTHOR
Voichiţa Gheoca
At the Central European-Balkan transition: forest land snail faunas of the Banat contrasted with those of the Carpathian chain
Twenty-nine forest sites in six sampling areas in the Banat region of Romania, adjacent to Serbia, were sampled to obtain inventories of their snail faunas and to make comparisons between these and previously studied faunas in the mountains from the Sudetes in the north-west to the Southern Transylvanian Carpathians in the south. 65 species were recorded overall, with between 13 and 33 at individual sites. Among the six sampling areas that on Schist rock at high altitude differed markedly from the others, and contained mainly species also found in Carpathian forests further north. The remainder, mainly on limestone, also differed among themselves, but contained more species endemic to the r…
The River Valleys as Biodiversity Reservoirs for Land Snails in Highly Anthropic Areas – The Case of Cisnădie River (Romania)
Abstract This study focuses on the snail fauna of a river valley passing through two closely located settlements. Thirty six species of terrestrial gastropods were identified. Species such as Macrogastra borealis, Alinda fallax, Alinda viridana, Bulgarica vetusta, Monachoides vicinus, Drobacia banatica, are present along the river and abundant in the sampling stations downstream of Cisnădie town. The high specific diversity and the presence of typical forest species demonstrate the presence of fragments of habitat that can preserve populations of terrestrial gastropods, underlining the importance of river valleys in conservation and dispersion of these species.
Forest snail faunas from Transylvania (Romania) and their relationship to the faunas of Central and Northern Europe
Forty-three forest sites in seven sampling areas in mountainous parts of Transylvania were sampled to obtain inventories of their snail faunas, and to make comparisons between these and the faunas of similar sites further north along the Carpathian chain. Sampling areas ran from close to the Ukrainian border in the north to Retezat in the south-west. Altogether, 83 species were found, as well as between 19 and 40 species at individual sites. Sites within the same sampling area had more species in common than in among-area comparisons, although differences between areas did not relate to the distance between them. Such differences appear to be related more to ecological factors than to geogr…
Land Snail Communities in Limestone Gorges from the Southern Part of the Metaliferi Mountains (Apuseni Mountains, Romania)
Abstract This study focuses on terrestrial gastropod communities in a karst area, where the presence of water and the limestone generates favourable environment for land snails. Three limestone gorges were analysed located in the southeast of the Metaliferi Mountains. Four different habitats in three limestone gorges were analysed – Glodului, Cibului and Mada. A total of 42 species of land snails were identified. The terrestrial gastropod communities in the area are dominated by calciphile species, such as Granaria frumentum, Truncatellina cylindrica and Alopia bielzii madensis. The differences between the analysed habitats are not pronounced enough to be reflected in the structure of the s…
Land Snail Fauna of “Porţile de Fier” (“Iron Gates”) Nature Park (Banat, Romania)
Abstract The paper presents an analysis of terrestrial mollusc fauna of the “Iron Gates” Nature Park. Various types of habitats (e.g. forests, rocks, riparian areas) and substrates (e.g. limestone, conglomerate, crystalline schist) were analyzed. A total of 45 species of terrestrial gastropods were identified in 17 sampling points, four of which are mentioned for the first time in the area. Six other species cited in the literature were not found. Limestone substrate allows the development of large populations of terrestrial gastropods, but the specific diversity is larger when it is associated with a forest habitat. The current legal and illegal exploitation of limestone threatens the moll…
Data from: Forest snail faunas from Transylvania (Romania), and their relationship to the faunas of Central and Northern Europe
Forty-three forest sites in seven sampling areas in mountainous parts of Transylvania were sampled to obtain inventories of their snail faunas, and to make comparisons between these and the faunas of similar sites further north along the Carpathian chain. Sampling areas ran from close to the Ukrainian border in the north to Retezat in the south-west. Altogether, 83 species were found, and between 19 and 40 species at individual sites. Sites within the same sampling area had more species in common than in among-area comparisons, but differences between areas did not relate to distance between them. Such differences appeared to relate more to ecological factors than to geography. Faunas of al…