10.5061/DRYAD.41F8T
Mammola, Stefano
University of Turin
Goodacre, Sara L.
University of Nottingham
Isaia, Marco
University of Turin
Data from: Climate change may drive cave spiders to extinction
Dryad
dataset
2017
local extinction
Troglohyphantes spp.
subterranean biology
from Last Glacial Maximum to 2070
Pleistocene Glaciation
2017-03-08T14:28:46Z
2017-03-08T14:28:46Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.02902
45056 bytes
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CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Subterranean ecosystems present ideal opportunities to study mechanisms
underlying responses to changes in climate because species within them are
often adapted to a largely constant temperature. We have characterized the
thermal conditions of caves in the Western Alps, and related these
hypogean climate data to the occurrence of Troglohyphantes spiders
(Araneae, Linyphiidae). Our data indicated that present distributions
reflect Pleistocene glaciation events and also pointed to specific
responses as a consequence of changes in temperature. Constant
temperatures recorded inside caves provide an approximation of the mean
annual temperature outside, thus we extended the results to a regional
scale. We used ecological niche modeling to predict habitat suitability
both in the Pleistocene and under future global warming scenarios. These
analyses pointed toward a future decline in habitat suitability for
subterranean spiders and the potential extinction of the most restricted
endemic species. When compared with other species that live in confined
habitats such as islands and mountains, we expect cave species to be as
much, if not more, vulnerable to climate change.
Fine scale modelling datasetVariable collected in the investigated caves.
A description of each variable is found in the read me
fileDATA_MAMMOLA_ET_AL.xls
Western Italian Alps