Invertebrate activity under snow in a South-Norwegian spruce forest
Keywords:
Winter, invertebrate activity, pitfall trap, under snow, spruce forest, NorwayAbstract
The activity of invertebrates under snow was studied by pitfall traps during two winter seasons in a high altitude spruce forest in southern Norway. With a snow layer varying between about 30 and 150 cm during the sampling periods, the temperature in the subnivean air space stayed close to 0 oC. Traps were emptied and replaced at least once a month during the snow-covered period, from October/November to April/May. For phenological purposes, some trapping was also performed just before or after the snow period. Most invertebrate groups were identified to species level. Beneath a permanent snow cover, the most species-rich groups collected were Collembola (22 species), Acari (22 taxa), spiders (12 species) and beetles (13 species). Collembola and Acari (microarthropods) always dominated in numbers. Subnivean catches also included Opiliones, Pseudoscorpiones, Trichoceridae, Limoniidae, Brachycera, Mecoptera, Gastropoda, and Harpacticoidea (Copepoda). Beetle larvae of Cholevidae and Staphylinidae were quite common. Traps placed adjacent to natural cavities between stones etc. did not achieve higher catches than traps on flat ground with a narrow subnivean space, indicating general subnivean activity over the whole forest floor. Many Collembola and Oribatida species were actively feeding under snow, having a characteristic gut content of fungal hyphae and spores. Also the gut of Cholevidae larvae (Coleoptera) contained fungal hyphae and spores, but mixed with decaying plant material. Since fungal feeders perhaps do not need to move much, pitfall trapping may underestimate the extent of subnivean feeding. We hypothesize that certain fungi known to decompose litter beneath snow (snow molds) represent a valuable food source for winter-active Collembola, Acari and Cholevidae larvae. Some of these may be eaten by spiders. Spiders and beetle larvae are among the invertebrates known to be eaten by subnivean shrews, so we support the idea of subnivean food chains.
References
Ackefors, H. (1964): Vinteraktiva näbbmöss under snön. – Zoologisk Revy 26: 16–22.
Addington, R. N., T. R. Seastedt, (1999): Activity of soil microarthropods beneath snowpack in alpine tundra and subalpine forest. – Pedobiologia 43: 47–53.
Aitchison, C. W. (1979a): Winter-active subnivean invertebrates in Southern Canada. I. Collembola. – Pedobiologia 19: 113–120.
Aitchison, C. W. (1979b): Winter-active subnivean invertebrates in Southern Canada. II. Coleoptera. – Pedobiologia 19: 121–128.
Aitchison, C. W. (1979c): Winter-active subnivean invertebrates in Southern Canada. III. Acari. – Pedobiologia 19: 153–160.
Aitchison, C. W. (1979d): Low temperature activity of Pseudoscorpions and Phalangids in southern Manitoba. – Journal of Arachnology 7 (1): 85–86.
Aitchison, C. W. (1979e): Notes on low temperature activity of Oligochaetes, Gastropods and Centipedes in southern Canada. – The American Midland Naturalist 102 (2): 399–400.
Aitchison, C. W. (1983): Low temperature and preferred feeding by winter-active Collembola (Insecta, Apterygota). – Pedobiologia 25: 27–36.
Aitchison, C. W. (1984): Low temperature feeding by winter-active spiders. – Journal of Arachnology 12: 297–305.
Aitchison, C. W. (2001): The effect of snow cover on small animals. – In: Jones, H. G., J. W. Pomeroy, D. A. Walker, R. W. Hoham (Eds), Snow ecology: An interdisciplinary examination of snow-covered ecosystems. – Cambridge University Press, pp. 229–265.
Bleak, A. T. (1970): Disappearance of plant material under a winter snow cover. – Ecology 51: 915–917. Brooks, P. D., M. W. Williams, S. K. Schmidt (1996): Microbial activity under alpine snowpacks, Niwot Ridge, Colorado. – Biogeochemistry 32: 93–113.
Brummer-Korvenkontio, M., L. Brummer-Korvenkontio (1980): Springtails (Collembola) on and in snow. – Memorandum Societatis pro Fauna et Flora Fennica 56: 91–94.
Coulianos, C.-C., A. G. Johnels (1962): Note on the subnivean environment of small mammals. – Arkiv för Zoologi, Serie 2: 363–370.
Dahl, C. (1974): Winter gnats (Diptera, Nemat.: Trichoceridae) in the Messaure area. – Norrbottens Läns Naturvårdsförbund 30: 52–54. (In Swedish, with an English abstract).
Fjellberg, A. (1998): The Collembola of Fennoscandia and Denmark. Part I: Poduromorpha. – Fauna Entomologica Scandinavica 35: 1–184.
Fjellberg, A. (2007): The Collembola of Fennoscandia and Denmark. Part II: Entomobryomorpha and Symphypleona. – Fauna Entomologica Scandinavica 42: 1–266.
Geiger, R. (1965): The climate near the ground. – Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass.
Hågvar, S. (1973): Ecological studies on a winter-active spider Bolyphantes index (Thorell) (Araneida, Linyphiidae). – Norsk entomologisk Tidsskrift 20: 309–314.
Hågvar, S., K. Aakra (2006): Spiders active on snow in Southern Norway. – Norwegian Journal of Entomology 53: 71–82.
Hågvar, S. (2010): A review of Fennoscandian arthropods living on and in snow. – European Journal of Entomology 107: 281–298.
Koponen, S. (1976): Spider fauna (Araneae) of Kevo area, northernmost Finland. – Reports from the Kevo Subarctic Research Station 13: 48–62.
Leinaas, H. P. (1981): Activity of Arthropoda in snow within a coniferous forest, with special reference to Collembola. – Holarctic Ecology 4: 127–138.
Matsumoto, N. (2009): Snow molds: a group of fungi that prevail under snow. – Microbes and Environments Vol 24, no.1: 14–20.
Merriam, G., J. Wegner, D. Caldwell (1983): Invertebrate activity under snow in deciduous woods. – Holarctic ecology 6: 89–94.
Näsmark, O. (1964): Winter activity under the snow in land-living invertebrates. – Zoologisk Revy 1, 5–15. (In Sweden, English abstract).
O’Lear, H. A., T. R. Seastedt (1994): Landscape patterns of litter decomposition in alpine tundra. – Oecologia 99: 95–101.
Olynyk, J., R. Freitag (1977): Collections of spiders beneath snow. – Canadian Field-naturalist 91 (4): 401–402.
Palm, T. (1948): Svensk insektfauna 9, rekvisition 38. Skalbaggar. Coleoptera. – Entomological Society of Stockholm: 133 pp.
Pruitt, W. O. Jr. (1970): Some ecological aspects of snow. – In: UNESCO (ed) – Ecology of the subarctic regions, Paris: 83–100.
Schaefer, M. (1976): Experimentelle Untersuchungen zum Jahreszyklus und zur Überwinterung von Spinnen (Araneida). – Zoologische Jahrbücher Abteilung Systematik Ökologie und Geographie der Tiere 103: 127–289.
Schmidt, P., J. A. Lockwood (1992): Subnivean arthropod fauna of Southeastern Wyoming: Habitat and seasonal effects on population density. – The American Midland Naturalist 127: 66–76.
Schmidt, S. K., K. L. Wilson, A. F. Meyer, M. M. Gebauer, A. J. King (2008): Phylogeny and ecophysiology of opportunistic ‘snow molds’ from a subalpine forest ecosystem. – Microbial Ecology 56: 681–687.
Schmidt, S. K., K. L. Wilson, R. K. Monson, D. A. Lipson (2009): Exponential growth of ‘snow molds’ at sub-zero temperatures: an explanation for high beneath-snow respiration rates and Q10 values. – Biogeochemistry 95: 13–21.
Vanin, S., M. Turchetto (2007): Winter activity of spiders and pseudoscorpions in the South-Eastern Alps (Italy). – Italian Journal of Zoology 74: 31–38.
Viramo, J., (1983): Invertebrates under the snow and in snow samples. – Oulanka Reports 4: 62–65. Waaler, P. (1972): Overvintring og subnival aktivitet hos noen norske edderkopper. Trasop skolehage, Oslo 1967–72. – Private Report, 22 pp.
Whittaker, J. B. (1981): Feeding of Onychiurus subtenuis (Collembola) at snow melt in aspen litter in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. – Oikos 36: 203–206.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
All articles from Senckenberg’s SOIL ORGANISMS Open Access scientific journal that are made available on the Senckenberg website (www.senckenberg.de) and also www.soil-organisms.org may be read, copied, distributed, and (in limited quantity) printed for non-commercial, private, scientific purposes.
In accordance with the German Science Foundation’s „Rules for the Safeguarding of Good Scientific Practice“, references to cited articles are to be complete and correct and furnished with a link to the website of the Senckenberg journal in question.
The Senckenberg Society for Nature Research (Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, SGN) is a member of the Leibniz Association (Leibniz-Gemeinschaft) and is therefore committed to the idea of Open Access as explained in the Berlin Declaration (Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Scientific Knowledge, Berliner Erklärung über den offenen Zugang zu wissenschaftlichem Wissen).
Open Access is understood to mean the charge-exempt public access to scientific results via the internet. The users should be able to read, copy, print, search within, and reference the full text without limitation and to use it in any conceivable lawful manner without financial, legal or technical hindrance.
This applies also to the SGN, which publishes various scientific series. Some scientific journals are made available to the public via Open Acess in addition to printed copies.
