Neochelanops michaelseni (Arachnida: Pseudoescorpiones: Chernetidae) as potential bioindicator in managed and unmanaged Nothofagus forests of Tierra del Fuego.

LENCINAS, M.; KREBS, G; SOLER, R; PERI; PORTA, A.; RAMIREZ, M.; PASTUR, G

JOURNAL OF ARACHNOLOGY

AMER ARACHNOLOGICAL SOC

Lugar: Nueva York; Año: 2015

0161-8202

Bioindicators could act as early warning indicators of environmental changes, ecosystem stress or taxonomicdiversity. Pseudoscorpions have rarely been used as bioindicators, due to lack of information about their ecology, habitatselection, niche preferences and requirements, especially in southern Nothofagus forests. We studied the distribution andabundance of a pseudoscorpion species, Neochelanops michaelseni (Simon 1902), in different vegetation types (Nothofagusantarctica and N. pumilio forests, grasslands and peatlands) and examined how this species responded to different forestuses (harvesting and silvopastoral management), to explore its utility as a bioindicator. The study was conducted on longtermplots located at two ranches in Tierra del Fuego, using pit-fall traps during one summer. Neochelanops michaelseniabundance was higher in Nothofagus forests than in open ecosystems, which could be attributed to their affinity for litterand coarse woody debris. In N. pumilio forests, the pseudoscorpions were sensitive to harvesting, with similar abundancesin harvested forests (aggregated and dispersed retentions) and grasslands. In N. antarctica forests, differences were notdetected among unmanaged and silvopastoral managed forests, probably due to higher understory plant growth, and lesserdiminishing of litter and debris by thinning than by harvesting. We conclude that the pseudoscorpion, N. michaelseni, canbe a good bioindicator for ecosystem conservation and for evaluating recovery rate in the ecological conditions of impactedNothofagus forests, and that management practice intensities should be regulated to create more suitable habitats forpseudoscorpion diversity conservation