Does Seasonality Influence the α and β-diversity of Soil Fauna? A Case Study of Terrestrial Isopods (Isopoda, Oniscidea) Assemblage in the Colombian Caribbean Tropical Dry Forest.

ABSTRACT: Terrestrial isopods are important to forest soils, breaking down decaying plant material and aiding in nutrient recycling. Despite their ecological significance, studies on their diversity and dynamics in Neotropical dry forests are limited. This research investigated the seasonality of the alpha and beta diversity of terrestrial isopod assemblages in a protected fragment of Tropical Dry Forest in the Colombian Caribbean. We sampled isopods in 1 m2 units of litter, and recorded soil and litter temperatures, and moisture during twelve field trips conducted between June 2018 and March 2019 in rainy, transition, and dry climatic seasons. A total of 867 individuals belonging to four families, six genera, and eight species were collected. Alpha diversity did not show significant differences acr

SUBMITTER: Morales-Vega KM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12457905 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature