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Habitats of relict terrestrial snails in southern Siberia: lessons for the reconstruction of palaeoenvironments of full‐glacial Europe
Author(s) -
Horsák Michal,
Chytrý Milan,
Pokryszko Beata M.,
Danihelka Jiří,
Ermakov Nikolai,
Hájek Michal,
Hájková Petra,
Kintrová Kateřina,
Kočí Martin,
Kubešová Svatava,
Lustyk Pavel,
Otýpková Zdenka,
Pelánková Barbora,
Valachovič Milan
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of biogeography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 158
eISSN - 1365-2699
pISSN - 0305-0270
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2699.2010.02280.x
Subject(s) - glacial period , steppe , habitat , ecology , woodland , vegetation (pathology) , geography , tundra , range (aeronautics) , physical geography , geology , paleontology , biology , ecosystem , medicine , pathology , materials science , composite material
Abstract Aim Shells of fossil molluscs are important for palaeoecological reconstructions. However, the habitat requirements of snail species typical of central European full‐glacial loess sediments are poorly known because most of them became very rare or extinct in Europe. The recent discovery of an almost complete extant assemblage of such species in mountainous regions of central Asia enables more precise characterization of their habitats, which may significantly improve reconstructions of Pleistocene environments. Location Altai Mountains, Russia. Methods Terrestrial snail assemblages, vegetation composition and selected environmental variables were recorded at 118 sites along a gradient of climatic continentality in the Russian Altai. Habitat characteristics of sites where species typical of the full‐glacial period occurred were described using a classification tree. Results Seven of the eight species that are typical of central European full‐glacial loess sediments were found in the study area. They were confined to cool areas with January mean temperatures below −17 °C, but occurred mainly in sheltered habitats with a warmer microclimate, such as scrub or open woodland. Pupilla loessica and Vallonia tenuilabris had the broadest habitat range, occurring from woodland to dry steppe. Unexpectedly, Columella columella , Pupilla alpicola , Vertigo genesii , V. parcedentata and V. pseudosubstriata were found mainly in wooded fens and shrubby tundra rather than in open steppe. Most of these seven species were recorded in base‐rich wooded fens. Very dry open steppe habitats usually supported no snails. Main conclusions Habitat ranges of the studied snails in the Altai indicate that the full‐glacial landscapes of central European lowlands that harboured these species were not completely dominated by open and dry loess steppe. Most probably they contained a significant component of shrubby vegetation, patches of wet habitats, and probably also areas of woodland at sites with a favourable mesoclimate.