Vol. 64, 2025
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
Katty
Margarita Morales-Vega1 , Carlos Mario López-Orozco2,3,* , Yesenia M. Carpio-Díaz2,3 , Ricardo Borja-Arrieta2,3 , Carlos Taboada-Verona4 , Ivanklin Soares
Campos-Filho5 , and Gabriel R. Navas-S6
doi:-
1Grupo
de Investigación en Biología Descriptiva y Aplicada, Universidad de
Cartagena, Programa de Biología, Campus San Pablo, Cartagena de Indias,
Colombia. E-mail: kmoralesv@unicartagena.edu.co (Margarita Morales-Vega)
2Laboratório de Estudos Subterrâneos, Universidade Federal de São
Carlos, São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil. *Correspondence: E-mail:
clopezo1610@gmail.com (López-Orozco)
E-mail: ycarpiodiaz@gmail.com (Carpio-Díaz);
rborjaa@unicartagena.edu.co (Borja-Arrieta)
3Grupo de Investigación en Artrópodos Neotropicales, Universidad de
Cartagena, Programa de Biología, Campus San Pablo, Cartagena de Indias,
Colombia.
4Universidad de Sucre, Sincelejo, Colombia. E-mail:
carlostaboada87@gmail.com (Taboada-Verona)
5Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cyprus, Lefkosia
(Nicosia), Cyprus. E-mail: ivanklin.filho@gmail.com (Campos-Filho)
6Grupo de Investigación Hidrobiología, Universidad de Cartagena,
Programa de Biología, Campus San Pablo, Cartagena de Indias, Colombia.
E-mail: gnavass@unicartagena.edu.co (Navas-S)
(Received 18 July 2024 /
Accepted 12 January 2025 / Published -- 2025)
Communicated by Huiyu Wang
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 across seasons. However, abundance was significantly
influenced by seasonality, soil temperature, litter temperature, and
soil moisture. Moreover, species richness was affected by soil moisture
and litter temperature. Our results highlight pronounced seasonality in
the isopod assemblage, characterized by balanced variation in beta
diversity, with higher abundance during the transition and rainy
seasons. The observed increase in the variables, correlated with higher
total beta diversity, underscores their role as drivers of seasonal
dynamics in assemblage structure. Soil temperature and moisture
significantly influenced balanced variation component of beta
diversity. The identified seasonal pattern likely results from the
historical adaptive processes of these species to the conditions of the
tropical dry forest. Nonetheless, effective conservation strategies are
essential to mitigate the impacts of climate change on edaphic
arthropod assemblages in this ecosystem.
Key words: Seasonal diversity, Neotropical,
Climate change, Woodlice, Soil arthropods
Citation:Morales-Vega KM, López-Orozco CM,
Carpio-Díaz YM, Borja-Arrieta R, Taboada-Verona C, Campos-Filho IS,
Navas-S GR. 2025. 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. Zool Stud 64:05.

Supplementary
materials: Fig.
S1丨Fig. S2
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