Harvestmen (Arachnida: Opiliones) in Estonia: results of the Estonian Malaise Trap Project
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33338/ef.48267Abstract
The species composition of Estonian harvestmen (Opiliones) was revised based on a critical review of published data and examination of the material from the Estonian Malaise Trap Project (EMTP), which is briefly introduced. Four years of collecting (from 2008 to 2011) with “Czech type”Malaise traps from 15 localities throughout Estonia resulted in 4,102 specimens of 9 species. Two of them, Lophopilio palpinalis (Herbst, 1799) and Leiobunum tisciae (Avram, 1968), were found from Estonia for the first time. Combined with reliable published data, the number of harvestmen species known from Estonia is now set at 12. Distribution and habitat preferences of harvestmen in Estonia were examined subjecting the Malaise trapping data to a quantitative analysis using environmental variables recorded for each trap location. Only tree layer density (i.e. the presence of forest as such) was identified as a significant predictor of harvestmen abundance and diversity which indicates a low degree of habitat specificity in boreo-nemoral harvestmen.
