Distribution and abundance of a soil centipede, Tygarrup nepalensis Shinohara, 1965 (Mecistocephalidae: Geophilomorpha: Chilopoda) in a moist temperate forest in Northwest Himalaya
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.2478/foecol-2025-0011Keywords:
centipedes, ecology, edaphic parameters, geophilomorphs, Northwest Himalayas, temperate forestAbstract
This study investigates the distribution of the soil centipede, Tygarrup nepalensis (Order Geophilomorpha), in the moist temperate forest of the Northwest Himalayas, located in Himri, District Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India. Centipedes were collected using a standardized 25 × 25 cm quadrat sampling method. We examined the influence of various environmental and edaphic parameters on its populations across different forest areas (north, northeast, southwest facing aspects). The north aspect exhibited higher density due to more favourable soil conditions, including higher phosphorus and organic carbon, which supported larger populations of detritivore earthworms, likely prey for T. nepalensis. These findings underscore the role of microhabitat characteristics in shaping centipede distribution and highlight implications for forest management strategies aimed at conserving soil biodiversity and enhancing forest productivity. Our results indicate that average soil moisture levels (25.8% to 30.5%) are conducive to the habitat requirements of T. nepalensis, which thrives in moist environments. Notably, population densities varied significantly, with lower density in the northeastern aspect, correlated with reduced soil phosphorus concentrations and increased acidity.
References
Adis, J., Minelli, A., De Morais, J. W., Pereira, L.A., Barbieri, F., Rodrigues, J.M.G., 1996. On abundance and phenology of Geophilomorpha (Chilopoda) from Cen tral Amazonian upland forests. Ecotropica, 2: 165–175.
Anderson, J.M., Ingram, J.S., 1993. Tropical soil biology and fertility: A handbook of methods. 2nd edition Wall-ingford, UK: C.A.B. International. 221 p.
Balan, D., Sureshan, P.M., 2017. Influence of seasonal and edaphic factors on the diversity of Scolopendromorph centipedes (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha) and general observations on their ecology from Kerala, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 9 (7): 10386–10395. http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/jott.3000.9.7.10386-10395
Bardgett, R.D., Bowman, W.D., Kaufmann, R., Schmidt, S.K., 2005. A temporal approach to linking aboveground and belowground ecology. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 20 (11): 634–641. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2005.08.005
Bartz, M.L.C., Pasini, A., Brown, G.G., 2013. Earthworms as soil quality indicators in Brazilian no-tillage systems. Applied Soil Ecology, 69: 39–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2013.01.011
Blackburn, J., Farrow, M., Arthur, W., 2002. Factors influencing the distribution, abundance and diversity of geophilomorph and lithobiomorph centipedes. Journal of Zoology, 256 (2): 221–232. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0952836902000262
Bonato, L., Chagas Junior, A., Dioguardi, R., Edgecombe, G.D., Lewis, J.G., Minelli, A., Pereira, L.A., Shelley, R.M., Stoev, P., Uliana, M., Zapparoli, M., 2016. Chilo-Base 2.0.: A world catalogue of Centipedes (Chilopoda). [cit. 2024-09-20]. https://chilobase.biologia.unipd.it/
Bonato, L., Iorio, É., Minelli, A., 2011. The centipede genus Clinopodes C. L. Koch, 1847 (Chilopoda, Geophilomorpha, Geophilidae): reassessment of species diversity and distribution, with a new species from the Maritime Alps (France). Zoosystema, 33 (2): 175–205. https://doi.org/10.5252/z2011n2a3
Bonato, L., Minelli, A., 2004. The centipede genus Mecistocephalus Newport 1843 in the Indian peninsula (Chilopoda Geophilomorpha Mecistocephalidae). Tropical Zoology, 17 (1): 15–63. https://doi.org/10.1080/03946975.2004.10531198
Bonato, L., Minelli, A., Zapparoli, M., 2018. Centipede communities (Chilopoda) of forest soils across Europe: abundance, species richness and species composition. Atti Accademia Nazionale Italiana di Entomologia, 65: 113–120.
Bray, R.H., Kurtz, L.T., 1945. Determination of total, organic, and available forms of phosphorus in soils. Soil Science, 59 (1): 39–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00010694-194501000-00006
Damasiewicz, A., Leśniewska, M., 2020. Tygarrup javanicus (Chilopoda, Geophilomorpha) – an exotic species that has reached Poland. Polish Journal of Entomology, 89 (1): 52–58. http://dx.doi.org/10.5604/01.3001.0014.0300
Druce, D., 2000. Factors affecting millipede, centipede and scorpion diversity in a savanna environment. M.Sc. thesis. University of KwaZulu–Natal, Durban, South Africa. [cited 2024-08-26]. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/4153
Eason, E.H., 1964. Centipedes of the British Isles. London & New York: Warne. 294 p.
Eason, H.E., 1992. On the taxonomy and geographical distribution of the Lithobiomorpha. Berichte des Naturwissenschaftlich-medizinischen Vereins in Innsbruck, Suppl. 10: 1–9.
Edgecombe, G.D., 2001. Revision of Paralamyctes (Chilopoda: Lithobiomorpha: Henicopidae), with six new spe cies from Eastern Australia. Records of the Australian Museum, 53: 201–241.
Geissen, V., Gehrmann, J., Genssler, L., 2007. Relationships between soil properties and feeding activity of soil fauna in acid forest soils. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, 170 (5): 632–639. https://doi.org/10.1002/jpln.200625050
Ion, C.M, Murariu, D.T., 2023. Studies on centipede ecology (Myriapoda: Chilopoda) a bibliometric review. Current Trends in Natural Sciences, 12 (23): 68–77. https://doi.org/10.47068/ctns.2023.v12i23.009
Ivask, M., Kuu, A., Meriste, M., Kutti, S., Raamets, J. Palo, A., 2019. Chilopoda and Diplopoda of semi natural flooded meadows in Matsalu, Estonia. Pedobiologia, 74: 24–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedobi.2019.02.002
Jackson, M.L., 1962. Soil chemical analysis. 1st. edition. London: Constable and company Ltd. 521 p.
Ke, X., Yang, Y., Yin, W.Y., Xue, L., 2004. Effects of low pH environment on the collembolan Onychiurus yaodai. Pedobiologia, 48 (5–6): 545–550. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedobi.2004.07.001
Klarner, B., Winkelmann, H., Krashevska, V., Maraun, M., Widyastuti, R., Scheu, S., 2017. Trophic niches, diversity and community composition of invertebrate top predators (Chilopoda) as affected by conversion of tropical lowland rainforest in Sumatra (Indonesia). PloS One, 12 (8): e0180915. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0180915
Kula, E., Lazorik, M., 2016. Centipedes, millipedes, terrestrial isopods and their relationships to physical and chemical properties of forest soils. Entomologica Fennica, 27 (1): 33–51. https://doi.org/10.33338/ef.84657
Lin, H.H., Wiegand, T.J., 2014. Centipedes. In Wexler, P. (ed.). Encyclopedia of toxicology. 3rd edition. London: Academic Press, p. 766–767. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-386454-3.00707-7
Magnolini, R., Bonato, L., 2023. Soil centipedes (Chilopoda, Geophilomorpha) in the Val Camonica forests (Southern Alps): Species composition and richness. Biodiversity Data Journal, 11: 103153. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.11.e103153
Minelli, A., Golovatch, S.I., 2013. Myriapods. In Levin, S.A. (ed.). Encyclopedia of biodiversity. Vol. 5. 2nd edition. Waltham: Academic Press, p. 421–432. https://doi.org/10.3897/biorisk.4.51
Petersen, H., Luxton, M., 1982. A comparative analysis of soil fauna populations and their role in decomposition processes. Oikos, 39 (3): 288–388. https://doi.org/10.2307/3544689
Rathore, A.C., Singh, C., Jayaprakash, J., Gupta, A.K., Doharey, V.K., Jinger, D., Singh, D., Yadav, D., Barh, A., Islam, S., Ghosh, A., 2023. Impact of conservation practices on soil quality and ecosystem services under diverse horticulture land use system. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 6: 1289325. https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2023.1289325
Santhanam, R., Velayutham, P., Jegatheesan, G., 1989. A manual of freshwater ecology. Delhi, India: Daya Publishing House. 109 p.
Shinohara, K., 1965. A new species of Chilopoda from Himalaya. Journal of the College of Arts and Science, Chiba University, Natural Science Series, 4: 303–306.
Singh, J., Cameron, E., Reitz, T., Schädler, M., Eisenhauer, N., 2020a. Grassland management effects on earthworm communitiesunder ambient and future climatic conditions. European Journal of Soil Science, 72: 343–355. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ejss.12942
Singh, S., Sharma, A., Khajuria, K., Singh, J., Vig, A.P., 2020b. Soil properties changes earthworm diversity indices in different agro ecosystem. BMC Ecology, 20: 27. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12898-020-00296-5
Srinivasdan, U., Tamma, K., Ramakrishnan, U., 2014. Past climate and species ecology drive nested species richness patterns along an east-west axis in the Himalaya. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 23 (1): 52–60. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12082
Stanford, S., English, L., 1949. Use of flame photometer in rapid soil test of K and Ca. Journal of Agronomy, 41: 446–447.
Sureshan, P.M., 2024. Fauna of India Checklist: Arthropoda: Myriapoda: Chilopoda. Version 1.0. Kozhikode, Kerala, India: Zoological Survey India, p. 1–7. https://doi.org/10.26515/Fauna/1/2023/Arthropoda:Myriapoda:Chilopoda
Swift, M., Bignell, D., 2001. Standard methods for assessment of soil biodiversity and land use practice. Bogor, Indonesia: ICRAF. 40 p.
Tuf, I.H., Mock, A., Dvořák, L., 2018. An exotic species spreads through Europe: Tygarrup javanicus (Chilopoda: Geophilomorpha: Mecistocephalidae) is reported from the Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology, 21 (2): 560–562. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aspen.2018.03.004
Valdez, A.S., Bosch-Serra, À.D., Yagüe, M.R., Poch, R.M., Puigpinós, E., 2020. Earthworm community and soil microstructure changes with long-term organic fertilization. Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science, 66 (7): 957–70. https://doi.org/10.1080/03650340.2019.1648792
Voigtländer, K., 2011. 15 Chilopoda – Ecology. In Treatise on zoology – anatomy, taxonomy, biology. The Myriapoda, Vol. 1 . Leiden: Brill, p. 309–325.
Vos, H.M.J., Zweig, R., Margenot, A.J., Koopmans, G.F., Van Groenigen, J.W., 2023. Phosphatase activity in the drilosphere and its link to phosphorus uptake by grass. Geoderma, 439: 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2023.116690
Walkley, A., Black, I.A., 1934. An examination of the Degtjareff method for determining soil organic matter, and a proposed modification of the chromic acid titration method. Soil Science, 37 (1): 29–38. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00010694-193401000-00003
Zhang, Y., Tian, L., 2021. Dynamic changes in moisture content and applicability analysis of a typical litter prediction model in Yunnan Province. PeerJ, 9: e12206. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.12206
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This journal provides immediate open access to its content under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. Authors who publish with this journal retain all copyrights except for commercial rights (transfer of commercial rights) and agree to the terms of the above-mentioned CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.
