Springtails (Hexapoda, Collembola) in karst landscapes of the Pinega State Reserve

The collembolan fauna of the Pinega State Reserve (Arkhangelsk Province) was examined. The study area is highly specific due to its karst topography. In all, 126 Collembola species were recorded in the reserve, a significant fraction of their diversity being restricted to karst habitats. Several species that had never been recorded in plain forest biotopes were of special interest. Such forms with distribution ranges mainly limited to the tundra zone comprised about 10% of the local fauna. Regarding the longitudinal sizes of the ranges, this group was not homogeneous and included both widespread circumpolar and east-Palaearctic (Siberian) species. Several arctoalpine forms were also recorded. Most of these arctic species were not numerous over the area studied and in general, the collembolan assemblages at the coldest sites of the reserve did not differ significantly from those typical of the forest zone, with the exception of two species, Desoria tshernovi and D. inupikella, which often predominated in the karst communities. The origin and appropriateness of the term relict for the revealed "insular" populations of arctic species are discussed. © 2008 MAIK Nauka.