Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Subterranean habitats are simplified ecosystems that have been proposed as models for studying ecological interactions in space and time. The present dataset was obtained inside an artificial subterranean tunnel dedicated to long-term research on the resident terrestrial salamander Speleomantes strinatii. To test the possible ecological interactions between the salamander and its prey, the population abundance of the main predator (i.e., salamanders) and its prey (i.e., invertebrates caught in the tunnel) were assessed by standard methods for 13 consecutive years: from 2013 to 2025. Salamander abundance was estimated by three temporary removal samplings, while invertebrates were captured each year by entomological sticky traps. The traps were placed outside and inside the tunnel to also assess the prey spatial distribution along the site. The present dataset provides two complete times series describing a possible predator-prey system over 13 consecutive years. There are no missing data.
Source: Acta Herpetologica
DOI: 10.36253/a_h-18334
Author: Sebastiano Salvidio
Language: English
Subfield: Paleontology
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life on land
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4416915922