Determination of arthropod biodiversity and some ecological parameters of Erdal Sekeroglu (Isparta, Turkey) and Kadiini (Antalya, Turkey) cave ecosystems with evaluation of usability of insects in cave mapping

Abstract

The aim of the study was to determine the species composition, diversity, similarity and completeness of cavedwelling arthropods in cave zones (entrance, twilight and dark zones) in Erdal Sekeroglu Cave (ESC) (Atabey-Isparta Province) and Kadiini Cave (KIC) (Alanya-Antalya Province) ecosystems in Turkey. The study also aimed to investigate whether these species can be used for mapping cave zones. The samplings were conducted by using aspirator and pitfall trap methods in ESC among 2010-2020 and in KIC in 2017. Hence statistical analyses were performed with the data gathered from the field studies conducted in the same year (2017) in order to evaluate ecological data in the two cave ecosystems homogeneously. During the study, a total of 51 arthropod species, mostly hexapods, belonging to five classes were collected. Biodiversity parameters, similarity index, indicator species analyses, and species richness estimators were calculated for each cave and cave zones. In addition to reporting the distributions of hexapods in cave ecosystems, this paper discusses for the first time if such ecological data can inform cave mapping and exploration.