After the Last Train Passes: Data on the Fauna from Abandoned Railway Tunnels in Romania

Severus-Daniel Covaciu-Marcov; Sára Ferenţi; István Urák; Éva-Hajnalka Sas-Kovács; Alfred-Ştefan Cicort-Lucaciu; István Sas-Kovács

doi:10.5735/086.054.0505

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1 November 2017 After the Last Train Passes: Data on the Fauna from Abandoned Railway Tunnels in Romania

Severus-Daniel Covaciu-Marcov, Sára Ferenţi, István Urák, Éva-Hajnalka Sas-Kovács, Alfred-Ştefan Cicort-Lucaciu, István Sas-Kovács

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Annales Zoologici Fennici, 54(5–6):335-346 (2017). https://doi.org/10.5735/086.054.0505

Abstract

The importance of artificial underground habitats for biodiversity is becoming more and more apparent. Abandoned railway tunnels are artificial, underground habitats of considerable biodiversity, including several species of conservation concern. We surveyed 16 abandoned railway tunnels in 2014 in Romania for the following faunal groups: amphibians, terrestrial isopods, and spiders. Amphibians occurred primarily in flooded tunnels, isopods were present in moist tunnels with woody debris, while spiders were widespread and exhibited the greatest diversity in railway tunnels. Some species of amphibians breed in tunnels. The greatest diversity was observed in the entrance zones of tunnels; because railway tunnels are generally isolated from the surrounding rock, they can be colonized only from the entrances. In areas lacking natural subterranean cavities and habitats, railway tunnels are important habitats for many species, including troglophilic spiders and soil-dwelling isopods.

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Severus-Daniel Covaciu-Marcov, Sára Ferenţi, István Urák, Éva-Hajnalka Sas-Kovács, Alfred-Ştefan Cicort-Lucaciu and István Sas-Kovács "After the Last Train Passes: Data on the Fauna from Abandoned Railway Tunnels in Romania," Annales Zoologici Fennici 54(5–6), (1 November 2017). https://doi.org/10.5735/086.054.0505

Received: 15 August 2016; Accepted: 9 March 2017; Published: 1 November 2017

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